Qualcomm CEO Amon: 6G Requires More Extensive Collaboration Than Ever Before

【Communications Industry Network News】As the world’s most influential event in the mobile communications field, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) themed “The New Era of Intelligence” has kicked off in Barcelona, Spain. This year’s MWC gathers over 2,900 exhibitors and more than 100,000 visitors from around the world to explore the future of wireless connectivity. For the first time, “Intelligence” is the core keyword, signaling that the deep integration of connectivity and AI technology has become industry consensus—connectivity provides key capabilities for AI, while AI is reshaping the meaning and value of connectivity.

On the morning of March 3rd, local time, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon attended the “Architects of the AI Age” main forum and delivered a keynote speech titled “Building 6G for the AI Era,” systematically elaborating Qualcomm’s vision for 6G and the new opportunities it will bring to the industry. In his speech, Amon stated, “The mission of 6G is to become the wireless communication technology that empowers the AI era and makes AI ubiquitous.” He emphasized that as AI reshapes computing paradigms and transforms user experiences, we need a generation of wireless technology designed specifically for AI. To achieve this, 6G development will be built around three pillars—connectivity, computing, and sensing.

In terms of connectivity, 6G will enable stronger uplink capabilities and spectrum efficiency, with low- and mid-band performance expected to improve by 50% to 70%. AI will directly participate in RF prediction and optimization; in computing, processing power will penetrate every aspect of wireless access networks, evolving telecom networks into AI-oriented data center networks; in sensing, 6G networks will possess radar-level environmental sensing capabilities, supporting city-scale 3D modeling, millimeter-level drone detection, and real-time understanding of vehicles, roads, and pedestrians, allowing communication networks to truly “see” the physical world for the first time.

Amon pointed out that this is a once-in-a-century opportunity, which will not only give rise to new terminal device forms but also create entirely new business models based on AI networks.

On industry collaboration, Amon announced that Qualcomm has reached a consensus on 6G development with nearly 60 global ecosystem partners, planning to demonstrate technology in 2028 and complete preparations for chips, terminals, and infrastructure by the end of 2028, so that 6G commercial deployment can gradually begin from 2029.

Amon said, “Every generation of wireless technology evolution requires large-scale industry collaboration; 6G will require even broader cooperation than before.” He called on the industry to work together to truly realize “AI everywhere” wireless technology.

Below is the full transcript of the speech:

Good morning everyone, thank you very much for being here. I’m delighted to be back at MWC, especially at this important moment in the development of the mobile industry. It’s very exciting to be here. Thank you all!

I have a lot I want to share with you. I wish I had an hour, but I must finish in 15 minutes. That’s a challenge. My main goal today is to explain the vision for 6G and this upcoming transformation, as it’s getting closer and closer to us. It’s now 2026, and this technology will start commercializing in 2029. I want to talk about the vision for 6G and the opportunities it will bring.

First, I want to say that the mobile industry experiences a transformation roughly every ten years. Every decade, a new generation of wireless technology emerges. Interestingly, in the wireless industry, there’s a tradition: even-numbered generations tend to perform exceptionally well. For example, 2G achieved great success, with explosive growth in mobile devices—almost everyone had a phone. 3G connected all kinds of devices to the internet. Then 4G sparked the smartphone revolution. And 5G, which is an even-numbered generation, has also been a major success!

Each generation of cellular technology has its unique mission. I’ve already mentioned 2G. 3G enabled the connection of devices to the internet, allowing all electronics to go online. 4G brought the smartphone revolution. 5G gave us the current era of unlimited data rates and HD video capabilities. Without 5G, services like Teams or Zoom wouldn’t be possible because it provides extremely reliable connectivity.

That’s where we are now. Looking ahead, 6G will have its own mission—just like every previous generation. The mission of 6G is to become the wireless technology that empowers the AI era and makes AI ubiquitous. Because AI is reshaping computing paradigms and transforming user experiences, we need a new wireless generation designed specifically for AI, which is what I want to explore with you today.

