China Launches Pre-6G Test Network in Nanjing to Bring Future Wireless Technologies Into 5G

Nanjing Moves 6G Research Into Network Testing

China launched its first Pre-6G test network in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on April 21, 2026, bringing emerging sixth generation wireless technologies into existing 5G infrastructure. The launch took place during the 2026 Global 6G Conference and marked a move from theoretical research and laboratory testing to verification of a working network.

Purple Mountain Laboratories developed the system. The research platform, established jointly by Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City in 2018, has created what is described as the world's first operational test bed combining 6G technological concepts with a live 5G framework. A test bed is a working environment where researchers can examine how technologies perform together under practical conditions.

The network reportedly offers capabilities reaching up to 10 times those of existing 5G networks. Its features include channels with very high bandwidth, coverage over greater distances, connections with predictable delays and artificial intelligence built into the network itself.

Engineers are testing those capabilities in four areas: low altitude inspections, industrial manufacturing, embodied intelligence and holographic communication. Together, the trials connect the technical ambitions of 6G with tasks such as controlling drones, coordinating factory equipment and supporting robots that interact with their surroundings.

The timing places the launch at the beginning of China's 15th Five Year Plan, which runs from 2026 through 2030. Advanced telecommunications is a strategic priority during that period, alongside artificial general intelligence, quantum networking and sovereign semiconductor development. The Nanjing project connects those national ambitions with practical work on the infrastructure that future digital services will need.

What Makes the Network Pre-6G?

Pre-6G describes a transitional approach: researchers place early sixth generation technologies inside current 5G systems. Instead of waiting for an entirely new network to be built, they can examine future capabilities using infrastructure that already carries communications traffic.

Ma Jihua, a veteran telecommunications market analyst, describes this phase as a practical testing ground. Certain 6G standards can be validated under real conditions while improvements to the existing network can deliver immediate commercial benefits. The approach links preparation for a future generation with better performance from the current one.

Existing 5G equipment handles standard traffic, while new Pre-6G nodes handle specialised applications requiring greater performance. Nodes are connection points within a network. Dividing the work this way allows ordinary services to continue while engineers test more demanding functions.

Backward compatibility is central to the design. In simple terms, it means that newer capabilities can work alongside the existing system. The Pre-6G approach lets operators improve their infrastructure while maintaining service, avoiding the disruption and expense of replacing the whole network at once.

The model represents an evolutionary route toward 6G, distinct from earlier generational changes that required new infrastructure deployments. It also creates a hybrid environment in which researchers can refine technologies intended for future standards before those standards are finalised.

A Foundation of Nearly Five Million Base Stations

China had approximately 4.958 million 5G base stations as of March 2026, forming the world's largest 5G network. A base station provides the radio connection between devices and the wider communications network. That existing scale gives the Pre-6G strategy a substantial foundation.

5G-Advanced services also cover 330 cities nationwide. This further development of 5G sits within the broader transition toward more capable wireless systems. The Nanjing project builds on an infrastructure base in which China has already made major investments.

Operators can use that foundation to explore new capabilities without abandoning the equipment supporting today's services. The practical value is continuity: standard traffic can remain on the established network while experimental nodes carry workloads that require more bandwidth, more reliable timing or new processing capabilities.

Industry observers also see an advantage for international standard setting. Operational data collected before formal specifications are finalised can help researchers support technical proposals with evidence about how a system behaves in practice. Nanjing therefore serves both as a network trial and as preparation for future standards discussions.

More Capacity and More Predictable Timing

The Nanjing network's reported performance gains come from several technologies working together. Channels with very high bandwidth can carry large volumes of data, while coverage over greater distances is intended to reach areas that were previously inaccessible.

Bandwidth describes how much information a connection can carry at a given time. Greater bandwidth is useful when an application must move large amounts of data, as holographic communication does, or when several demanding tasks share network resources.

Deterministic low latency is another key feature. Latency is the delay between sending information and receiving a response. Deterministic timing means that the delay is predictable, allowing an application to count on information arriving within a precise period.

A connection with predictable timing matters for activities that depend on coordinated movement. Aerial vehicles need consistent control responses measured in milliseconds, while industrial machinery needs dependable communication between different parts of a production process. Speed and consistency both matter in these settings.

The system also uses sophisticated signal processing and advanced antenna technologies to support demanding applications. Researchers expect these technologies to help form the basis of eventual international 6G standards. Operating them in a working network gives engineers insight into implementation challenges that laboratory testing cannot replicate.

Artificial Intelligence Becomes Part of the Network

Artificial intelligence is built directly into the Pre-6G infrastructure. Current systems generally use AI as an added service or application layer. The Nanjing architecture instead places machine intelligence within the network's own operations.

This design supports automatic resource optimisation, predictive maintenance and intelligent traffic routing without requiring external computing resources. Resource optimisation means directing available capacity where it is needed. Predictive maintenance uses information about equipment and network behaviour to anticipate problems.

The network can adapt as conditions change, allocating bandwidth and processing power without human intervention. That ability is intended to help it serve applications whose demands vary, while managing the resources needed to keep communications running.

Embodied intelligence and holographic communication are among the applications supported by the system. Embodied intelligence concerns intelligent machines, such as robots, that act in a physical environment. Holographic communication requires the transfer and processing of large amounts of information with minimal delay. Both place pressure on the network's capacity and response times.

