• Milestone supports American leadership in AI-native 6G, showcasing cloud hosted AI large language model processing robotics and video streaming using new 6G centimeter wave spectrum, cloud-native infrastructure and an Ericsson test bed device.
• Demonstration completed at Ericsson’s U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, underscoring long-term US investment in innovation and manufacturing
• Ericsson to manufacture next-generation 6G network equipment at its USA 5G Smart Factory in Lewisville, Texas

Ericsson announced it has successfully completed the world’s first 6G pre-standard over-the-air (OTA) session, marking a major milestone towards commercial 6G networks and reinforcing U.S. leadership in next-generation wireless innovation.

This milestone was achieved on a pre-standard 6G system using a trusted, end-to-end architecture designed to be AI and cloud native. Conducted at Ericsson’s U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, the OTA session validates the readiness of key 6G building blocks. The demonstration features radio hardware, RAN Compute, software-defined air interfaces, and cloud platforms. Ericsson’s future-proof software architecture is deployable on multiple hardware platforms, including CPU (Central Processing Units) and GPU (Graphics Processing Units).

This achievement supports the U.S. government’s focus on 6G leadership, including early research, global standards and forward-looking spectrum policy. 6G is a critical infrastructure for national security, economic competitiveness, and AI-driven innovation. Ericsson’s work directly supports those priorities by showing how future networks can deliver secure, high-performance, AI-native connectivity that underpins U.S. economic competitiveness, innovation, and national security.

“Ericsson’s 6G demonstration is an important milestone in next generation wireless innovation, enabled by American ingenuity,” said Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce. “The Trump Administration will always back our trusted partners, and we are committed to an American designed and operated future of cutting-edge connectivity.”

“6G will be foundational to how artificial intelligence scales across society and will be critical to the national security, economic prosperity, and global competitiveness of the United States,” said Börje Ekholm, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ericsson. “Completing this world’s first live 6G trial in the United States is a tangible proof point that advanced wireless innovation, manufacturing, and research is anchored here – supporting U.S. leadership in next-generation connectivity. We continue to lead innovation alongside the U.S. ecosystem, working with government, partners, operators, enterprises, academia, and startups.”

Why this matters

Specifically, the 6G trial proves two key capabilities to prepare future networks for AI: powering AI robotics with instant, reliable connections and processing for real‑time control; and enabling real‑time video streaming.  As AI expands beyond smartphones to power robotics, autonomous systems, immersive applications, and industrial automation, wireless infrastructure is becoming a critical layer of the AI stack. 6G networks will be designed to sense, compute, and adapt in real time, enabling consistent low latency, higher uplink capacity, and new classes of AI services that are not possible today.

Ericsson’s OTA milestone demonstrates that these capabilities are moving into system-level reality, positioning the U.S. ecosystem to shape global standards, drive innovation, and lead commercialization of 6G.

A long-term commitment to the United States

Ericsson has operated in the U.S. for more than 120 years and continues to expand its footprint across research, manufacturing, and operations. The company employs more than 6,000 people across the country and operates 12 R&D centers focused on AI, ASIC design, and antenna systems. Its U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, serves as a major hub for advanced wireless R&D, standards development, and customer engagement.

Ericsson also currently manufactures advanced 5G radios and RAN Compute systems at its 5G USA Smart Factory in Lewisville, Texas – one of the most advanced telecom manufacturing facilities in the country. Ericsson has invested more than USD 150 million in the factory and is the only manufacturer making telecom equipment at scale in the U.S. The highly automated, 300,000-square-foot facility supports more than 550 U.S. manufacturing jobs and strengthens secure, resilient domestic supply chains. As 6G technology matures, Ericsson plans to build-on this U.S.-based manufacturing foundation to support future deployments.

Technical highlights

• The system consists of a pre-standard 6G stack with:
  • Spectrum in the 7GHz range (Centimeter Wave)
  • Carrier bandwidth of 400 MHz
  • Performance focus on optimized uplink, enhanced energy efficiency, and maximized spectral utilization

The demonstration leveraged Ericsson radios, baseband platforms, and cloud-native software, and strengthened ongoing contributions to global standard bodies, including 3GPP and Open RAN. Ericsson will continue expanding trials across additional spectrum bands, enabling AI-native capabilities, and collaborating with operators, chipset partners, and the broader ecosystem to accelerate 6G readiness.