MediaTek, Ericsson, T-Mobile Run Pre-6G Trial

T-Mobile, Ericsson and MediaTek say they have completed what they call the world’s first multi-vendor pre-6G trial, sending data over the air between Ericsson network radio equipment and a MediaTek device platform in the 7 GHz band.

The trial ran in September at the T-Mobile 6G Innovation Hub in Bellevue, Washington, according to a MediaTek release published on 3 November. T-Mobile’s chief technology officer, John Saw, had already flagged it in a T-Mobile newsroom post on 27 October, writing that the three companies were “pushing the boundaries of wireless performance using 400 MHz channels in the 7 GHz spectrum band.”

In brief

Ericsson’s pre-6G radio and MediaTek’s pre-6G device platform worked together over the air on T-Mobile’s test network in 7 GHz spectrum.
The companies say the setup shows potential downloads above 5 Gbps, uploads above 2 Gbps and latency as low as 4 milliseconds.
It is a proof of concept, run before 6G standards are finished.

What the three companies tested

Ericsson supplied the pre-6G radio and MediaTek supplied its pre-6G user equipment proof-of-concept platform, which stands in for a future phone or other device. The link used a 400 MHz contiguous channel for downloads and 200 MHz for uploads.

Based on the trial, the companies say the technology has the potential for peak downloads of “more than 5Gbps”, uploads of “more than 2Gbps” and latency “as low as 4 milliseconds”. These are potential figures from a proof of concept, not speeds customers can get, and no 6G network or 6G phone is on sale. The release says the work is aligned with the direction set by 3GPP, the body that writes mobile standards, on device capabilities for 6G.

“The success of this trial signifies a historic achievement with T-Mobile and Ericsson, highlighting that device technology is keeping pace with innovation in connectivity,” said Dr Mingxi Fan, Corporate Vice President at MediaTek. “In working closely together, we’re showing that the entire ecosystem, from chipsets to networks, aligns to make 6G a reality for everyone, and proving that seamless interoperability between silicon and network infrastructure is essential to accelerating 6G commercialization.”

“Working with MediaTek and T-Mobile, we validated pre-6G performance so that end users can benefit as soon as 6G takes off,” said Johan Hultell, Head of Networks Strategy and Product Management at Ericsson. He added that the demonstration “marks the start of our journey, together with our ecosystem partners, toward commercial 6G.”

Ankur Kapoor, T-Mobile’s Chief Network Officer, said: “Customers judge a network by how it feels, and 6G will raise that bar.”

Why a multi-vendor pre-6G trial matters

Ericsson has already run pre-standard 6G tests with Verizon in 7 GHz and Telia in Sweden. What is different here is the device side. A network is only useful if phones and other gear from different makers can talk to it, and this trial put a chipmaker’s device platform against another firm’s radio on a live operator’s test network.

That is the point of Fan’s line about silicon and networks. Proving that chips and network equipment from different suppliers work together, before 6G standards are frozen, gives all three firms an early read on problems that would otherwise surface closer to launch. Putting a device maker in the trial suggests 6G device work is moving alongside network work rather than following it.

The 7 GHz band matters too. Ericsson’s Verizon test also used it, and it offers room for very wide channels. Using a 400 MHz channel is what makes the headline speeds possible, but how much 7 GHz spectrum regulators make available, and when, will decide whether those figures survive outside a test hub. Spectrum is in demand from many directions, as the FCC’s recent move to open 800 MHz cellular spectrum to drones shows.

For T-Mobile, the trial continues a run of network AI and early 6G announcements with partners, including AI beamforming with Ericsson and an AI-RAN call with Nokia and NVIDIA. None of the three companies gave a date for commercial 6G service, and the trial results have not been independently tested.