NGMN’s New Report on 6G Network Architecture: A Call for Balance

As the telecom industry gears up for Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC25) and the 3GPP 6G Workshop in March, discussions around 6G are intensifying. In its latest report, Network Architecture Evolution Towards 6G, the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) presents an operator-led vision for how future networks should evolve. But beyond the technical aspirations, the report underscores a fundamental challenge: balancing the urgency of 6G development with the need for careful, well-paced standardisation.

6G: The Next Big Talking Point

Ray Le Maistre, a seasoned telecom journalist, notes that while AI has dominated industry headlines, March 2025 will bring a surge in 6G discussions. He highlights that NGMN’s new paper builds on its previous 6G Position Statement (2023), which made it clear that 6G should not force a costly network hardware refresh. The latest publication reinforces that 6G architecture must address 5G’s limitations, support new use cases, adapt to RAN evolution, and embrace emerging technologies.

Perhaps most notably, the report places significant emphasis on standardisation timing. According to NGMN, ensuring adequate time for 6G architecture studies is essential to avoid repeating 5G’s rushed design process. Le Maistre points out that the organisation is effectively planting a flag ahead of major industry events, stressing the need for a more measured and industry-wide approach to 6G development.

The Timing Dilemma: Move Fast or Pace Ourselves?

Analyst Gabriel Brown identifies a key tension in the NGMN report: the industry is caught between two conflicting needs. On the one hand, operators are calling for early alignment before 3GPP standardisation kicks into full gear. The report states:

“The majority of NGMN MNO Members believe that now is the appropriate time to commence studies on 6G network architecture, with many emphasising the urgency of achieving alignment prior to 3GPP standardisation.”

On the other hand, the report urges the industry to pace itself and be more methodical than it was with 5G:

“Ensuring adequate time is allocated for 6G architecture studies to effectively leverage insights and experience gained from 5G implementations.”

This contradiction reflects a broader reality in telecom: the need to innovate quickly clashes with real-world deployment constraints. Brown observes that this dilemma is not unique to NGMN but a symptom of how mobile networks and business ecosystems evolve.

Key Challenges in 6G Architecture Development

NGMN’s paper outlines several critical hurdles that must be addressed before 6G can become a reality:

  • Achieving consensus in standardisation – Operators are at different stages of 5G evolution, making agreement on a unified 6G path difficult.
  • Managing network complexity – Enabling new capabilities while maintaining legacy systems is a challenge.
  • Infrastructure upgrades – 6G must evolve cost-effectively without forcing another large-scale hardware refresh.
  • Defining the business case – Understanding the economic drivers for 6G is crucial to justify investment.
  • Spectrum availability – Future spectrum allocation remains a major consideration.
  • Redeploying existing services – Ensuring backward compatibility while introducing new features is a balancing act.

Among these, NGMN states that reaching consensus on standardisation is the most critical challenge. Without industry-wide agreement, 6G risks facing the same fragmentation and complexity that slowed 5G adoption.

What This Means for the Industry

NGMN’s report does not provide all the answers, but it does set the stage for an important conversation. As Le Maistre notes, the document signals a strong call for collaboration ahead of MWC25 and the 3GPP 6G Workshop in March. Meanwhile, Brown’s analysis highlights the practical tensions in balancing ambition with business and deployment realities.

The key takeaway? 6G must be both innovative and pragmatic. The industry needs to move forward with cutting-edge technologies like AI, sensing, and cloud-native architecture—without losing sight of cost, complexity, and real-world deployment challenges.

The road to 6G is just beginning, and as these discussions unfold, the industry will need to find a way to resolve these contradictions. For now, the NGMN’s latest report ensures that 6G architecture evolution remains a hot topic for 2025 and beyond.

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