A striking message emerged from the Global 6G Conference in South Korea, where Samsung hinted that the next generation of connectivity must abandon the old race for numbers. Rather than repeating the obsession with speed that defined 5G, the company’s leadership believes that intelligence and dependability should be the defining traits of what comes next.
| Image credit: StarklyTech
- Samsung wants 6G to prioritise intelligence and reliability over raw speed.
- The company envisions AI-driven networks that self-optimise and fix issues in real time.
- Samsung’s 6G strategy focuses on stability, sustainability, and human benefit rather than faster numbers.
- Global players like Qualcomm and MediaTek are also developing 6G frameworks, but Samsung’s approach stresses purpose and awareness.
- 6G could reshape connectivity through AI-native design, social responsibility, and smarter, energy-efficient systems.
A striking message emerged from the Global 6G Conference in South Korea, where Samsung hinted that the next generation of connectivity must abandon the old race for numbers. Rather than repeating the obsession with speed that defined 5G, the company’s leadership believes that intelligence and dependability should be the defining traits of what comes next.
A striking message emerged from the Global 6G Conference in South Korea, where Samsung hinted that the next generation of connectivity must abandon the old race for numbers. Rather than repeating the obsession with speed that defined 5G, the company’s leadership believes that intelligence and dependability should be the defining traits of what comes next.
Samsung’s researchers are calling for a smarter network architecture, one where artificial intelligence is not a secondary layer but an essential part of the system. Their proposal describes a self-governing network capable of diagnosing faults, optimizing frequencies, and fine-tuning energy usage — all in real time and without human intervention. The emphasis is on networks that think, react, and evolve like living systems.
While that vision may sound ambitious, it reflects a broader shift happening across the technology industry. Many users today still see little difference between 4G and 5G in daily experience, largely because the latter’s promised breakthroughs have not reached enough regions. The result is that faster download metrics have meant little for everyday reliability. Samsung appears intent on preventing 6G from following that same path.
The company’s blueprint points toward a value-driven form of connectivity — one where stability and intelligence outweigh raw speed. This philosophy echoes the changes happening across Samsung’s product lines, where AI now enhances cameras, battery performance, and user interfaces. The same kind of optimisation, the firm believes, can be extended to the way networks themselves operate.
Central to Samsung’s next-generation strategy is AI-native networking, where machine learning operates directly within the network layer. This integration allows systems to self-correct before disruptions occur, adapt bandwidth to device behaviour, and coordinate power consumption more efficiently than traditional models could achieve. Such a setup could reshape how mobile infrastructure functions over the next decade.
Beyond Samsung’s laboratories, global competition is heating up. Qualcomm, MediaTek, Nokia Bell Labs, and several Chinese institutions are each preparing their own 6G frameworks. Qualcomm expects the standardisation phase to begin by 2025, while MediaTek’s approach involves blending cloud computation with on-device intelligence. In China, researchers have already unveiled chips that can process signals across every major wireless band — a glimpse into a future of highly flexible radio systems.
Despite these advancements, Samsung’s tone remains cautious. The company acknowledges that people have grown tired of marketing catchphrases about being ‘ten times faster.’ Instead, 6G may be presented as an ecosystem that values precision, sustainability, and human benefit. The idea is that a smart network should not only connect faster, but also operate with awareness and purpose.
The company’s partnership with Arm on parallel packet processing underlines this approach. Together, they are exploring data handling speeds approaching one terabyte per second — a technical feat that could allow massive streams of AI and IoT data to move efficiently without excessive energy draw. Such progress, Samsung argues, is less about record numbers and more about control and refinement.
Samsung also envisions 6G as a social enabler. Integrated Sensing and Communication technologies could help manage autonomous vehicles, assist the elderly, and make digital services more accessible to diverse users. In that sense, the goal of 6G is not only to advance connectivity but to make it more human-centered, aligning technology with social responsibility rather than pure competition.
Industry observers expect the first formal 6G specifications to be finalised before 2029, although demonstration projects may appear years earlier. What makes Samsung’s vision stand out is not how far it wants to go, but how carefully it intends to get there — ensuring that the next leap in wireless communication feels meaningful rather than repetitive.