Huawei
Location: Shenzhen, Guangdong
Subsidiaries/Affiliates: Huawei Canada
Summary: Huawei has long been at the forefront of 5G infrastructure, especially telecom network equipment, and the company leads the world in both 5G and 6G global patents. Huawei aims to launch its first commercial 6G networks around 2030, and it is rolling out 6G inventions for smartphones, smart cars, data centers, and innovative network solutions. Presently, Huawei is developing 6G technology such as AI-Centric Agentic Cores, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), base stations, Extreme Connectivity Antennas, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), cyber defense technologies, and Short-Range THz Radios. Research is conducted both in Ottawa, Canada, as well as at headquarters in Shenzhen. However, due to national security concerns, Huawei will be likely blocked from the 6G rollouts of Western countries, even as it solidifies its grip over Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
China Mobile
Location: Beijing
Subsidiaries/Affiliates: China Mobile Research Institute
Summary: China Mobile is China and the world’s largest telecommunications service provider, and it has been conducting internal research on 6G since 2019. The China Mobile Research Institute conducts research from a dedicated 6G lab in Beijing. Reportedly, the company invested around $5 billion in 2025 for a research team of nearly 60,000 on 6G innovations including network architecture, air-ground-space networking, optical transmission, radio frequency, and 6G cloud. The lab has offered a sensing, integrated computing and intelligence public test platform that is open to third parties to test out 6G technologies and applications, and it also hosts a 6G satellite space-ground test station. The company also hopes to integrate 6G with functions related to radar perception, computing, AI, big data, and cybersecurity beyond just functioning as a mobile communications network.
