The Global Coalition on Telecommunications welcomes new members to continue advancing 6G technologies

BARCELONA, Spain, March 3, 2026 /CNW/ – Today, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Canada joined its partners in the Global Coalition on Telecommunications to advance international collaboration on the security and resilience of 6G. The coalition also welcomes Finland and Sweden as new members, expanding its global reach and strengthening its collective expertise in telecommunications policy, security and innovation.

As part of their cooperation, the members of the coalition have endorsed a new set of security and resilience principles for 6G[AB1] . This shared approach will ensure that next-generation telecommunications systems are secure, interoperable and resilient. These principles address priority areas such as secure-by-design architectures, quantum-safe cryptography, resilient network operations, trustworthy integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and diversified, interoperable supply chains, while also aiming to guide stakeholders involved in 6G’s development and future deployment.

Industry partners have also played a critical role in shaping these principles. Several Canadian and international telecommunications stakeholders have endorsed the security and resilience principles for 6G, including:

1Finity
AT&T
ATIS
BT Group
Ericsson
KDDI Corporation
NEC Corporation
NTT Docomo
NVIDIA
OREX SAI
Qualcomm
Rakuten Mobile
SoftBank
TELUS
Vidéotron
Virgin Media O2
Vodafone
Samsung
Keysight
Nokia

Canada’s participation in the coalition reflects its ongoing leadership in promoting trusted, secure and innovative telecommunications systems. The principles will guide future work within the coalition and collaboration with industry, academia and standards organizations to support secure and resilient 6G deployment globally. Building on this effort, the coalition members will continue exploring opportunities to strengthen cooperation with like-minded partners and expand the coalition in the pursuit of shared interests.

Quotes

“As the world prepares for 6G, ensuring that next-generation networks are secure and resilient is critical to protecting Canadians and strengthening our digital future. Canada is proud to work alongside international partners and industry leaders to advance these principles, and we welcome Finland and Sweden as new partners in this effort. Together, we are shaping a telecommunications ecosystem that is open, competitive and trusted.”
– The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

Quick facts

Canada is a founding member of the Global Coalition on Telecommunications, which was created in 2023, and is currently acting as chair of the Steering Group for the coalition until the end of 2026.
6G refers to the next generation of wireless communications after 5G. 6G technologies are expected to be significantly faster than current technologies while enabling many new applications that harness the Internet of Things, AI, integrated sensing and communication, and non-terrestrial networks, among other innovations.
Canada’s engagement with the coalition complements the endorsement of 2024 shared principles for 6G and ongoing work under Telecommunications Reliability Agenda.
Canada’s international cooperation under the coalition also continues to build on the Prague Proposals on Telecommunications Supplier Diversity and the United Kingdom’s Open RAN principles, which Canada endorsed in 2022.
The security and resilience principles for 6G highlight priority areas such as secure-by-design architecture, supply chain resilience, quantum-safe cryptography and resilient integration of AI in telecommunications.
The principles are intended to support early coordination among governments, industry, academia and standards bodies as 6G development progresses globally.

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