6G Network Energy Efficiency Patent Landscape 2026
Samsung Electronics dominates a highly concentrated and rapidly growing field, holding a commanding share of the 431 patent families identified globally. Filing activity surged from near-zero before 2020 to triple-digit annual volumes by 2023–2024, signaling an early but fast-moving growth phase driven primarily by wireless network power control innovation.
Samsung leads a highly concentrated field with a wide margin over all challengers
Samsung Electronics sits alone at the top of the applicant ranking with 347 patent families, dwarfing the second-ranked entity and establishing the clearest single-firm dominance seen in an early-stage wireless technology field.
The top five filers account for 80% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers—an unusually high concentration ratio that indicates a two-tier structure: one dominant incumbent and a long tail of small or individual filers with single-digit counts.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 347 | |
| 2 | The Massengill Family Trust | 30 | |
| 3 | Newman David E. | 19 | |
| 4 | British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group) | 4 | |
| 5 | Tejas Networks Ltd. | 4 | |
| 6 | North China Electric Power University | 3 | |
| 7 | Symbiosis International (Deemed University) | 2 | |
| 8 | SREYAS INST OF ENG & TECH | 2 | |
| 9 | MediaTek Inc. | 2 | |
| 10 | BEIJING SAMSUNG TELECOM R&D CENT | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | UltraLogic 6G LLC | 2 | |
| 12 | SR University | 2 | |
| 13 | SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY R&DB FOUNDATION | 2 | |
| 14 | LG Electronics Inc. | 2 | |
| 15 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 16 | Shweta P. Sondawale | 1 | |
| 17 | H. Srinivasa Murthy | 1 | |
| 18 | B. Lakshmi Dhevi | 1 | |
| 19 | Graphic Era (Deemed to be University) | 1 | |
| 20 | Mamatha A. | 1 |
Samsung’s position implies that any competitor seeking to challenge in core wireless energy-efficiency protocols will face dense prior art from a single well-resourced opponent, making design-around or adjacent-branch strategies more attractive than direct head-on filing.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are understated due to standard patent publication lag; the 2025 and 2026 figures should be treated as partial and will grow as applications publish. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Annual filings are still rising and dominated by wireless network power-control technology
Two structural features define this landscape: an explosive growth trajectory beginning in 2022–2023 and an overwhelming concentration of patents within a single IPC class. The charts below capture both dimensions.
Annual filing trend
Filings were essentially zero through 2019, reached 19 families in 2022, then jumped to 137 in 2023 and 180 in 2024—a 3,633% growth rate over the recent window. The 2025 and 2026 bars are incomplete due to publication lag and will rise substantially as pending applications publish; the field remains in an active growth phase.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H04W (wireless communication networks) accounts for every family in the corpus, confirming that energy efficiency work is being pursued almost entirely at the wireless network protocol layer. H04L (digital information transmission) and H04B (transmission general) appear as secondary branches, while AI-related class G06N holds a small but notable share, reflecting early integration of machine-learning approaches into power management.
↗ 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.
Method and apparatus for energy savings of a wirel…
The disclosure relates to a communication method for merging, with an IoT technology, a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a data transmission rate higher than that of a 4G system, and a system therefor. The disclosure provides methods for saving an energy of a BS. A method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system includes… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Method and apparatus for power control for network… | 19 |
| 2 | 一种智能超表面辅助无线供电网络的稳健能效优化方法 | 18 |
| 3 | Method and apparatus for implementation of ai/ML i… | 13 |
| 4 | Method and apparatus for energy performance policy | 12 |
| 5 | Method and communication network for providing acc… | 9 |
| 6 | AI-Based Power Allocation for Efficient 5G/6G Comm… | 9 |
| 7 | Method and device for signal transmission | 8 |
| 8 | Method and apparatus for handover of a user equipm… | 7 |
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 strategy
The combination of rapid growth, extreme concentration, and a dominant wireless-layer focus creates both significant barriers and navigable white space for new entrants. The four cards below translate the evidence into actionable strategic reads.
Early Growth — filings still rising from a near-zero base
The lifecycle stage is confirmed as Growth, with annual filings still rising and the most recent years understated by publication lag. The field only crossed single digits in 2021 and scaled to triple digits by 2023, meaning foundational IP positions are still being established and early movers retain meaningful first-mover advantage. Standards bodies have not yet locked core energy-efficiency specifications, leaving room for technically differentiated filings.
Growth stageOne dominant filer, a long tail of micro-filers
The top five filers hold 80% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output, and Samsung alone accounts for 347 of 431 total patent families. The second- and third-ranked entities are non-practicing or individual filers rather than major OEMs or network vendors, suggesting that large telecom operators and chipmakers have yet to mount a significant filing program. This creates exposure for Samsung’s competitors who have not yet staked IP positions.
Extreme concentrationSamsung co-files internally; broader ecosystem collaboration is sparse
The only co-filing relationships in evidence are between Samsung Electronics and its Beijing R&D center (Beijing Samsung Telecom R&D Center, 2 co-filed families) and between Samsung Electronics and Seoul National University R&DB Foundation (2 co-filed families). No cross-firm collaboration among independent parties is recorded, indicating the ecosystem has not yet developed the co-development partnerships typical of a maturing standards-driven field.
