6G Network Channel Simulation Patent Landscape 2026
The 6G channel simulation patent space is highly concentrated, with Chinese academic institutions — led by Southeast University and Purple Mountain Laboratory — dominating a field that has expanded sharply on a multi-year basis since meaningful filings began in 2021. Annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak, though recent years remain understated by publication lag, and the competitive structure is still forming with virtually all active filers entering as new entrants.
Southeast University and Purple Mountain Lab hold commanding positions in a nascent, highly concentrated field
Southeast University ranks first with 15 patent records, immediately followed by Purple Mountain Laboratory at 14 — together they account for the majority of top-tier activity. Samsung Electronics is the sole commercial hardware maker in the top three, at 5 patent records.
The top five filers collectively represent 59% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, signaling an unusually tight concentration for a field still in formation. A clear tier gap separates the top two academic leaders from the rest of the ranked applicants, most of whom hold only one or two patent records.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southeast University | 15 | |
| 2 | Purple Mountain Laboratory | 14 | |
| 3 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 5 | |
| 4 | UNIV OF SCI & TECH BEIJING | 3 | |
| 5 | Symbiosis International (Deemed University) | 2 | |
| 6 | Northeastern University (US) | 2 | |
| 7 | CHONGQING UNIV OF POSTS & TELECOMM | 2 | |
| 8 | BEIJING UNIV OF POSTS & TELECOMM | 2 | |
| 9 | Shandong University | 2 | |
| 10 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | HUNAN UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 12 | DR Industrial Robotic Technology Ltd. | 1 | |
| 13 | UNIV OF SHANGHAI FOR SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 14 | ANHUI TELECOMM PLANNING & DESIGNING | 1 | |
| 15 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | 1 | |
| 16 | ZTE Corporation | 1 | |
| 17 | JIANGSU UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 18 | XIAN UNIV OF POSTS & TELECOMM | 1 | |
| 19 | Xidian University | 1 | |
| 20 | SREYAS INST OF ENG & TECH | 1 |
The dominance of academic and public-research institutions — Southeast University, Purple Mountain Laboratory, University of Science and Technology Beijing, and multiple posts-and-telecommunications universities — implies that foundational channel-modeling methodology is still being established, and that commercial players have not yet staked large proprietary positions.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are subject to publication lag and will be revised upward as more applications publish; current counts for 2024–2026 should be treated as floors rather than final figures. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Rapid multi-year growth since 2021, anchored by transmission and wireless network technology classes
The filing trend shows a field that emerged from zero activity before 2021 and has since posted sharp multi-year growth, while the technology composition reveals a concentration in radio transmission and wireless network classes with an emerging AI computing thread.
Annual filing trend
Filings were absent through 2020 and began climbing in 2021, reaching a recorded peak in 2023 before easing in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 bars are materially understated by publication lag and should not be read as a plateau or decline. The multi-year growth rate of 1,250% signals that this is an early-stage but rapidly expanding field.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H04B (Transmission, general) is the dominant class, followed closely by H04W (Wireless communication networks) and H04L (Digital information transmission). G06N (AI-based computing) appears as a meaningful secondary branch, reflecting early integration of machine-learning methods into channel modeling. G06F (Electric digital data processing) and G06T (Image data processing) are sparse, flagging them as under-served adjacent branches.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Geometry-based stochastic channel modeling method …
Disclosed by the present disclosure is a geometry-based stochastic channel modeling method for an IIoT channel. The method includes the following steps: S<b>1</b>, setting a propagation scenario, propagation conditions, model parameters, an antenna configuration, and the like, S<b>2</b>, generating large-scale parameters with a spatial consistency… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intelligence and Learning in O-RAN for 5G and 6G C… | 95 |
| 2 | 一种适用于全频段全场景的6G普适信道建模方法 | 27 |
| 3 | 一种应用6G数字孪生的数字、智慧化建筑物 | 10 |
| 4 | Intelligence and learning in O-RAN for 5G and 6G c… | 10 |
| 5 | 6g pervasive channel modeling method suitable for … | 9 |
| 6 | 一种基于6G全覆盖场景分类的场景自适应信道建模方法 | 9 |
| 7 | 一种基于散射体密度的场景预测信道建模方法 | 6 |
| 8 | 一种工业物联网通信信道几何随机信道建模方法 | 6 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
The field’s early stage, academic dominance, tight concentration, and. China-centric geography each carry distinct implications for where and how new entrants can position.
Growth stage — multi-year expansion from a near-zero base, annual volume easing from 2023 peak
The lifecycle assessment classifies this field as Growth: recent three-year filings sit well above the prior three-year window, reflecting a 1,250% multi-year expansion. Annual volume has eased from the 2023 peak, but publication lag means recent-year counts understate true activity. Foundational channel-modeling standards are still being written, giving early movers a window to shape methodology before consolidation.
Growth stageTop two filers hold the majority of top-tier activity; commercial players are thinly represented
The top five filers account for 59% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, an unusually high figure for a nascent technology area. Southeast University and Purple Mountain Laboratory together set the methodological agenda. The near-absence of major telecom vendors — only Samsung (5 records), Huawei (2 records), and ZTE (1 record) appear — means that commercial IP positions are open for timely build-out.
Highly concentratedSoutheast University and Purple Mountain Laboratory are the field’s sole documented co-filing pair
Evidence records a single active co-applicant relationship: Southeast University and Purple Mountain Laboratory have co-filed 14 patent records together, making them not just the top two ranked filers individually but also the dominant collaborative axis. No other co-filing relationships are documented in the evidence, suggesting that collaborative IP activity is tightly clustered around this one institutional partnership.
