Summary

The role of the 5G network as the largest platform ever for innovation will be further manifested by 6G in the continued digitalization of society-, business- and mission critical communication. This will extend to exposure of network capabilities through network APIs on a global scale.

5G SA will be succeeded by 5G Advanced and 6G standardization is in the starting blocks. The major needs and trends of the future networks are being defined.

Examples of these trends are network horizontalization, increased resiliency needs, data and AI everywhere, e2e encryption, etc.

AI is materializing and to take its place throughout the network acting in different capacities, one of which is supporting the operations of networks where Service and Network Automation continue to evolve, and Intents are being increasingly refined towards increased autonomy.

The new concept of Dependable Networks describes how such a network provides reliable connectivity services with binding conditions, for both parties (i.e., the service provider and the service user) according to a Service-Level Agreement (SLA). 

Differentiated connectivity, one of the first Differentiated Services, will bring value to both consumers and enterprises as described below. Differentiated connectivity can be sold either directly from a CSPs or indirectly through integration with an application.

The role of Security in the network is more distinguished as the geopolitical situation gets worse. Networks must be prepared for intermittent disturbances potentially from hybrid attacks. New functionality materializing for the 3GPP networks include Post Quantum cryptography and Sensing which is a key feature for 6G.