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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/5g-and-6g-cell-free-massive-mimo-patent-landscape-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-08-31 · downloaded from the live page
5G & 6G Patent LandscapeCell-Free Massive MIMO Patents: Who Holds the Ground Between 5G and 6G
A data-driven look at cell-free massive MIMO patent filings: who leads, how concentrated the field is, which IPC classes dominate, and where white space remains through 2026.
168
Published Records
45%
Top-5 Share of All Records
+40%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth = 2021 (20 records) → 2024 (28); 2024 is the last year we treat as complete. Top-5 share = the 5 largest assignees ÷ all 168 records in scope (CR5), not the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··6 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What the cell-free massive MIMO patent record shows
Cell-free massive MIMO replaces the single serving base station of conventional cellular networks with a distributed grid of access points coordinating over a shared fronthaul, aiming to remove cell-edge weakness and deliver uniform service quality. The patent record captured here spans 168 published records from 2015 through the 2026 data cut-off, drawn from a search targeting the term itself and closely related massive-MIMO-plus-cell-free claim language. It is a young but active field: the first filing surfaces in 2017, and the filing count has grown roughly every year since, peaking at 31 in 2022.
Ownership is not evenly spread. A small group of assignees — telecom equipment vendors, national carriers and a handful of research institutes — account for well over half of the ranked filings, while a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants fills out the remainder of the 67 companies the ranking covers.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015–2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on 5G & 6G: Cell-Free Massive MIMO Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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The Numbers
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 168-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Annual filings moved from a single record in 2017 to a peak of 31 in 2022, then continued at a high level; 2021 to 2024 alone saw a 40% rise, from 20 to 28 filings. 2025 and 2026 figures will rise as later-filed applications publish — publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent years understate true activity.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in. Growth rates on this page therefore end at 2024; running them to the last bar would understate the field.
IPC subclass composition
H04B (transmission, general) touches 78.0% of the 168 records and H04W (wireless communication networks) touches 67.3%, confirming that most claims are anchored in physical-layer transmission and network architecture rather than adjacent domains. H04L (digital information transmission) appears in 26.2% of records, while AI-model computing (G06N, 4.2%), antennas (H01Q, 3.6%) and positioning (G01S, 1.8%) remain minor by comparison. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add to more than 100% and should be read against the 168-record total, not against each other.
Shares are the percentage of the 168 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on 5G & 6G: Cell-Free Massive MIMO Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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The most-cited records in this dataset
Representative filing
US20220123795A1 — Cell-free massive MIMO transmission method, and apparatus for the same
ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The filing describes a control-point operation that requests status reports from terminals, decides whether to switch part of the terminal population from basic transmission mode into cell-free massive MIMO mode based on those reports, and then instructs the affected terminals and access nodes to configure that mode — including determining the analog beams and/or digital precoders the access nodes should apply based on channel quality between terminals and access nodes.Filed by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute; the most-cited record in this dataset at 18 citations.
Most-cited cell-free massive MIMO records
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20220123795A1 | Cell-free massive MIMO transmission method, and apparatus for the same | 18 |
| 2 | US20180014305A1 | Apparatus configured to approximate a power coefficient in a cell-free massive MIMO wireless system and metho… | 14 |
| 3 | US20230006713A1 | Precoding tracking for cell free massive MIMO | 13 |
| 4 | WO2024198410A1 | 基于无人机辅助的去蜂窝大规模MIMO系统的资源优化方法 | 11 |
| 5 | US20220321179A1 | Broadcast and multicast transmission in a distributed massive MIMO network | 11 |
| 6 | WO2020076203A1 | Methods and apparatuses for cell-free massive MIMO communication | 11 |
| 7 | US20220190890A1 | Massive MIMO systems with wireless fronthaul | 10 |
| 8 | US20210344389A1 | Methods and apparatuses for cell-free massive MIMO communication | 10 |
| 9 | US20160227577A1 | Pilot Assignment in Cell Free Massive MIMO Wireless Systems | 9 |
| 10 | WO2020234486A1 | Broadcast and multicast transmission in a distributed massive MIMO network | 7 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older records that have had more time to accumulate citations — treat them as a signal of influence rather than of current technical importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on 5G & 6G: Cell-Free Massive MIMO Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the concentration and composition numbers mean for filing strategy
Three figures worth sitting with before deciding where to file or which claims to design around.
Concentration
45.2%
of 168 records held by top 5
The leader board is short and the tail is long
The single leading assignee holds 22 records, with fifth place at 9 and tenth place at 5 — a steep drop-off after the first handful of names. Combined with 67 ranked companies total, this points to a field where a small group has staked out broad transmission-layer claims while most other filers hold one or two records each.
