India, Aug. 16 -- There is headwind. There is tailwind. And then there is the crosswind. Right now, it is difficult to say which way 5G has been blowing to determine the real speed and direction of 6G. This generation marked an important milestone, ushering the world into a new era of digitalisation, modularity, AI, immersive services, low-latency applications, and new approaches to networks, such as automation, real-time intelligence, predictive controls, slicing, and private networks.

Now that the industry is looking towards the next generation-6G-it is a good moment to ask an important question: will investments in 5G serve as stepping stones towards 6G, or complicate that transition?

Has 5G Advanced served as a useful on-ramp for 6G...