The study was triggered by a contribution from BeammWave, a Nasdaq First North-listed Swedish chip company, to the RAN4#119 meeting in Dalian this month. At issue is the RF architecture used in millimetre-wave (mmWave) devices operating in 3GPP's FR2 frequency bands: most 5G implementations use analogue beamforming, which steers signals by adjusting antenna phase electronically, and BeammWave has been arguing that digital beamforming, which processes each antenna signal independently, is ready to be standardised as an alternative.
3GPP's agreement to open the feasibility study means the broader industry will now weigh in. The evaluation is set to examine two specific areas: how modern digital architectures compare to the 5G study phase on power consumption and unit cost, and what changes would be required to base-station specifications, radio resource management requirements, and network procedures to accommodate digital beamforming at scale.
Bringing Digital Beamforming to the standardization table is a critical step forward in addressing the reliability and performance of high-frequency FR2 networks. We look forward to continuing this work alongside the ecosystem to drive the digital evolution of 6G, ensuring future networks are both technically robust and commercially viable.
BeammWave's commercial position is tied directly to the outcome. The company's patented chip and antenna combination is built around digital beamforming, and inclusion in the 6G standard reference architecture would open procurement pathways with operators and device manufacturers that currently default to analogue designs. Getting the study approved at 3GPP is early-stage, but it removes the prior barrier where digital beamforming existed only as a proprietary claim rather than a standardised option.
The contribution is filed as R4-2607357. BeammWave AB's Class B shares trade on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm.