Sparse collaborationWIPO (PCT) leads, with Europe and the US as primary national-phase targets
WIPO (PCT) is the leading filing office with 143 patent records, followed by the European Patent Office with 111 and the United States with 100—signaling that major applicants are seeking broad international protection from the outset. India appears as a meaningful fourth jurisdiction with 40 records, likely driven by the large volume of Indian academic and SME filers visible in the applicant ranking. China holds 21 records and South Korea 17, both below what one might expect given Samsung’s Korean origin.
PCT-first strategyGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Beijing Samsung Telecom R&D Center | 2 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Seoul National University R&DB Foundation | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Samsung commands the field; British Telecom and Tejas Networks are the only telecom operators in the top tier
The applicant ranking is unusually steep: Samsung Electronics sits in a category of its own, while all other filers operate at single- or low-double-digit scale. The two cards below profile the leader and the most strategically notable challenger.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung holds 347 patent families and entered as a new entrant in the recent filing window, with 285 families filed in the recent period alone—confirming that its dominant position was built almost entirely within the last two to three years. Its technology focus is tightly concentrated in H04W 52 (wireless power control, 259 families), H04W 72 (resource management, 147 families), and H04W 24 (network monitoring, 141 families), indicating a systematic effort to cover the core energy-efficiency protocol stack for next-generation wireless networks.
families: 347British Telecom (BT Group)
British Telecom holds 4 patent families and entered as a new entrant in the recent filing window, with all 4 families filed recently. Unlike Samsung’s purely wireless-layer focus, BT’s technology emphasis spans H04B 17 (transmission measurement), H04W 24 (network monitoring), and G06N 3 (AI/neural network models)—suggesting a differentiated strategy that integrates AI-driven diagnostics with energy performance management, an approach that aligns with BT’s network operations role rather than device or chipset manufacturing.
families: 4| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 285 | ▲ new entrant |
| Newman David E. | 27 | ▲ new entrant |
| MASSENGILL R KEMP | 27 | ▲ new entrant |
| British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group) | 4 | ▲ new entrant |
| Tejas Networks Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| North China Electric Power University | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| MediaTek Inc. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
AI-driven optimization and multiplex communications are under-served relative to the wireless-layer core
Four IPC branches sit at the periphery of the dominant H04W core with low filing counts. Two of these show plausible technical value for 6G energy efficiency and merit monitoring as potential entry points.
G06N · AI and machine-learning models for energy optimization
With only 29 patent records—4% of the corpus—AI/ML-based approaches to 6G energy efficiency remain sparsely covered despite being a recognized technical direction: two of the eight most-cited patents in this field explicitly reference AI-based power allocation and AI/ML implementation in network energy performance. British Telecom’s filing emphasis on G06N 3 suggests at least one operator has identified this gap. Realistic entry paths include reinforcement-learning-based resource scheduling, neural network-driven sleep-mode management for base stations, and federated learning for distributed energy optimization—areas where academic filers have not yet built blocking positions.
Search this in Eureka →H04J · Multiplex communication and channel sharing for energy efficiency
H04J (multiplex communication) holds only 14 patent records and a 2% share of the corpus. Multiplexing techniques—particularly those enabling more efficient spectrum sharing to reduce per-bit energy costs—are central to 6G efficiency targets but appear largely unclaimed in this corpus. Entry paths include energy-aware non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) multiplexing designs that trade signal processing load for transmission power savings. This branch should be treated as an observation of relative sparsity rather than a validated opportunity without further freedom-to-operate analysis.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across the H04W sub-classes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H04W 52 · Wireless communication networks | H04W 24 · Wireless communication networks | H04W 72 · Wireless communication networks | H04W 76 · Wireless communication networks | H04B 7 · Transmission (general) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Strong · 259 | Strong · 141 | Strong · 147 | Moderate · 108 | Moderate · 62 |
| Massengill R. Kemp | Strong · 18 | Strong · 24 | Strong · 17 | Absent | Strong · 16 |
| Newman David E. | Strong · 18 | Strong · 24 | Strong · 17 | Absent | Strong · 16 |
| Tejas Networks Ltd. | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 3 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 |
| North China Electric Power University | Strong · 3 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent | Strong · 3 |
| British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group) | Absent | Strong · 4 | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
| Symbiosis International (Deemed University) | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 2 |
Frequently asked questions
The PatSnap Eureka corpus for this topic contains 431 patent families. Filing activity only became meaningful in 2020 and scaled rapidly through 2023 and 2024, so the corpus is still growing as new applications publish.
Samsung Electronics is the dominant filer with 347 patent families—more than ten times the count of the next-largest entity. Its focus is concentrated in wireless power control (H04W 52), resource management (H04W 72), and network monitoring (H04W 24).
The field is in a Growth stage. Annual filings were near zero before 2020 and reached 180 families in 2024, representing a 3,633% increase over the recent measurement window. The most recent year figures are understated due to publication lag.
WIPO (PCT) is the leading filing route, followed by the European Patent Office and the United States. India appears as a notable fourth jurisdiction, reflecting the significant volume of filings from Indian academic and engineering institutions visible in the applicant ranking.
Recorded co-filing activity is limited to two internal Samsung pairings: Samsung Electronics with its Beijing R&D center, and Samsung Electronics with Seoul National University R&DB Foundation, each with 2 co-filed families. No independent cross-firm co-filing relationships are in evidence.
The most notable under-served adjacent branches are G06N (AI and machine-learning models, 29 records at 4% share) and H04J (multiplex communication, 14 records at 2% share). Both sit at low filing density relative to the dominant H04W core and have plausible technical relevance to 6G energy efficiency, though further freedom-to-operate analysis is needed before treating either as a confirmed entry opportunity.
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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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