Verizon has expanded its 6G Innovation Forum (6GIF) with nine new members as it steps up efforts to develop an open and diverse ecosystem for next-generation mobile networks.
The new members are Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Intel, Keysight Technologies, MediaTek, Nvidia, Palo Alto Networks, Rohde & Schwarz and Viavi Solutions.
They join founding members Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, Meta and Qualcomm Technologies in the industry forum launched by Verizon in 2025.
The forum is focused on testing potential 6G applications, spectrum bands and bandwidth, while coordinating its work with standards bodies including 3GPP.
Verizon said the new members bring expertise spanning cloud services, silicon and computing, automated testing, network security and immersive graphics simulation.
Yago Tenorio, Verizon’s Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice-President of Technology Development, said the expanded forum would help shape an AI-native 6G network capable of building on 5G Advanced capabilities.
“By expanding our Innovation Forum and refining live edge-AI trials today, we are ensuring the AI-native 6G network is built from day one to scale 5G Advanced capabilities and translate these next-generation technologies into meaningful, real-world experiences for our customers,” Tenorio said.
He said the forum’s approach was bottom-up and driven by use cases, with its work centred on supporting AI workloads, wearables such as untethered smart glasses, and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC).
Verizon has also highlighted recent ISAC field trials conducted with Samsung and Qualcomm.
ISAC enables mobile network infrastructure to function as a radar-like sensing platform. Using 5G Advanced capabilities, the trials demonstrated potential applications in public safety, environmental awareness and event management, providing a pathway for the technology to evolve with 6G.
The company also showcased an AI Sports Companion prototype as part of its efforts to design future network infrastructure around emerging application requirements.
Verizon said AI-native devices and wearables such as smart glasses would require ultra-low latency and a more balanced uplink-downlink model because they are expected to upload substantially more data than current devices.
The prototype was built on the Verizon Edge Network and combined Meta AI glasses with a locally optimised small language model, an Nvidia DGX Spark unit and real-time sports data from SportsDataIO.
Users can verbally request player statistics, score analysis or win probabilities and receive spoken responses without having to check a phone.
Verizon said the prototype is intended to explore how future technologies could reduce app switching and deliver real-time information without distracting fans from sporting events.
Members of the 6GIF will continue sharing findings from demonstrations involving ISAC, digital twins, robotics, AI and advanced wearables.
Verizon has identified the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, as an interim test bed ahead of commercial 6G deployments.
Its 6G Lab in Los Angeles will be used to test network capacity and early AI-native use cases as the company continues work towards next-generation mobile technology.
