Accelerating the U6GHz Industry Growth to Lay the Network Foundation for Mobile AI

[Shanghai, China, June 25, 2026] At MWC Shanghai 2026, Xu Daozhou, Chief Strategy Officer of Huawei Wireless Network Solution, delivered a keynote speech entitled "Accelerating the U6GHz Industry Growth to Lay the Network Foundation for Mobile AI" at the Policy Leaders Forum. In his speech, he stated that "Mobile AI applications are experiencing immense growth. This underscores the need for the next large contiguous mid-band spectrum in 5G-A and next-generation networks to enhance capabilities and sustain Mobile AI in its continued development. It is imperative to jointly accelerate the U6GHz industry growth and create new value for networks."

Xu Daozhou, Chief Strategy Officer of Huawei Wireless Network Solution, delivering a keynote speech at the Policy Leaders Forum

Large contiguous mid-band spectrum is fundamental for 5G, and scaled multi-band 5G-A helps accelerate its monetization.

5G has grown faster than expected, becoming the first mobile technology to reach more than 1 billion users in three years and 2 billion in five years. Its large bandwidth facilitates its quick adoption in homes and industries. For example, 90% of 5G operators worldwide are using fixed wireless access (FWA) to boost home broadband penetration and bridge the digital divide, increasing the average revenue per user (ARPU) by five to ten times. 5G is gaining strong momentum in driving digitalization across industries. In China, 5G already serves 91 of 97 major economic sectors and has profoundly transformed production. It has become a key driver for the digital economy.

The evolution to 5G-A is accelerating in global 5G pioneer markets. In China and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, 5G-A networks with more than three carriers are live now, supporting a total bandwidth exceeding 200 MHz. 5G-A has proven capable of boosting individual and home broadband speeds by two to three times and cultivating new business models like game acceleration and hotspot guarantees, unlocking new business value.

Expanding Mobile AI applications justify the need for the next large contiguous mid-band spectrum in 5G-A and next-generation networks to enhance capabilities.

Global AI applications are ever expanding, and are expected to increase connections by 100 times by 2035, from tens of billions of people at present to trillions of agents. This provides the mobile industry with innumerable opportunities, while also placing new requirements on networks. For example, real-time interaction hinges on stable device-cloud data interaction, requiring networks to shift from downlink-first to uplink-downlink balanced ultra-high bandwidth. Embodied AI also depends on stable and reliable low latency for real-time collaboration and intelligent decision-making.

Even though the standardization of the next-generation mobile technology is expected to be finished by March 2029 at the earliest, AI advancement will continue unabated. The next five years will be critical for Mobile AI services and the entire industry. This means 5G-A has become the most compelling choice, which will rely on both existing and new spectrum to strengthen capabilities. With 100–300 MHz total amount of spectrum is available for operators in the pioneer markets, additional 200–400 MHz continuous is still needed. Therefore, finding the next large contiguous mid-band spectrum has become a matter of utmost urgency.

U6GHz, hailed as the next golden spectrum, is scheduled for commercial use in 2026 at scale to lay the network foundation for Mobile AI.

At the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23), most countries identified the U6GHz band (representing 700 MHz of contiguous spectrum) for IMT. This will meet current Mobile AI needs while providing 200 MHz/400 MHz bandwidth per carrier for the next-generation networks. In addition, U6GHz can be co-sited with C-band to reduce costs and enhance network capabilities. It is clear that U6GHz is the next golden mid-band spectrum for the industry.

The U6GHz industry chain is commercially ready end-to-end and 2026 will be its first commercial year in use. The countries with U6GHz identified for IMT represent 80% of the world's population, and more than 20 countries have assigned or allocated U6GHz for IMT. Mainstream chipsets are also planned to support U6GHz. Five or more U6GHz commercial networks will be deployed globally in 2026 as well. This will create a huge scale effect to advance the maturity of the U6GHz industry.

Xu concluded his speech by calling on the global industry to jointly speed up the advancement of the U6GHz spectrum and ecosystem to fully unleash 5G-A's potential and unlimited opportunities in Mobile AI.

MWC Shanghai 2026 will be held from June 24 to June 26 in Shanghai, China. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions in Hall N1 of the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC).

The ICT industry is rapidly moving towards an era of token monetization. Huawei is collaborating with global carriers and partners to explore 5G-A high uplink and experience monetization, as well as AI-powered business upgrade, through enhanced connectivity and compute. Together, we will seize opportunities presented by token monetization.

For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/minisite/mwcs2026/en.