In sub-THz mobile access networks, the utilization of cost-effective and energy-efficient hardware components plays a crucial role in enabling commercially and societally sustainable deployments. However, current semiconductor technologies and transceiver designs face challenges in scaling to sub-THz signals with multi-GHz bandwidths, resulting in prohibitive solutions. In this research topic, 6G-RIC researchers are pioneering the development of novel optimized analog signal processing architectures aimed at reducing the energy consumption and cost of conventional designs, while ensuring the performance required by the most advanced 6G applications.