Only US 6G planning can reassert western economic and security risks and combat insecure Chinese telecommunications

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is beginning to plan for 6G wireless telecommunications, seeking to expand internet access while reasserting U.S. leadership in a sector where China has notched gains.

The White House on Friday will meet with corporate, government and academic experts to begin developing goals and strategies for the new 6G communications technology, which would have the ability to take cloud computing and the mobile internet to true global ubiquity, among other improvements.

The next generation of telecom is still years away from deployment, but it could pave the way for global internet access still unavailable with the current 5G standard, which makes smartphone downloads and wireless hot-spot connections faster. Expanding access to the internet has been a priority for the Biden administration as part of its infrastructure initiatives.

The 6G planning initiative also aims to reassert the leadership of the U.S. and its allies in telecommunications, where China has made gains thanks in part to careful nurturing of homegrown equipment manufacturing and increased participation in international standard-setting.

An administration official acknowledged that China used 5G effectively to advance its economic and national-security goals, such as gaining global market share over the West for its telecom-manufacturing companies, including Huawei Technologies Co.

“China really prioritized its telecom sector…and I think we may not have,” a senior administration official said in a press call Thursday.