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Our 6G roadmap needs a business case.

A 6G business case does not need a forecast, because the dates that decide it are already on the record: when the study closes, when the specification freezes and when the first new mid-band spectrum is sold. We build the case from those dates and from what can be sold on today's hardware before they arrive.

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Four of the dates are fixed. The business case starts from them.

Mar 2027

Release 20 freeze (projected): the 6G study closes; Release 21 Stage 1

Dec 2028

Release 21 Stage 3 freeze; code freeze March 2029

Feb 2029

ITU-R IMT-2030 submission window closes (WP 5D #59)

27 Apr 2027

Auction 115 opens: 160 MHz at 3.98 to 4.14 GHz, to complete by 4 Jul 2027

Published · as of 2 Oct 2026 · 3GPP, Release 21 timeline, 10 Jun 2026 · Ericsson, 12 Jun 2026 · ITU-R WP 5D, IMT-2030 · FCC 26-46, 22 Jul 2026 · FCC DA 26-769, Auction 115 · FCC DA 26-182, WRC-27 views

What we would look at

  • Where each 3GPP and ITU-R milestone falls today, and what a slip in any one of them would do to the plan
  • Which capabilities carry a business case before the Release 21 freeze, on 5G-Advanced hardware already in the field, which need a partner or a permission outside the carrier, and which only pay once the standard exists
  • What the US spectrum pipeline releases and when: the upper C-band in Auction 115 from April 2027, the 800 MHz that section 40002 of P.L. 119-21 requires by 2034, and the 7.125 to 8.4 GHz range WRC-27 is studying, with the statute excluding its upper 1,000 MHz and the US advisory committee split three ways on the rest
  • The dependencies that gate each bet: device ecosystem, backhaul, power, and the mid-band licences a competitor already holds
  • The observable indicators, each with a date, that would tell you the timeline is moving

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Who does the work

Each engagement is led by a senior practitioner who knows the networks, markets or systems in question, and whoever scopes the work stays on it to the end.

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How an engagement runs

The first step is a one-day teardown. Each step stands on its own, has a fixed fee agreed before it starts, and you decide whether the next one is worth doing.

  1. Step 1

    One-day teardown

    A 90-minute working session on the decision in front of you, a written answer in two working days, and the model behind it, yours to keep.

  2. Step 2

    Two-week assessment

    Two working sessions, a 12 to 18 page memo with the working shown so your team can check every number, and a one-page board summary.

  3. Step 3

    Project

    Scoped to the engagement, with weekly checkpoints, until a first offering is in the market with your team running it. Every model and source is yours at the close.

Related work

Every figure on this page opens its source.

AnalysisThe dates that are already fixedPart 1 of 8: the 3GPP, ITU-R and WRC-27 calendar as published, and how far 5G's dates movedReadAnalysisWhat pays before the freezePart 6 of 8: ten capabilities sorted by the release, the band and the device each needsReadAnalysisWhat a cycle costsPart 4 of 8: the 5G capex and spectrum bill as filed, and what FY2025 leaves for the next oneReadAnalysisWhat 6G will doPart 8 of 8: the eight capabilities, what is decided, who wants them and what they have earnedReadAnalysisWhat the standard has agreedIntegrated sensing, part 2 of 5: what is normative, what is study, and what RAN#114 decides in December 2026Read

Start with a diagnosis

Tell us what you are trying to decide. We reply in writing within two working days, with how we would approach it, what it would take and what it would cost.

Start a diagnosisThe decisions we work on