The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has launched an initiative to rally more than 20 allied governments behind American leadership on 6G mobile network standards, with security and resilience cited as priorities. The move follows a December 2025 memo from President Trump on "Winning the 6G Race," widely understood to be aimed at countering China, which took an early lead in 5G development, notably through Huawei's large portfolio of standard-essential patents. The initiative is notable given that Washington has spent much of the past 18 months straining relations with the same allies it is now asking to cooperate.

Participating nations include the UK, the Nordic countries (home to Nokia and Ericsson), Japan, South Korea and Australia, all of whom have committed to deepening cooperation over the next 12 months and beyond. Planned milestones include industry engagement to assess the "political and economic landscape" for 6G, and a major 2027 review meeting to evaluate funding strategies, share research, assess cybersecurity risks, and align policy ahead of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27) in Shanghai. It follows an earlier US-UK Tech Prosperity Deal that also touched on 6G but was shelved by Trump amid trade disputes, as well as a separate industry-led Global Coalition on Telecommunications initiative on 6G security principles.