Verizon: AI demands architectural rethink for 6G, not incremental fixes

Verizon CTO Yago Tenorio said 6G needs an architectural overhaul as AI agents, sensors and wearables push uplink traffic, potentially shifting downlink/uplink ratios from 9:1 to 1:1. He criticized 5G standardization for too many options and too few implementations, urging the industry to embed network autonomy and use cases from the start ahead of a 2029/30 launch and LA28.

• Downlink/uplink ratio could shift from 9:1 to 1:1 due to AI
• Verizon floats fully decoupling uplink and downlink deployments
• 5G standardization offered seven options, too few implemented
• Verizon ran 70 million closed-loop automations in 2025