The US government has asked Qualcomm to create at least three 6G-capable devices for the 2028 Summer Olympics, aiming to showcase future tech despite challenges.
© A. Krivonosov
The U.S. government aims to showcase future technologies to the world: the Trump administration has asked Qualcomm to develop at least three 6G-capable devices for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Although commercial 5G networks already cover nearly 99% of Americans and are actively evolving with 5G-Advanced (5.5G), 6G currently exists only in plans and technical documents. The network standard is expected to be introduced in the 21st release of 3GPP in 2028, but its final refinement could take several more months.
Nate Tibbitt, senior vice president at Qualcomm, noted that the U.S. administration is monitoring timelines and wants to accelerate technology adoption by ensuring support at the commercial device and infrastructure levels. This detail matters because it highlights ongoing questions: whether 6G networks can leverage the existing 5G-Advanced core network or if a completely new lightweight infrastructure will be needed to minimize latency and achieve terabit data speeds.
For now, this remains a bold vision of the future. Experts are skeptical about the plan, pointing out that preparing three commercial devices within the next two years is a challenging task, especially if 6G standards and infrastructure aren't ready on time. Overall, the picture is straightforward: the Trump administration intends to demonstrate cutting-edge technology on the global stage, even if reality lags slightly behind these ambitions.