The CEO of Qualcomm advised MWC that connectivity will stay the inspiration of 6G networks, however its design priorities will evolve as AI turns into central to digital providers and cell computing
In sum – what to know:
Three 6G pillars – Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon stated connectivity, distributed computing, and sensing will type the inspiration of 6G networks and assist AI-driven providers and gadgets.
AI infrastructure – Future telecom networks will combine computing from base stations to knowledge facilities, successfully working as “AI knowledge heart networks.”
Sensing functionality – 6G might use RF alerts and AI to detect objects and motion, enabling functions similar to drone detection and environmental mapping.
At Cell World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Cristiano Amon outlined a imaginative and prescient for future 6G networks constructed round three core constructing blocks: connectivity, computing, and sensing. Collectively, he stated, these parts will assist a brand new technology of AI-driven providers, gadgets and digital experiences.
“The necessities for 6G are literally going to be constructed round three constructing blocks,” Amon stated in his keynote speech at MWC 2026. “One is connectivity. The opposite one goes to be the computing. After which the quantity three, which is totally new, is sensing.”
In response to the pinnacle of Qualcomm, these pillars mirror the shift towards AI-native communications infrastructure designed to assist clever gadgets and real-time knowledge processing.
Connectivity will stay the inspiration of future cell networks, however its design priorities will evolve as synthetic intelligence turns into central to digital providers and cell computing. “So it’s a connectivity that’s designed for steady context change,” Amon stated.
Future networks might want to assist fixed communication between gadgets, sensors, and functions working throughout smartphones, wearables, automobiles and different linked methods. In such an ecosystem, connectivity should ship each excessive efficiency and constant protection.
Synthetic intelligence may even play a job in how radio alerts are processed inside the community, the Qualcomm govt added. “You utilize AI to course of quite a lot of the RF alerts,” he stated. “As a substitute of doing channel estimations, you’re going to make use of AI to do predictions.”
This strategy might assist keep dependable efficiency even when sign power is weak and enhance how higher-frequency spectrum delivers protection.
The second pillar of 6G is computing, reflecting a broader transformation in telecom infrastructure. “The computing is the most important change within the infrastructure itself,” Qualcomm’s Amon stated.
The Qualcomm govt defined that future telecom networks won’t solely present connectivity but in addition course of AI workloads instantly inside the community. Computing sources will likely be distributed throughout a number of layers, together with base stations, edge infrastructure, and huge centralized knowledge facilities.
“6G networks for the telecom sector are going to change into AI knowledge heart networks,” Amon stated.
This structure would enable operators to course of giant volumes of information generated by linked gadgets in actual time, supporting sooner automation, improved community optimization and new AI-driven providers.
In response to Amon, the shift might considerably change how telecom networks function. “I really imagine that this transformation goes to be as profound as going from a dial tone community, the place you simply make telephone calls, to in the present day’s excessive efficiency broadband,” he stated.
The third pillar — sensing — represents a brand new functionality for wi-fi networks. “That’s a model new function of 6G,” Amon stated. Utilizing radio frequency alerts and AI processing, future networks might detect objects and motion throughout their protection areas, successfully turning the community right into a large-scale sensing system.
“A brand new functionality of the community, along with connectivity, is definitely to sense the atmosphere,” Amon stated. This functionality might allow providers similar to drone detection, monitoring of shifting objects, and real-time environmental mapping. “You’re going to have a 3D map of the complete metropolis, You’re going to have a 3D map of the complete nation,” he stated.
Such capabilities might assist rising sectors together with drone visitors administration, robotics, and autonomous methods. In response to the corporate’s timeline, demonstrations of key applied sciences might seem inside the subsequent few years. “Our timeline is predicated on demonstration in 2028,” the Qualcomm CEO stated.
“We’re going to have infrastructure in semiconductor and gadgets towards the tip of 2028 for launching as early as 2029.”