First, AI will become the main driver of wireless data growth. Not just smartphones, but AI terminals, connected autonomous vehicles, industrial equipment, robots, and many next-generation devices will all connect to the network. Meanwhile, AI experiences will demand higher quality voice services. AI makes voice important again—because we now interact with intelligent agents using voice extensively. Low latency is more critical than ever; transmission speeds need to increase by orders of magnitude.

Let me show you some data: by 2034, global cellular network traffic is expected to grow 3 to 7 times, with AI alone contributing about 30% of that traffic. AI will fundamentally change our mobile experience—it will alter how we perceive smartphones, redefine personal computing, change how we interact with cars (which are now computing platforms), and transform IoT experiences. That’s why 6G is essential. If you truly believe in AI-driven transformation, 6G is inevitable.

Against this backdrop, I want to discuss what 6G is. First, AI is changing how we interact with computers. We no longer need to learn how to communicate with computers—they will understand what we say, hear, see, and communicate with us in our language. This is itself changing computing, operating systems, applications, and even our understanding of the entire mobile ecosystem.

I want to tell you that 2026 will be the year of intelligent agents. Earlier this year, you may have seen the launch of OpenClaw, ByteDance’s intelligent agent phones, and others—these are just the beginning. We are at the start of a huge transformation. This will shift us from a smartphone-centric, app-centric digital ecosystem to a new paradigm centered on intelligent agents. These agents will be the core—they will not just respond to commands but will observe, understand, and act, across different device categories.

Let me take a moment to explain. I believe we are currently in a smartphone-centric ecosystem. Everything revolves around the phone—you wear watches, earbuds, early smart glasses, all extending the phone’s functions. But in the future, this will change. In future mobile devices, intelligent agents will be key to understanding human intent, especially once they scale. They will become the core, and all devices will revolve around them. Intelligent agents will need real-time context, continuous environment sensing, and highly personalized interactions.

This leads to the importance of edge computing—especially in the AI era. Where we are, where devices are, will generate massive data. As we start interacting with devices as we do with people, huge amounts of data will be produced. For example, large visual models will see everything we see when we communicate or are in a certain environment. Contextual understanding is crucial—it means continuous data generation.

This data is vital for training models and advancing foundational AI technologies. Today, data for training models comes from the internet—social media, websites, publications, books. That’s what we have now. But imagine in the future, when you wear smart glasses daily, and the model sees everything you see. Behind this is enormous data. And this data is critical for AI’s future—and it’s generated at the edge. Home devices at the edge can combine your personal data and environment info to create personalized experiences while respecting security and privacy. These data will also be continuously fed to the cloud. And this is exactly the mission of 6G.

So, what role will 6G play in this new future? In a world where AI is everywhere and empowered by AI, how will the radio access and infrastructure evolve?

The demands of 6G will be built around three pillars. The first is connectivity—what capabilities do we need to realize these experiences? The second is computing—since the network itself must process AI data, it will evolve into an AI-native infrastructure. The third, and a new dimension I’m most excited about, is sensing. This is my personal favorite.

These are the three pillars of 6G. Over the next few minutes, I will analyze each in detail.

First, connectivity. In the radio domain, we are witnessing exciting progress—designed for continuous contextual exchange. In the future, various terminals and sensing systems will be widely deployed in different environments and applications. Remember, intelligent agents will be at the core—they will appear not only on your phone but also on smart glasses and other devices. All of this requires high-performance connectivity as the foundation.

One key capability we aim for is at least 50% to 70% performance improvement in low- and mid-band spectrum. Another amazing feature of 6G is RF prediction and optimization using AI—no longer just channel estimation, but AI-based prediction. This allows devices to operate even in very weak signal environments, as AI can predict what data you’re trying to transmit.

This also drives the need for higher frequency bands, as more spectrum is required, and these high-frequency bands will perform similarly to existing ones. For example, operators with 3.5 GHz or 7 GHz 5G deployments will have similar coverage because AI compensates for some of the limitations of higher frequency bands. Additionally, new technologies like massive MIMO will be employed. So, higher spectrum bands will no longer be mutually exclusive with coverage.

