AI-Native 6G Revolution: Supply-Chain Strategies from 5G-Advanced
The arrival of 6G marks a fundamental shift toward fully AI-native network architectures, reshaping both communications technologies and market structures. Compared with 5G-Advanced, 6G design places a much stronger emphasis on energy efficiency—measured as energy per bit—driving a new division of labor between C-RAN and O-RAN, broader adoption of GaN and SiC materials, and deeper integration of photonic and electronic interconnect technologies.
AI is becoming increasingly central to RAN control, beam management, scheduling optimization, and spectrum allocation. At the same time, emerging materials such as AIN, Ga2O3, and diamond are demonstrating significant potential to surpass the performance limits of today’s mainstream semiconductors. Together, technological advances and commercial imperatives are jointly reshaping competitive dynamics in the 6G era, unlocking high-value markets spanning Industry 5.0, autonomous driving, smart healthcare, and AI agents