6G: From Connectivity Infrastructure to Guaranteed Digital Services

Abstract

Sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks offer an opportunity to align network architecture with operator control, verifiable service outcomes, and governed automation. This article develops four complementary contributions. The Control Compact allocates ownership and governance responsibilities through an own-federate-consume taxonomy. The Guarantee Economy proposes six outcome-priced service tiers aligned with IMT-2030 usage scenarios. The Network MCP Platform, the principal contribution, is a conceptual reference architecture that uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect agentic workflows to operational tools and telecom execution interfaces under operator-defined governance. Two real-network examples from Rakuten Mobile illustrate MCP-enabled agentic workflows: radio access network (RAN) second-line (L2) support combines diagnosis, remediation, and outcome verification, while IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) availability investigation combines evidence collection, adaptive investigation, and reporting. These examples support operational feasibility; evaluation of the complete platform, and its performance and security properties, remains future work. A separate TM Forum Level 4 assessment corroborates deployed closed-loop autonomy for a scoped RAN energy-optimization scenario. The fourth contribution presents Rakuten Mobile's public standardization position and a phased deployment roadmap. The analysis distinguishes operational records, external assessment evidence, standards-based requirements, and proposed architectural and commercial extensions. It identifies validation requirements for broader deployment and outcome-based service assurance.

arXiv commentResubmitted to IEEE Access (Manuscript ID: Access-2026-53703; resubmission of Access-2026-37371). 38 pages, 20 figures, 18 tables, 126 references