Another aspect is uplink capacity. As I mentioned, 5G has impressive downlink performance. But now, we need a powerful uplink capable of uploading massive amounts of data—like from smart glasses—to the cloud, with AI processing to ensure consistent uplink experience across coverage areas. This is a major change for the radio interface, designed for new intelligent agent scenarios.

Finally, capacity. Network capacity will see huge leaps. We need to consider what practical capabilities 6G will bring: much higher uplink coverage, higher capacity, wider channels, higher peak speeds, and larger overall system capacity. All these are to support the AI terminals enabled by 6G, which are the foundation of future intelligent agent experiences.

Next, let’s talk about computing. Computing will be the biggest transformation in infrastructure because the goal will shift from merely providing connectivity to processing massive data and handling physical AI data via RF signals within the network. Computing power will be embedded throughout the radio access network—from base stations to traditional core data centers, deeply integrated with large data centers.

For telecom, 6G networks will evolve into AI data center networks. Think about it: this computing capability will be pervasive—milliseconds decision-making at base stations; at edge data centers, labeling, enhancement, and cleaning of huge data sets before sending to the cloud. This new architecture will fundamentally change how telecom networks operate. I believe this transformation will be as significant as the shift from dial-up networks to today’s high-speed broadband.

Because when we apply AI across the network, one of the most profound changes will be sensing—an entirely new feature of 6G. Today, I want to briefly explain. We now have physical AI capable of capturing all RF signals and processing large-scale data. This means, beyond connectivity, the network will gain a new ability—environment sensing.

For example, in automotive driver-assist systems, radar is used. 6G will leverage RF signals to enable large-scale radar functions. With sensing, you can create 3D maps of entire cities or even nationwide coverage. This will enable a range of new services. Let me give a few examples to illustrate the sensing capability.

First, centimeter- or millimeter-level drone detection. Large-scale drone detection can manage low-altitude airspace. You can map every road, vehicle, rider, and pedestrian, gaining a true understanding of the environment—crucial contextual information for intelligent agents. This will be a revolutionary capability for telecom architecture.

Let me quickly give more examples. For instance, combining connectivity and sensing: imagine someone walking in the city with smart glasses connected to the network, enabling “see what you see.”

You see something you like and want to buy it. You ask the agent how it performs, and start chatting with friends. You will experience a completely new way—agents fully integrated into your environment, seeing everything you see. You can buy, try, and share in real-time. This is a new mobile experience.

Another example is for future low-altitude economy: sensing networks can detect drones and flying objects. This can be deployed city-wide or for specific enterprises. It will be a new service on the network.

Finally, a smart glasses example: from a consumer perspective, this is just the beginning; from an enterprise perspective, a smart glasses device is a mobile camera. You can live stream what’s happening and get real-time assistance from operations centers or intelligent agents. This will transform many applications relying on mobile connectivity.

This is a huge opportunity and a major industry transformation. I believe this epoch-making opportunity will create and drive new capabilities within the industry. It’s not just about new terminals in the ecosystem but also about entirely new business models enabled by this AI network. It will give us the ability to provide critical data for model evolution, clean and enrich data, and offer unprecedented new services based on sensing infrastructure.

I think this opportunity is so significant that we must start planning immediately. I believe these foundational capabilities will not only change user experiences but also reshape our understanding of networks and their potential. As I said, networks will evolve into computing systems—key infrastructure for many industries. This is not far off.

Qualcomm’s progress announced at MWC makes us proud. I want to say it all starts with a vision and a shared consensus among a group of companies committed to shaping the future of 6G. Currently, 58 partners have joined us to advance this vision. Our timeline is: demonstration planned for 2028—certainly not far away. By the end of 2028, we aim to have chips, terminals, and infrastructure ready so that commercial 6G deployment can begin gradually from 2029. I believe the future of wireless communication is bright, and this will be another major leap in the evolution of wireless technology.

No single company can do this alone. That’s the story of our industry. Every generation of wireless technology requires large-scale collaboration; 6G will demand even broader cooperation. We are very pleased to see many companies from different sectors reaching this consensus. In the coming years, much work remains to realize this promising future. Let’s work together to create truly “AI everywhere” wireless technology. Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak today; I am honored.