China has taken a key step toward shaping the global future of telecommunications, as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially approved the trial spectrum in the 6GHz band for 6G technology development.

　　The approval, granted to the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, authorizes 6G technology trials in selected regions. The move is aimed at advancing technical research, testing and validation based on the key scenarios and performance indicators defined by the International Telecommunication Union for 6G.

　　Announced on Friday, the approval enables Chinese engineers to conduct real-world testing in urban and industrial environments, a critical step that transitions 6G research from controlled laboratory experiments to field trials involving practical challenges such as signal penetration and equipment interference, experts said.

　　Zhu Fusheng, president of the Guangdong Communications and Networks Institute, said: "You can't build a house without land. For wireless communications, frequency is that land. Until now, 6G didn't have a home in the crowded spectrum."

　　"Now that the frequencies are set, the starting gun for the entire industry has been fired," he added.

　　The IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, as China's top-level coordination platform for 6G research and development, is led by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, or CAICT. It integrates the efforts of telecom operators, as well as Chinese and foreign communication companies including Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi, Ericsson and Nokia, along with universities.

　　The move is part of China's broader push to advance research and standardization of 6G technology, which is expected to be not just faster than 5G but also support the integration of space, air, terrestrial and maritime communication technologies, experts said.

　　China aims to commercialize 6G by around 2030.