This year, it’s expected that 5G connections will exceed 1 billion, with 5G fast becoming the wireless network standard for mobile consumers.
As we see the expansion of 5G continue at pace, simultaneously research is ongoing into the next generation of wireless technology – 6G, which is set to be a key business enabler of the future.
In this article, we explore why 6G is a huge opportunity, how it will revolutionise manufacturing and other industries, and what we can expect for its future use cases.
What we can expect from 6G
With 6G we can expect data speeds ten times faster than what 5G was designed to be. Typically, experts talk about 10 to 100 Gbps being the targets for 6G, and so that means moving from the standards we follow in the licence exempt frequency bands IEEE 802.11ad, which were released in 2018, to 802.11ay which has just been ratified and supports raw data rates of 34 Gbps (Gigabits per second) or more.
Despite 6G research being in the early stages, we can expect much work to revolve around the extended use of even higher millimetre wave frequencies, up to 10 GHz.
According to the 5G Infrastructure Association, 6G will bring ‘a near-instant and unrestricted complete wireless connectivity. A new landscape will also emerge for the enterprises, as a result of the convergence that 6G will allow in the fields of connectivity, robotics, cloud and secure and trustworthy commerce. This will radically reshape the way enterprises operate.’
Addressing the challenge of uplink
Current mobile data networks are primarily designed to meet the needs of the individual consumers who have a clear preference for downlink (for example, video streaming) rather than uplink (such as uploading large video files from CCTV cameras) through their use of data.
However, for businesses and public sector organisations such as public transport networks, the uplink of massive quantities of data from cameras, sensors, or machinery, is critical for their operations.
The advent of 6G is addressing the deficits of current wireless technologies, particularly when it comes to uplink capacity required by businesses who need the uplink of vast quantities of data.
The business case for 6G and mmWave
6G is set to be an efficiency driver for industries that need to transmit ever larger quantities of data back to core networks to support real-time data analysis.
mmWave technology can accommodate extremely high data rates because of the huge available bandwidth and, as such, it is paving the way towards 6G.
The flexibility offered by mmWave technology also means that the capacity of the network to facilitate downlink or uplink of data can easily be changed based on business needs at any time.
There is therefore strong reason for optimism for the future of massive data upload within the next generation of wireless communication.
6G as a gateway to future innovation
With 6G we can also expect to see the advancement of what has been termed the ‘enhanced digital world experience’. We have already begun to see this as the 5G rollout accelerates with Facebook becoming Meta and moving to integrate VR experience as part of its offering. With 6G, we will see a deeper integration of physical and virtual worlds due to the higher bandwidth and lower latency available with 6G.
With the data rate of 6G being 10 times that of 5G, 6G opens up huge opportunities for businesses to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and machine learning (ML).
The low power usage of 6G will allow augmented reality (AR) to progress in leaps and bounds, as currently augmented reality requires high energy consumption. The low power usage that comes with 6G due to the fact it will be operating at high frequencies is especially encouraging as the world looks to tackle the climate crisis and reach net zero carbon emissions targets.
Blu Wireless’ mmWave system solutions typically target demanding infrastructure use cases in the transport, defence and private network markets. In these markets the advent of 6G will support demanding data hungry applications – such as rapid download / upload of Terabytes of data – with the transfer of one Terabyte of data reducing from one hour (with 2 Gbps 5G) to six minutes (with 20 Gbps 6G). Some examples of such applications can be seen in avionics with the simultaneous downloading of a Terabyte of engine management or mission data, the downloading of video security data for offline analysis and the uploading of multi-media content for inflight entertainment systems.
Why research into 6G makes economic sense
6G will be an efficiency driver for any industry looking to leverage big data. The business need for massive data upload and for processing large volumes of data is only going to increase, fuelled by accelerated automation and the use of AI and ML.
6G presents a real opportunity for businesses to transfer massive quantities of data to aid effective decision making and improve operational efficiencies.
But no individual organisation or business can advance the next generation of wireless communication on their own. 6G requires a concerted effort and investment by governments, trade associations and private businesses.
Investing in 6G makes sense for any government and economy asresearch into 6G simultaneously means a country is investing in the future of manufacturing and other industries. Those countries that ‘get it’, will thrive. Those that don’t, will be left behind.
