Pioneer in 6G Research

New horizons ask for new technology. It is true that 6G will greatly benefit from 5G in areas such as edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), network slicing, and others. At the same time, wireless technology research needs to match new 6G technical requirements. 

The most sensible demand is understanding how to work in the sub-terahertz frequency. While 5G needs to operate in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands of 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz to achieve its full potential, the next generation of mobile connectivity will likely move to frequencies above 100 GHz in the ranges called sub-terahertz and possibly as high as true terahertz.

Another area of research interest is designing 6G networks for AI and ML. 5G networks are starting to look at adding AI and ML to existing networks, but with 6G we have the opportunity to build networks from the ground up that are designed to work natively with these technologies.

There is also a challenge that 6G aims to tackle: security. How to ensure the data is safe and that only authorized people can have access to it — and solutions to make systems foresee complex attacks automatically.

One last technical demand is virtualization. As 6G evolves, we will start to move to the virtual environment. Open RAN (O-RAN) architectures are moving more processing and functionality into the cloud today. Solutions like edge computing will be more and more common in the future.

As 6G is expected to be commercially available by 2030, several industry groups have published their 6G visions, including the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN), the 6G Flagship, and the Next G Alliance. The use cases and applications for next-generation communication technologies envisioned by these organizations are summarized below:

Ubiquitous connectivity: Under 6G, improved inclusivity and bridging of the digital divide are pivotal social objectives. Voice, video, and broadband services will be available even in remote areas and disaster zones through advances beyond 5G, such as better non-terrestrial networks, airborne and space-borne base station swarms, and mesh access networks.

Immersive personal digital experiences: Network bandwidths of 50-200 gigabits per second (Gbps) are expected, perhaps even one terabit per second (Tbps). With per-device throughputs of 300-500 megabits per second (Mbps) and microsecond latencies, users will enjoy rich communication and digital experiences through immersive high-resolution video calls, extended reality displays, and remote telepresence through multi-sensory and holographic interfaces.

Joint communications and sensing: The sub-terahertz frequencies considered under 6G will enable the combination of communication signals with waveforms that resemble those of imaging radars. Research is underway to re-use the same antennas, transceivers, and spectrum for both communications and sensing, enabling use cases like using smartphones for autonomous driving or detecting people in low-visibility rescue missions.

Automobiles: Automobile companies are actively researching and prototyping the use of 6G technologies for improved autonomous driving systems, real-time data processing, vehicle-to-everything communication, and advanced sensing capabilities.

Industrial-scale communications: Expect widespread public and private networks with extensive use of internet-of-things (IoT) devices for smart cities, agriculture, transportation, energy grids, and environmental monitoring.

Precise positioning: Indoor and outdoor positioning with accuracies of 1-10 centimeters (cm) will enable precise object and presence detection, navigation, imaging, and mapping.

Sustainability is a critical driver for 6G research and development. In December 2023, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) published details of the 6G "IMT-2030 Framework" in Recommendation ITU-R M.2160. 

IMT-2030 is also expected to help address the need for increased environmental, social and economic sustainability, and also support the goals of the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.