Chinese researchers have built the world’s first “all-frequency” 6G chip, capable of mobile internet speeds above 100 gigabits per second, according to the South China Morning Post.
The team, led by scientists from Peking University and City University of Hong Kong, integrated the entire spectrum from 0.5 GHz to 115 GHz into a thumbnail-sized device—work that traditionally required nine separate radio systems.
The 11mm by 1.7mm chip consolidates millimetre-wave and terahertz communications with low-frequency microwave bands, enabling seamless switching between ranges suited to both remote coverage and ultra-high-speed use cases.
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“There is an urgent need to tackle 6G development challenges,” said Professor Wang Xingjun of Peking University, citing surging device demand and the need to combine strengths across bands.
Higher frequencies bring huge bandwidth and very low latency for things like VR or robotic surgery; lower bands enable wide-area reach into mountains, subsea links, and even space.
At the core is photonic-electronic fusion. A broadband electro-optic modulator converts wireless signals to optical, which are processed through photonic components and transmitted via mixing between tunable lasers. All functional units sit on a single chip.
In testing, communication quality remained stable across the spectrum, the system tuned 6 GHz of frequency in 180 microseconds, and a single channel exceeded 100 Gbps. Guangming Daily reported the system can “rapidly, accurately and noiselessly” generate signals anywhere in the 0.5–115 GHz range. It also features “frequency-navigation” to hop instantly to a clear channel under interference.
The device supports multipurpose programmability and dynamic frequency adjustment, making it suitable for dense venues. The researchers say it establishes a hardware base for AI-native networks that adjust parameters on the fly and perform real-time environmental sensing. Next, they aim to build plug-and-play modules no larger than a USB stick for phones, base stations, drones, and IoT devices.
The geopolitical positioning in the 6G race
This breakthrough lands in the middle of a strategic contest over who sets the standards and supplies the base hardware for 6G. It underlines Beijing’s argument that China remains ahead in end-to-end “G-network” industrial capacity—from chip R&D and base-station radios to massive-scale deployments—while Washington, Seoul, and European capitals push their own roadmaps.
United States. The U.S. approach centers on a coalition model that marries big-tech platforms, cloud and semiconductor leaders, and telecom vendors to steer standards, spectrum policy, and interoperable architectures. Washington has prioritized open and virtualized RAN, export controls on advanced chips, and funding for domestic semiconductor capacity to keep U.S. firms central to AI-wireless convergence. American labs and companies lead in AI accelerators and cloud, which will be pivotal in 6G’s “AI-native” control plane.
The Chinese chip’s photonic-electronics fusion directly touches that frontier, raising the stakes for U.S. efforts to channel 6G toward open interfaces and domestic compute.
South Korea. Seoul has paired national strategy with industrial execution through Samsung and the big carriers, emphasizing early field trials, device-network co-design, and terahertz experimentation. Korea’s edge is speed from lab to street-level pilots and tight device-network integration. China’s all-frequency chip targets the same advantage by collapsing multi-band complexity into one module that can roam from low bands to terahertz without radio swaps.
Europe. The EU’s strengths lie in standards diplomacy and network equipment via Nokia and Ericsson. Brussels has leaned on coordinated spectrum policy, security vetting, and large research programs, aiming to codify energy efficiency, resilience, and interoperability into 6G blueprints.
A Chinese, photonics-driven “any-band” chip presses Europe to decide whether to double down on indigenous components or rely on third-country silicon while preserving vendor diversity in RAN.
Why Beijing can claim momentum in “G-network” leadership
China’s communications push is long-running. The country scaled 4G rapidly and then built the largest 5G footprint by sites and subscribers. Huawei, in particular, led the 5G rollout with broad portfolios in radios, core, transport, and devices, becoming the top global RAN supplier by share during much of the deployment window. That rise was checked when the United States moved to curb Huawei’s global reach through entity-list restrictions, export controls on advanced chips and design tools, and diplomacy urging allies to limit or exclude Huawei from 5G networks.
Several European countries tightened rules, and some operators ripped and replaced Huawei gear. The curbs dented Huawei’s global expansion, but inside China—and in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America—the vendor continued to ship at scale and iterate its technology stack.
The new all-frequency 6G chip underscores that China’s research pipeline remains deep and coordinated across universities, labs, and industry. Analysts believe that integrating 0.5–115 GHz on a single photonic-electronic platform is a strong signal that Chinese teams are aiming to collapse hardware complexity and push multi-band, AI-steered networks into practical modules. If these parts reach mass production and plug cleanly into base stations and devices, Beijing will have a tangible lever in standards talks and early trials.
What this means for the race ahead
It is believed that if China can translate this lab-proven chip into robust field hardware, it gains negotiating power in spectrum and standards forums and a head start on modules that roam seamlessly across low, mid, mmWave, and terahertz. The U.S. will lean on AI compute leadership, cloud-RAN, and open interfaces to keep networks flexible and vendor-diverse. South Korea will sprint on early commercialization and device-network polish. Europe will work to anchor security, energy efficiency, and supply-chain resilience into the rulebook.
The chip’s AI-native design is the battleground: whoever marries radios, photonics, and edge/cloud AI orchestration most effectively will shape not only 6G performance but also the economics of deployment in rural areas—the very gap this device is built to narrow.