Single dominant pairChina is the primary filing jurisdiction; PCT and US filings indicate early internationalization intent
China accounts for 33 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT at 8 and the United States at 6, with India at 3 and EPO at 1. The PCT and US filing activity, though modest, signals that at least some applicants are pursuing international protection — consistent with a field where Chinese research institutions are building toward global standardization influence. Non-Chinese entrants have a relatively clear runway in markets outside China.
China-centric, internationalizingGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast University | Purple Mountain Laboratory | 14 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Southeast University and Purple Mountain Laboratory lead on transmission modeling; Samsung differentiates on wireless network management
The top two players are closely linked academic institutions sharing a focus on H04B transmission modeling; Samsung Electronics represents the leading commercial entrant with a distinct wireless-network emphasis.
Southeast University
Southeast University holds 15 patent records, the highest in the field, with its portfolio concentrated in H04B 17 (channel measurement and modeling) and H04B 7 (MIMO and multi-antenna transmission). It entered this specific technology space as a new entrant in the recent filing window, accumulating 11 of those records in the most recent three-year period — evidence that its position is being actively built rather than inherited.
15 patent recordsSamsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics holds 5 patent records and is the highest-ranked commercial entity in the field. Its technology emphasis is differentiated from the academic leaders: it focuses on H04W 24 (network monitoring and testing) and G06N 3 (neural-network computing), alongside H04B 17. This AI-plus-wireless-management angle suggests a more system-level and deployment-oriented approach compared to the channel-measurement focus of the Chinese academic leaders. Samsung also entered as a new entrant in the recent filing window.
5 patent records| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast University | 11 | ▲ new entrant |
| Purple Mountain Laboratory | 10 | ▲ new entrant |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| University of Science and Technology Beijing | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in data processing and image generation adjacent to core channel simulation
Two IPC classes sit at the sparse periphery of the current corpus and represent under-served areas adjacent to the dominant transmission and wireless-network classes; both have plausible technical relevance to next-generation channel simulation.
G06F · Electric digital data processing
With only 5 patent records and a 6% share of the corpus, electric digital data processing is sparsely covered relative to the transmission-focused majority. Technically, this branch is relevant to software frameworks for channel emulation, digital-twin infrastructure, and simulation toolchain development — areas that would underpin real-time 6G channel modeling at scale. The sparse coverage and the fact that University of Science and Technology Beijing already shows activity here (with a focus on G06F 18 and G06F 30) suggest a realistic entry path for teams combining simulation software expertise with wireless channel knowledge.
Search this in Eureka →G06T · Image data processing & generation
G06T accounts for just 1 patent record and 1% of the corpus — the thinnest branch in the technology composition. Its relevance to 6G channel simulation lies in spatial visualization of propagation environments, point-cloud-based scene reconstruction for ray-tracing simulators, and generative models of channel environments. Given that ray-tracing and environment-modeling are active research threads in 6G channel work, this branch is an observation of current sparsity rather than a confirmed gap, but teams working on AI-driven channel generation or digital-twin rendering may find it under-exploited.
Search this in Eureka →How the leading applicants differ across technology routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H04B 17 · Transmission (general) | H04W 24 · Wireless communication networks | H04B 7 · Transmission (general) | G06N 3 · Computing based on AI models | H04W 16 · Wireless communication networks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast University | Strong · 15 | Emerging · 1 | Emerging · 3 | Emerging · 1 | Emerging · 1 |
| Purple Mountain Laboratory | Strong · 14 | Absent | Moderate · 3 | Emerging · 1 | Emerging · 1 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Moderate · 2 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Moderate · 2 | Moderate · 1 |
| Symbiosis International (Deemed University) | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Strong · 2 |
| Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications | Strong · 2 | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
| Shandong University | Moderate · 1 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 1 |
| University of Science and Technology Beijing | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Moderate · 1 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus stands at 51 patent families in scope. This is a small but fast-growing field: meaningful filings began only in 2021 and the multi-year growth rate reached 1,250% compared with the prior equivalent window.
Southeast University ranks first with 15 patent records, followed closely by Purple Mountain Laboratory at 14. Together they represent the dominant institutional axis in the field, reinforced by a documented co-filing relationship covering 14 shared patent records.
The field is classified as Growth stage. Recent three-year filings sit well above the prior three-year window, reflecting a 1,250% multi-year expansion. Annual volume has eased from the 2023 recorded peak, but publication lag means 2024–2026 counts are understated and should not be read as a real-terms decline.
China is the primary filing jurisdiction with 33 patent records, followed by WIPO PCT at 8 and the United States at 6. India accounts for 3 records and the European Patent Office for 1. The strong China lead reflects the dominance of Chinese academic institutions in this space.
The field is currently dominated by academic and public-research institutions. The highest-ranked commercial entities are Samsung Electronics (5 patent records), Huawei Technologies (2 records), and ZTE (1 record). This thin commercial presence suggests that proprietary industrial IP positions are still open for development.
The most cited reference in the corpus is a work on intelligence and learning in O-RAN for 5G and 6G, with 95 citations. The next most cited is a Chinese-language patent on a 6G universal channel modeling method applicable to full-band and full-scenario conditions, with 27 citations — reflecting the centrality of pervasive channel modeling methodology to the field.
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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.
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