ITU-R completes key 6G milestone as global candidate technology call opens
The 53rd meeting of ITU-R SG5 WP5D closed in Geneva on 8 October, completing revisions to the IMT-2030 radio interface technology evaluation guidance and finalising the submission template for 6G candidate technologies, formally opening the global call for 6G technical proposals. The meeting advanced two WRC-27 agenda items: studying coexistence and compatibility for new IMT candidate bands such as 7125-8400MHz and 14.8-15.35GHz, and defining interference protection criteria for non-geostationary systems in direct-to-device satellite services with respect to terrestrial IMT. Under the ITU-R roadmap, the 54th meeting in February 2027 will open the call for 6G candidate RIT/SRIT proposals, closing in early 2029, with technical specifications due to be finalised by mid-2030.
Qualcomm and Huawei sign broad patent cross-licence covering 5G, computing and AI
Qualcomm and Huawei signed a multi-year patent cross-licence agreement on 6 October covering 5G, computing, AI and networking technologies, with Qualcomm also acquiring some Huawei US patents. The move marks a phased de-escalation of the two companies' long-running dispute over 5G standard-essential patents, allowing both to continue developing devices and network products in their respective markets. Analysts say the deal gives Qualcomm patent certainty as it expands in AI computing and automotive chips, while lowering compliance risk for Huawei devices outside the US market.
China's 5G-A super uplink scales up as Hangzhou builds first 5G-A x AI super uplink zone
China's 5G-A super uplink is entering a phase of large-scale rollout. Hangzhou's Xixi Wetland has deployed 46 5G-A base stations for continuous coverage across 10 square kilometres, creating China's first 5G-A x AI super uplink demonstration zone, where guide robots and delivery robot dogs now operate routinely and peak uplink speeds have risen from the hundreds of megabits to about 1Gbps. The Shuangpu outdoor robotics test field in Hangzhou has deployed more than 10 5G-A super uplink base stations capable of supporting coordinated work by hundreds of robots with millisecond-level latency. Zhejiang province aims to build 28,000 5G-A base stations cumulatively this year.
SpaceX buys Grain's nationwide low-band spectrum in direct challenge to US carriers
SpaceX has agreed to acquire Grain Management's nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio — up to 14MHz of paired 800MHz spectrum — subject to FCC approval, with the price undisclosed. Elon Musk called it the last key piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to deliver complete mobile coverage in the US. Combined with the 2GHz mid-band spectrum acquired earlier, Starlink Mobile plans to deliver 5G coverage using satellites plus ground-based small cells, directly challenging T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. In August, T-Mobile had just sold that spectrum to Grain for USD 2.9 billion in cash plus 600MHz licences.
Wireless Broadband Alliance pitches Wi-Fi as a core part of 6G
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) is arguing that Wi-Fi should be a core component of future 6G standards. The organisation says Wi-Fi is already widely deployed indoors and is the ideal technology for delivering the consistent user experience and deep indoor coverage goals of the ITU IMT-2030 framework, and that the next-generation connectivity transition cannot succeed without Wi-Fi. The WBA recommends changing access models to create an agnostic architecture that can run over Wi-Fi or mobile networks on demand, stressing that Wi-Fi and 6G convergence must address commercial issues including network cost, customer experience, automation and new service opportunities, avoiding the difficulties that stalled Wi-Fi integration with 4G and 5G.
Virgin Media O2 switches on 5G standalone in Bristol, covering 495,000 people
Virgin Media O2 activated its next-generation 5G+ (5G standalone) network in Bristol on 6 October, covering around 495,000 people across the city centre, Harbourside, Avonmouth and surrounding residential areas, at no extra cost for eligible customers. 5G+ no longer relies on a 4G core to carry 5G traffic, delivering higher speeds, lower latency and greater reliability. The deployment is part of its GBP 700 million mobile transformation programme covering new macro sites, small cells, 4G/5G upgrades, network automation and new spectrum deployment, with plans for more than 1,000 Giga Sites nationwide.
du and Huawei complete 5G-Advanced indoor deployment at Dubai mall, speeds above 3.5Gbps
UAE operator du, working with Huawei, has completed a 5G-Advanced (5G+) indoor network deployment at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, delivering stable speeds above 3.5Gbps on every floor and more than 50% higher throughput than conventional 5G NSA networks. The solution uses more than 150 antennas across the mall with three-carrier aggregation, giving 300MHz of combined bandwidth per antenna (200MHz in band N78 plus 100MHz in band N41). du's chief technology officer said indoor connectivity has become essential for large retail and entertainment venues, and the deployment provides the network foundation for retailers to adopt advanced digital tools.
Brazil's Brisanet switches on 5.5G network with speeds approaching 3Gbps
Brazilian operator Brisanet has switched on a 5.5G (5G-Advanced) network in Fortaleza, targeting high-density venues such as malls and airports and achieving speeds approaching 3Gbps through combining 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz bands. The company's investor relations director disclosed the progress at the Futurecom 2026 event in Sao Paulo, saying it is evaluating extending the technology to other major cities in northeast Brazil, with the decision depending on urban population density and indoor capacity requirements. To drive network monetisation, Brisanet has partnered since January with Virtus, a research centre linked to the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), with work currently in the testing phase.
OCUDU 26.10 brings satellite connectivity and 8T8R MIMO to open source RAN
The OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation, hosted by the Linux Foundation, has released OCUDU 26.10, an open source CU/DU platform that adds 3GPP Release 17 non-terrestrial network (NTN) support, giving open source RAN the ability to work over 5G satellite links. The release also introduces 8T8R MIMO, enhanced beamforming and multi-beam operation, the O-RAN Split 7.2b architecture and native 5G positioning, while reducing connection latency through two-step random access, uplink pre-scheduling and configured grants. On security it adds continuous fuzzing, OSS-Fuzz participation and DTLS signalling encryption. The release gives developers more options for building and testing complex 5G networks and lays groundwork for emerging 6G use cases.
MediaTek shows enterprise Wi-Fi 8 platform, boosting mixed-generation throughput by up to 100%
MediaTek, with subsidiary Airoha Technology, showcased its next-generation enterprise Wi-Fi 8 technology and the AI-focused Filogic 8800 tri-band flagship router platform at Network X 2026 in Vienna. With Wi-Fi 5/6/7/8 devices set to coexist for years, MediaTek focused on cross-generation network optimisation: its DSO+ technology can boost overall system throughput by nearly 100% in mixed-generation environments, while NPCA+ improves performance by about 80% in dense overlapping networks. AI-assisted energy saving cuts consumption by 33% under typical loads and by up to 50% when unused bands are shut down, while AI-driven network diagnostics reduce mean time to repair from two to four hours down to under one minute.