NGA focuses on promoting innovation and leadership in 6G for North America, while XGMF is committed to growing the mobile services sector
In sum, what to know:
ATIS and XGMF team up – The MoU strengthens U.S.–Japan collaboration on 5G and 6G development, updating an earlier agreement between their predecessor organizations.
Global 6G ecosystem in focus – The partnership targets joint initiatives, including shared research, promotion and exploring new industrial use cases for next-gen wireless.
Push for strategic alignment – Both groups aim to accelerate innovation, commercial viability and global harmonization for 5G-Advanced and 6G networks.
The Next G Alliance (NGA), an initiative led by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), and Japan’s XG Mobile Promotion Forum (XGMF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of fostering collaboration on the development of a global ecosystem for 5G and 6G technologies.
The new agreement aims to deepen cooperation between North America and Japan in advancing next-generation wireless systems. The Next G Alliance focuses on promoting innovation and leadership in 6G for North America, while XGMF is committed to growing the mobile services sector and enabling the next wave of mobile technologies in Japan.
The pair also noted that the agreement updates a previous agreement with XGMF’s predecessor, the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium. It lays out a framework for joint strategic initiatives, including shared research, marketing efforts and exchanging information and insights.
The collaboration between NGA and the Japanese group is designed to explore new applications of 5G-Advanced and 6G, particularly in the field of industrial communications and to accelerate global harmonization of technical standards.
“This agreement helps advance our mutual goals of bringing 6G innovation to market faster and more effectively,” said Jaydee Griffith, managing director of the Next G Alliance. “It’s part of our broader efforts to align with global partners and create economies of scale for future mobile ecosystems.”
Akihiro Nakao, co-chairman of the XGMF, added: “To fully realize the promise of 5G and 6G, we must focus on practical, valuable innovations. Our partnership with the Next G Alliance brings us closer to a globally aligned, sustainable mobile ecosystem.”
Last year, ATIS’ Next G Alliance (NGA) had published a white paper that looks at the transformative role that future 6G technology is expected to play in enhancing integrated sensing and communication systems.
NGA said that next-generation systems will enable distributed sensors and communication networks to implement an integrated exchange of data, allowing systems of sensors to work together. These will provide the network with critical analytics to upgrade configurations and improve performance, NGA said, adding that these systems will enable new user capabilities.
In 2023, NGA and India’s Bharat 6G Alliance have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration opportunities on 6G wireless technologies.
The main aim of the collaboration is to align research and development priorities that support a “common 6G vision” and to create secure and trusted telecommunications as well as resilient supply chains, the partners said.
In 2022, NGA and Europe’s 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to exchange information regarding their work programs in areas of “mutual interest” in the field of future 6G communication systems and networks.
The agreement also covers collaboration on joint activities, including workshops, seminars, webinars and trials on 6G-related topics.
The Next G Alliance was launched by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), as an initiative to advance North American wireless technology leadership over the next decade through private sector-led efforts with the initial focus on as-yet-unstandardized 6G.
