Ericsson and Australian operator Telstra will collaborate on 6G technologies, including collaboration on 3GPP standards evolution.

As part of the agreement, Telstra engineering teams will test new concepts and technologies at Ericsson's 6G testbed in Sweden. In turn, Ericsson engineering teams will test how 6G operates in different geographic conditions at Telstra's tech center in Australia.

“Mobile connectivity has been one of the most powerful economic engines of modern Australia," Shailin Sehgal, group executive of global networks and technology at Telstra, commented. "As the first "G," which is AI-native, 6G will be the most intelligent network yet – capable of advanced network connectivity, and new network-as-a-product innovations such as the ability to sense the environment around the network. The latter opens the potential for new use cases for public safety, agriculture, weather detection, and more. Our focus is making sure Australia remains at the forefront of digital innovation, with connectivity that helps people, businesses and communities thrive.”

“We are on a clear and exciting trajectory – from 5G standalone (5G SA) today, to AI-powered 5G and autonomous networks, toward AI-native 6G that is meeting the evolving and future business needs," Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden added. "6G will redefine what a network fundamentally is – not just an AI-native technology platform, but a platform that senses, adapts, and orchestrates resources to deliver outcomes for enterprises and society at scale; simply an intelligent fabric."

The partnership follows a recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Ericsson and SK Telecom on work toward an "open" 6G. As part of the agreement, Ericsson and the South Korean operator will work to prepare for 6G's arrival, which is tipped for the latter part of this decade.

This year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) event saw Taiwan's Chungwha Telecom sign a similar MoU with Ericsson to drive both 5G-Advanced commercialization and AI-RAN deployments to galvanize 6G progress.

Turkcell also partnered with the Swedish vendor at the event, launching a dedicated 6G research and development program in Turkey.