Verizon CTO Raises Concerns Over U.S. Readiness for 6G Compared to Global Rivals

Verizon's Chief Technology Officer, Yago Tenorio, has expressed caution that the United States may struggle to maintain leadership in 6G, pointing to technical, regulatory, and competitive challenges. His concerns surfaced during the launch of Verizon's new 6G Innovation Forum, intended to influence the development of global 6G standards.

Tenorio emphasized that one of the biggest challenges is device design complexity. Many of the proposed 6G technologies—such as full duplex, integrated sensing/communication, and multi-antenna systems (massive or ultra-massive MIMO)—push the limits of what is practical in wearable or handheld form factors. For instance, he joked that a wearable device with eight antennas might resemble a porcupine.

Another constraint is spectrum access. Tenorio pointed out that U.S. operators have limited access to upper 6 GHz frequency bands, which are seen by many as prime territory for future 6G use cases. In contrast, jurisdictions like China reportedly plan to allocate broad, contiguous bands in that range, giving them potential coverage advantages. He said the U.S. may not be "globally competitive right now" in spectrum readiness.

Tenorio also underscored the significance of pre-standardization influence. Verizon wants to shape the architecture, use cases, and specifications early to avoid being locked into suboptimal designs. He sees this as a missed opportunity from earlier generations where network operators had less influence on standards decisions.

On technology front, Tenorio noted that many 6G proposals build on evolutionary upgrades to 5G NR, including adaptations in full duplex, enhanced uplink capacity, and higher spectral efficiency using ultra-dense antenna arrays. Some believe this could let operators reuse existing infrastructure to a degree.

He also raised that higher frequency bands will face propagation and coverage tradeoffs. While using upper bands might allow wider channel widths and higher capacity, their signal reach is weaker. The balance between capacity, coverage, power consumption, and device practicality is delicate.

In launching the 6G Innovation Forum, Verizon has already gathered key industry players—Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Meta—to engage in collaborative design and roadmap alignment. Tenorio said he welcomes involvement from technology participants like Nvidia, especially given their role in AI and compute at the network edge.

Tenorio's message is a reminder that 6G isn't guaranteed to simply be "5G plus faster speed." Its success depends critically on device practicality, spectrum policy, standardisation influence, and global parity. For the U.S., the path forward may require proactive regulatory moves, spectrum reallocation, and early alignment across industry stakeholders if it hopes to keep pace internationally.