6G Is Coming, but Not for Your Next Trip: GSMA Sees 2.4 Billion Connections by 2035 as 3GPP Delays Its Migration Call
Headlines about 6G are getting louder, but two pieces of news from the week of 28 September 2026 put the timeline in perspective. GSMA Intelligence forecast that global 6G connections will reach 2.4 billion by 2035, starting from around 50 million at the end of 2030, when the first launches are expected. And at its plenary meetings in Madrid, 3GPP postponed its decision on how networks will migrate from 5G to 6G after members failed to agree on which options to support or how many to allow (as summarized by Cenerva's weekly 5G round-up).
What happened
The GSMA figure frames 6G as a long build rather than a sudden switch. Even on the optimistic curve, it takes roughly five years after first launches to reach a couple of billion connections. The 3GPP delay matters because the migration path decides how much of today's 5G investment carries forward, and until it is settled, operators are planning around a moving target. Some analysts have gone further, arguing that early 6G may look more like a refined 5G than a clean break.
Meanwhile, the 5G you already use is still getting its own firsts. T-Mobile US and Reliance Jio recently claimed the world's first 5G standalone international roaming connection, supporting both data and voice, which we covered in our report on the first 5G standalone roaming for US-India travelers. In the Gulf, du and Nokia announced the first six-carrier aggregation on a commercial 5G-Advanced network, combining 420 MHz of bandwidth.
Why it matters to travelers
Your next trip will run on 4G and 5G, not 6G. With first commercial 6G launches expected around 2030, no phone you can buy today will use it, and the first 6G roaming agreements will take longer still. Roaming is always the slowest part of a new generation, because two operators in two countries must both support the same features.
That means the things that decide your connection abroad are far more ordinary:
- Whether your phone supports the local 4G/5G bands. A great network is useless if your handset lacks the frequency.
- Whether the eSIM plan includes 5G in the country you visit. Many plans are 4G/LTE only even where 5G exists.
- Whether the local partner network is strong where you will actually be, such as an airport, a rural route, or a resort.
- How traffic is routed. Local breakout is usually faster than home-routed traffic.
For a broader view of what 5G eSIMs deliver today, see our comparison of which travel eSIMs actually give you 5G abroad.
Should you wait for 6G before buying a new phone?
No. A phone with solid eSIM support, dual SIM, and 5G bands for your regions will serve you for many years of travel. The 6G race is mostly about spectrum and standards; consumer benefits, such as higher uplink speeds, arrive late and unevenly. If anything, the more practical upgrade path for travelers is a phone that supports both a physical SIM or eSIM plus a second eSIM slot, so you can keep your home number while using a local data plan.
A practical checklist
- Confirm your phone is carrier-unlocked, which is required for any travel eSIM.
- Check that it supports eSIM and the bands of your destination.
- Choose a plan sized to your trip, and compare price per GB across durations.
- Install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi and activate it when you land.
- Keep your home line for calls and SMS codes, and turn off data roaming on it.
HOLASIM travel eSIMs are designed for exactly this routine: install before departure, connect on arrival, and skip roaming fees.
The bottom line
6G is a 2030s story. For the trips you are planning this year and next, what matters is 4G and 5G coverage, phone compatibility, and a plan that matches your days and data. Spend your energy on those, and treat 6G headlines as background noise for now.
Sources: Cenerva 5G News Round-Up for the week to 28 September 2026, citing GSMA Intelligence and 3GPP.