Verizon and Ericsson Complete First Pre-Standard 6G Field Call in 7 GHz Band
The demonstration moves early 6G development from laboratory integration into a live outdoor environment, where researchers can also examine how signals travel into buildings.
Verizon and Ericsson have announced the completion of what they describe as the first pre-standard 6G field call in the 7 GHz band, conducted at a Verizon commercial network site in Concord, California, marking a step forward in testing next-generation mobile connectivity outside laboratory environments.
The companies said Ericsson’s 6G proof-of-concept equipment was deployed at the site and test validation completed, enabling researchers to assess network performance under real-world conditions. The demonstration moves early 6G development from laboratory integration into a live outdoor environment, where researchers can also examine how signals travel into buildings.
“As a founding member of the Verizon 6G Innovation Forum , Ericsson plays a vital role in our shared mission to build an open, diversified ecosystem and move 6G from theoretical research into practical, real-world reality. This outdoor 6G milestone demonstrates how close industry collaboration helps us generate the key technical insights needed to shape global standards and understand how future 6G networks could be designed, deployed and experienced.”
– Yago Tenorio, Chief Technology Officer and SVP of Technology Development, Verizon
“Today’s announcement is another validation of Verizon’s leadership on the path to 6G. These are the field learnings that can help turn the promise of 6G into deployable technology and, over time, unlock new possibilities for highly responsive, intelligent and immersive connectivity.”
– Hannes Ekström, Head of Customer Unit Verizon, Ericsson
Field testing under real-world conditions
The Ericsson proof-of-concept equipment is installed at Verizon’s commercial site in Concord. The base station is housed separately in the site shelter, while the user equipment is positioned inside a small house on wheels measuring approximately 12 by 8 feet.
The mobile enclosure supports stationary outdoor and indoor radio configurations and includes dedicated power and battery backup. Its varied wall and window materials allow researchers to examine indoor coverage under different conditions. The demonstration uses a pre-standard 6G technology stack with a 400 MHz carrier.
The companies clarified that the confirmed field result was an outdoor call, rather than solely an indoor penetration test. The wider proof of concept examines how 6G signals perform as they move from outdoor environments into buildings.
Testing covers network coverage, throughput, latency, stability and feature behaviour under realistic conditions, including line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight paths, foliage, physical obstacles and signal penetration through different types of glass and building materials.
Next steps towards 6G development
Verizon and Ericsson emphasised that the milestone is a pre-standard proof-of-concept demonstration, not the launch of commercial 6G services. The companies will continue analysing the field results and applying the findings to future 6G research, testing and deployment planning.
As development progresses, 6G is expected to support more programmable, responsive and context-aware connectivity, with potential applications in immersive communications, AI-native services, industrial automation and robotics.
Pre-standard 6G refers to early-stage technologies being developed and tested before official 6G standards are finalised. The Concord demonstration provides the companies with field data to inform that process and help evaluate how future networks could perform in practical deployment scenarios.
