Verizon and Ericsson said on October 15, 2026, that they completed the first outdoor 6G field call using pre-standard equipment in the 7 GHz band at a Verizon commercial site in Concord, California. The companies stressed the test was a proof-of-concept demonstration, not a commercial 6G launch, and both VZ and ERIC shares rose the following day.
Verizon and Ericsson announced on October 15, 2026, that they had completed what they described as the world's first outdoor 6G field call, moving a pre-standard version of the next-generation wireless technology out of the lab and onto a live commercial network site for the first time.
According to the companies' joint statement, distributed via PR Newswire, the test took place at a Verizon commercial network site in Concord, California, and used the 7 GHz frequency band, one of the bands under consideration globally for future 6G deployments.
How the test was set up
Ericsson supplied a proof-of-concept 6G base station running a pre-standard 6G software stack with a 400 MHz carrier, installed inside the site's equipment shelter, Light Reading reported. The corresponding user equipment was housed in a mobile enclosure measuring roughly 12 by 8 feet, built with different wall and window materials so engineers could move it between outdoor and indoor positions.
Verizon and Ericsson said the setup let them measure coverage, throughput, latency, stability and feature behavior under realistic outdoor conditions, including both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight paths, foliage, and signal penetration from outside to inside through glass and various building materials.
This outdoor 6G milestone demonstrates how close industry collaboration helps us generate the key technical insights needed to shape global standards.
— Yago Tenorio, Chief Technology Officer, Verizon
Ericsson's Hannes Ekström said in the same joint statement that the field learnings gathered in Concord could help turn the promise of 6G into deployable technology and open up new possibilities for connectivity.
Not a commercial launch
Verizon and Ericsson were explicit that the demonstration is a proof-of-concept exercise and does not constitute a commercial 6G service launch. The companies said they will keep analyzing the data gathered in Concord and feed the findings into ongoing 6G research, testing and standards work.
TipRanks reported that the companies plan to continue evaluating 6G capabilities for future consumer and enterprise use cases, including what they described as immersive communications, AI-native services, and industrial automation and robotics.
Market reaction
Shares of both companies moved higher the day after the announcement. TipRanks reported that Verizon (VZ) stock rose 2.19% and Ericsson (ERIC) stock surged 9.03% on the Thursday following the news, even as broader markets faced pressure from inflation data and concerns about AI-related spending.
TipRanks also noted that Wall Street holds differing views on the two stocks: Verizon carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a price target implying additional upside, while Ericsson carries a Moderate Sell consensus rating with a target implying downside, according to the site's aggregated analyst data at the time of reporting.
Background
6G is the planned successor to current 5G networks and remains in early research and standardization stages worldwide, with global technical bodies yet to finalize specifications. Field trials such as this one are intended to generate real-world performance data that can inform those future standards before any commercial rollout, which industry participants have generally discussed as a development still years away.
Questions
Did Verizon and Ericsson launch commercial 6G service?
No. The companies explicitly said the Concord, California test was a pre-standard proof-of-concept demonstration, not a commercial 6G service launch.
Where and when did the 6G test take place?
The test took place on October 15, 2026, at a Verizon commercial network site in Concord, California, using the 7 GHz frequency band.
What equipment did Ericsson use for the test?
Ericsson deployed a proof-of-concept 6G base station with a pre-standard software stack and a 400 MHz carrier, paired with user equipment housed in a 12-by-8-foot mobile enclosure built with varied wall and window materials.
How did the stock market react to the announcement?
According to TipRanks, Verizon (VZ) shares rose 2.19% and Ericsson (ERIC) shares surged 9.03% the day after the announcement, even as broader markets faced pressure from inflation data and AI-spending concerns.
What will Verizon and Ericsson do next with the 6G data?
The companies said they will continue analyzing the field results to inform future 6G research, testing and standards development, and to explore potential use cases such as immersive communications and industrial automation, per TipRanks.
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