NEW DELHI: The impending rollout of 6G networks appears to be heading towards a multi-vendor challenge, with operators likely to reuse existing 5G spectrum and hardware. This approach is driven by the limited value of higher-frequency 6GHz spectrum outside urban areas, where signals struggle to penetrate and travel far, according to a Light Reading report.
Many operators, including Vodafone, prefer to refarm low-band spectrum previously used for older generations, making Multi-RAT Spectrum Sharing (MRSS) a crucial technology for 6G deployment.
Luke Ibbetson, Vodafone’s head of research and development, emphasised the need for MRSS to significantly outperform its 5G predecessor, Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), which faced criticism for poor implementation and performance trade-offs, the report said.
MRSS aims to divide in-use frequencies between current 5G and future 6G services without impacting existing 5G subscribers. However, this strategy could inadvertently tie operators to their current 5G vendors, as the primary rationale for reusing hardware is to avoid replacing radio infrastructure.
The concept of multi-vendor MRSS, which would allow a new 6G vendor for the distributed unit (DU) alongside an existing 5G DU, requires the standardisation of a new interface. This is a prospect major vendors like Nokia and Ericsson are not enthusiastic about.
Nokia has previously noted that avoiding new interfaces is preferable due to associated standardisation, implementation, testing, and integration costs. Ericsson similarly dismissed the need for a new interface between DUs, suggesting that existing Open Fronthaul (O-FH) interfaces, developed for O-RAN, already support multi-vendor RAN deployment for 6G, the publication wrote.
An Ericsson spokesperson told the publication that separate 5G and 6G systems from different vendors sharing the same radio unit would be complex, requiring close coordination across radio, baseband, and software layers, and could lead to performance trade-offs compared with integrated, single-vendor MRSS.
This stance from leading vendors is likely to disappoint those advocating for greater vendor diversity in 6G.
Independent analyst Alok Tripathi was quoted in the report as saying that vendors’ reluctance to define new real-time interfaces between DUs from different vendors, noting that NTT Docomo has expressed a desire for operators to have the freedom for “inter-vendor MRSS.”
Despite Ericsson’s assertion that O-FH will remain the primary route for multi-vendor RAN in 6G, experts, such as Stefan Pongratz, an analyst with the Dell’Oro Group indicate that broader adoption of open fronthaul is unlikely to significantly alter RAN supplier concentration, as per the report.
Most deployments continue to favour single-vendor solutions for macro sites due to commercial and technical reasons.
This trend, coupled with declining global RAN investment – from $45 billion in 2022 to $35 billion in 2023 – is impacting vendor profitability and market concentration.
Ericsson and Nokia have already announced significant job cuts, and Dell’Oro forecasts cumulative RAN revenues for 6G to be 10 per cent to 20 per cent lower than 5G during its initial six years.
If MRSS successfully allows operators to extend the life of their 5G hardware, equipment suppliers could face continued financial pressure.
Published On Sep 17, 2026 at 08:20 AM IST
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