In cellular, the only constant is change. 5G networks made their commercial debut in 2019, and the last full version of the standard — 3GPP Release 19 — was finalized at the end of 2025. 3GPP Release 20 will provide additional 5G capabilities when it’s finalized sometime around mid-2027, but its main focus is laying the foundation for 6G.
Even if device OEMs and systems integrators won’t be using the technology as soon as the first commercial modules, antennas, and networks are available, they should start following 6G’s development to understand when and where 6G fits into their long-term product roadmaps.
For example, 6G is expected to support up to 100 Gbps versus 20 Gbps for 5G. Upgrading to 6G enables products designed for bandwidth-intensive enterprise and industrial applications to expand their addressable markets by displacing copper and fiber. And like the evolution from 4G to 5G, 6G will usher in new spectrum bands that require understanding how signals propagate at those frequencies and how that affects antenna choices and device design.
Sensing and Satellites
The early vision for 6G is bold. It envisions a network that blends communications, sensing, positioning and computing into a single, intelligent fabric – one capable of responding to the physical world with far greater awareness and agility than anything we have today. (For a deeper dive into how sensing will work, see the Next G Alliance’s white paper library, particularly Integrated Sensing and Communications Readiness Report, Phase I.) For markets such as IoT, which depend on reliable, adaptable, and wide-reaching connectivity, this evolution forms a natural part of the wider shift toward more intelligent and interconnected digital systems.
One of the most striking elements of the 6G roadmap calls for integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) from the outset. Satellites, high-altitude platforms, and other airborne systems will work alongside traditional cells sites and other terrestrial infrastructure to deliver virtually seamless global coverage. That shift alone could transform areas such as logistics, environmental monitoring, and industrial automation, where connectivity gaps still limit what connected systems can achieve. Add in the goals of sub-millisecond latency, near-instant data transfer, and significantly enhanced localization accuracy, and it becomes clear just how much the wireless landscape is set to evolve.
Pioneering Terahertz Spectrum
One way 6G will achieve 100 Gbps is by using terahertz spectrum because the higher the frequency, the more bandwidth it can support. Like 5G, 6G will continue to use lower bands, too, to meet a wide variety of use cases.
Designing hardware that works efficiently across such a broad spectrum is no small task. As frequencies rise, propagation distances shrink, energy demands increase, and interference becomes more challenging to manage. These realities are already influencing the way network architects think about infrastructure density, distributed MIMO and advanced signal coordination techniques.
Antennas will continue to evolve at pace to meet these changing and challenging requirements. They’re becoming smaller, more agile and more deeply integrated with the RF front end and baseband. The idea of the antenna as a static, fixed-function component is giving way to something far more dynamic. Researchers are exploring electronically steerable arrays, intelligent beam-shaping techniques, and antenna structures that can adapt in real time based on user mobility or network conditions. Concepts like reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) – panels capable of shaping radio waves across large areas – are showing real promise in early studies. Meanwhile, metamaterial-based designs are opening the door to ultra-compact, highly controllable radiating elements operating effectively at extremely high frequencies.
Materials science is also playing a crucial role in this journey. For example, traditional substrates face performance and thermal limitations in THz spectrum. That’s why organisations across the world are testing low-loss ceramics, novel polymers, and graphene-based conductors that maintain efficiency even as antenna geometries shrink. Additive manufacturing and advanced production techniques are helping to accelerate prototyping, making it easier to experiment with complex structures that would have been impractical only a few years ago.
Part Revolution, Part Evolution
AI and machine learning will play a fundamental role in the design and optimization of 6G RF systems by allow engineers to navigate vast design spaces, predict performance trade-offs and, automatically tune arrays for optimal coverage or energy efficiency. In future 6G networks, AI won’t just support the back end or the cloud. It will shape how radios interact, how antennas adjust their patterns, and how devices maintain stable links in dense, fast-changing environments. The convergence of engineering experience and intelligent algorithms is unlocking solutions that previously would have taken years of manual iteration.
Even with all the momentum around 6G, this remains very much a research-led phase. Trials toward the end of this decade are realistic, but large-scale commercial rollout will depend heavily on global standardization efforts and ecosystem readiness. In the meantime, advancements such as adaptive arrays, improved materials, and software-defined control, will debut in 5G-Advanced (3GPP Releases 19 and 20) products and early 6G prototypes. This gradual evolution gives device OEMs, systems integrators, and infrastructure vendors time to absorb new capabilities and bring them into mainstream use with confidence.
What’s clear even at this early stage is that the journey to 6G is not about one technology acting in isolation. It’s a combined effort across semiconductors, RF, software, cloud computing, sensing, and AI. Within that ecosystem, antennas are stepping into a more capable, more intelligent and more collaborative role. They remain a fundamental interface between the digital and physical worlds, and their evolution is central to enabling the resilience, efficiency, and adaptability that future connected systems will depend on.
