Keysight Technologies, Inc. and MediaTek have collaborated to advance pre-6G integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) technology. That is, merging data transmission and sensing within a single radio framework and demonstrating superior spectral efficiency compared to current 5G approaches.

This milestone is intended to inform the emerging 6G ISAC effort in 3GPP and represents a key step toward practical 6G deployment. A demonstration of this achievement will be featured at the Brooklyn 6G Summit, November 5-7, 2025.

Efficient Fusion of Sensing, Communication

As wireless networks evolve toward 6G, ISAC is emerging as a key capability that enables devices to communicate and sense their surroundings using the same radio channel. Current methods, such as time-slot blanking, reserve entire frames for sensing, which limits throughput and reduces overall spectrum efficiency.

To make ISAC viable for large-scale use, a more flexible approach is required. For operators, even single-digit spectral-efficiency gains can deliver meaningful capacity and cost benefits at scale. For device makers, clearer ISAC scheduling in standards gives a defined target for chipset optimization and future performance.

Keysight addressed this challenge by enabling smarter sharing of radio resources so sensing and communication operate together efficiently within the same spectrum. This collaboration with MediaTek demonstrates that radar sensing and data transmission can coexist without compromising quality, latency, and throughput. 

Building on its proven expertise in wireless test and emulation, Keysight applied advanced capabilities from its Network Emulation Solutions portfolio to support efficient spectrum sharing for future 6G systems.

The result is a high-performance ISAC setup that demonstrates superior spectral efficiency compared with current 5G approaches. Through this collaboration, MediaTek gains increased confidence in integrated sensing and communication techniques, supporting higher network efficiency and improved device throughput for future 6G applications.

05 November 2025