Drones and Factories Put the System to Work

Low altitude inspection trials focus on drone fleets carrying out surveillance, infrastructure monitoring and delivery services. These activities need stable connections with high bandwidth as aircraft move rapidly through three dimensional space.

Predictable response times are especially valuable when controlling aerial vehicles in real time. A drone's connection must remain dependable as its position changes, making this a practical test of the network's coverage, timing and ability to handle movement.

The work supports China's growing low altitude economy, which includes urban air mobility and automated logistics systems. Successful deployment would connect advances in communications with services that depend on coordinating aircraft close to the ground.

Industrial manufacturing trials examine wireless control of complex production lines. Traditional factory automation relies heavily on wired connections because of their reliability. The Pre-6G network aims to demonstrate that wireless systems can match or exceed wired performance in both speed and dependability.

Wireless control could give factories greater freedom to change their layouts. It could also support mobile robotics systems, which are becoming increasingly central to modern manufacturing. The practical task is to maintain reliable coordination while equipment is no longer tied to fixed communications cables.

The four trial areas test different demands rather than a single measure of speed. Drone inspections examine communication during movement, manufacturing examines dependable control, and embodied intelligence and holographic communication require high throughput with minimal delay. Each also addresses commercial needs during the current five year planning period.

A Three Phase Route Toward 6G

China's Nanjing launch comes during the second phase of its technical 6G trials. The initial stage of research into key technologies has been completed, producing more than 300 technological advances. The next steps place greater weight on prototypes and the behaviour of connected systems.

The programme follows a three phase roadmap. Researchers first define the main technical directions, then develop prototypes for typical scenarios, and finally conduct system networking trials using equipment intended for testing before commercial deployment. The Nanjing network marks the broader shift toward practical system verification.

The main dates and stages are:

• 2018: Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City jointly established Purple Mountain Laboratories.
• March 2026: China had approximately 4.958 million 5G base stations.
• April 21, 2026: The Pre-6G test network began operating during the Global 6G Conference in Nanjing.
• 2026 through 2030: China's 15th Five Year Plan prioritises advanced telecommunications alongside other strategic technologies.
• Late 2028: Formal international 6G specifications are expected to be finalised.

The expected standards timetable gives the current trials a role in shaping future technical requirements. Engineers can use operational experience to develop proposals while the international process is still underway.

Patents, Funding and International Partners

China accounts for approximately 40 percent of global 6G patent filings, placing it in a strong position to participate in determining future technical norms. The Nanjing network adds practical operational data that can support Chinese proposals during international standardisation negotiations.

The launch also prompted the creation of the Nanjing 6G Future Industry Fund Cluster. It commits $485 million to core technology development, application integration and talent cultivation. The funding connects research on the network itself with work to develop applications and the people needed to build them.

Huawei, Qualcomm, China Mobile and Ericsson participate in the development ecosystem as technology partners. Their involvement gives the effort an international dimension alongside its role in China's national telecommunications strategy.

Ericsson maintains particularly substantial operations in Nanjing. That presence highlights continuing international collaboration in telecommunications development despite broader geopolitical tensions in the technology sector.

The combined role of patents, funding and network trials helps explain the project's strategic importance. Patent filings represent technological work, financial backing supports further development, and the operational network gives researchers a place to examine how proposed technologies function together.

Preparing for Connections Beyond Phones

Sixth generation ambitions reach beyond faster mobile downloads. While 5G focused mainly on improving mobile broadband and supporting the Internet of Things, 6G aims include integrated coverage across space, air and ground, intelligent connections between devices and digital twin capabilities.

The Internet of Things connects physical objects so they can exchange information. A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical object or system. These concepts help explain why future communications requirements extend beyond people using phones.

Intelligent agents and autonomous systems are also part of the intended service base, alongside people, machines and goods. Supporting them across different environments will require networks that combine capacity, coverage, predictable timing and intelligent management.

Zhang Yunming, vice minister of industry and information technology, has described preparations that bring together research into key core technologies, technical development, standard formulation and application cultivation. The ministry's coordinated approach aims to build foundations for both standardisation and industrialisation, so that Chinese industry has mature commercial solutions ready when international standards take shape.

During the 2026 to 2030 planning period, new materials, new energy, aerospace and the low altitude economy are expected to drive demand for advanced communications. The Pre-6G network is intended to address those emerging needs while producing the operational experience needed to guide future infrastructure designs.

Nanjing's immediate contribution is a working bridge between today's 5G foundation and the technologies being developed for 6G. Its trials bring together the questions that will determine practical performance: how much data a network can carry, how reliably it responds, how widely it reaches and how effectively it manages its own resources.

The Essentials

• China's first Pre-6G test network began operating in Nanjing on April 21, 2026, during the Global 6G Conference.
• Purple Mountain Laboratories developed the system, combining emerging 6G technologies with live 5G infrastructure.
• Capabilities reportedly reach up to 10 times those of existing 5G networks, with built in AI, greater bandwidth, extended coverage and predictable low latency.
• Trials cover low altitude inspections, industrial manufacturing, embodied intelligence and holographic communication.
• China had approximately 4.958 million 5G base stations in March 2026, and 5G-Advanced services cover 330 cities.
• China accounts for roughly 40 percent of global 6G patent filings. The Nanjing fund cluster commits $485 million to technology, applications and talent.
• Formal international 6G specifications are expected by late 2028, while China's current planning period runs through 2030.