Plans from the latest 3GPP meeting indicate a shift towards the direction favored by operators, particularly regarding the 6G air interface. This means that operators are less likely to have to replace RAN equipment. These plans are in the early stages, but they show a sense of willingness to keep things simple and a softening of the more extreme ambitions for 6G standards. We noted in our coverage of the 3GPP’s 5G specifications, many years ago, that some mobile stakeholders were frustrated that the first wave of standards stuck with OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) in the air interface, rather than adopting a more radical modulation technology. Those players will likely be disappointed again by the recent news that the…