Read the assignee ranking as leaders plus a long tail, not as a flat field.
Growth
+40%
filings, 2021 to 2024
Activity is still rising, not cooling
Filings grew from 20 in 2021 to 28 in 2024, the last year the dataset treats as complete given typical 18-month publication lag. The 2022 peak of 31 filings sits inside that window, meaning the field has already produced its heaviest single year and kept filing at pace afterward rather than tapering off.
Do not read 2025-2026 dips as a slowdown — those years are still filling in.
Technology mix
78.0% / 4.2%
H04B share vs. G06N share
Physical-layer claims dominate; AI-driven control is barely claimed
H04B and H04W between them touch most of the 168 records, meaning claim space around transmission mechanics and network architecture is already dense. G06N (AI-model computing) appears in only 4.2% of records, suggesting that AI-driven resource allocation, beam management or access-point clustering specific to cell-free massive MIMO is far less claimed territory.
Under-claimed IPC classes are a starting point for freedom-to-operate checks, not a guarantee of clear space.
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Co-filing patterns
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Harbin Institute of Technology | Beijing Mechanical Equipment Institute | 8 |
| Harbin Institute of Technology | Beijing Hept Technology Co., Ltd. | 4 |
| Beijing Mechanical Equipment Institute | Beijing Hept Technology Co., Ltd. | 4 |
| Rakuten Mobile, Inc. | Rakuten Symphony, Inc. | 4 |
| Rakuten Mobile, Inc. | Altiostar Networks, Inc. | 3 |
| Rakuten Mobile, Inc. | Rakuten Symphony Singapore Pte. Ltd. | 3 |
| Hanbat National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation | Hanbat National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation | 2 |
The dataset records 7 co-assignee pairs, with the strongest pairing appearing 8 times — evidence of a small cluster of research-institute and industry co-filing relationships rather than a broad collaboration network across the field.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on 5G & 6G: Cell-Free Massive MIMO Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Where to take this analysis
The numbers on this page describe where the field stands; deciding what to do with them takes a closer read of specific claims.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leaders
With 45.2% of records held by five assignees, any new filing in H04B or H04W transmission claims should be checked against those portfolios first.
Explore assignee portfolios in EurekaMap the under-claimed branches
G06N, H01Q and G01S sit under 5% of records each — worth a deeper look before assuming AI-driven or antenna-specific claims are already occupied.
Run a white-space search in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on 5G & 6G: Cell-Free Massive MIMO Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about cell-free massive MIMO patents
The dataset ranks 67 companies by filings, and the leading assignee holds 22 of the 168 records in scope. The top five assignees combined hold 45.2% of all records, and the top ten hold 65.5%, so ownership is concentrated at the top with a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants beneath it. Telecom equipment vendors, national carriers and research institutes make up most of that leading group, reflecting where standardisation and commercial deployment interest currently sits.
It is still growing on the numbers that can be trusted. Filings rose 40% from 20 in 2021 to 28 in 2024, and 2024 is the most recent year the dataset treats as complete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. The 2022 peak of 31 filings shows the field's heaviest year already happened, but activity has continued at a high level since, not tapered off.
H04B (transmission, general) and H04W (wireless communication networks) dominate, appearing in 78.0% and 67.3% of the 168 records respectively. H04L (digital information transmission) covers 26.2% of records. Smaller shares fall in G06N (AI-model computing), H01Q (antennas), G01S (positioning) and G06F (data processing), each under 5%, which marks those as comparatively open branches relative to the physical-layer core.
US20220123795A1, filed by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute for a cell-free massive MIMO transmission method and apparatus, is the most-cited record in this dataset at 18 citations. It covers a control-point method for switching terminals into cell-free massive MIMO mode and configuring the beams or precoders access nodes apply to them. Because citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings, this ranking is a signal of influence within the corpus rather than a measure of current commercial importance.
The composition data points toward AI-model computing (G06N, 4.2% of records), antenna-specific claims (H01Q, 3.6%) and positioning (G01S, 1.8%) as comparatively under-claimed relative to the dense H04B and H04W core. That does not guarantee freedom to operate — it means fewer records carry that class, so a targeted prior-art search on the specific claim language is still necessary before filing. Given how concentrated the top of the assignee ranking is, checking those leading portfolios for adjacent claims in those same classes is a sensible next step.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on 5G & 6G: Cell-Free Massive MIMO Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.