What Is 6G Technology?

Research to develop 6G technology is well underway.

What is 6G and what are the new technologies powering 6G for new use cases?

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6G research is actively underway as researchers and engineers are creating the next generation of global wireless systems. 6G will provide wireless connectivity that is more ubiquitous, efficient, and immersive than 5G and enable multiple new technologies and use cases.

In this video, we'll cover four main topics-- what is 6G, which technologies it will power, what new use cases it will enable. The 6G standard will be specified in the coming years and is expected to be ready by 2030. 6G requirements will first be set by the International Telecommunication Union with their IMT 2030 vision projects. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project will then work on delivering specifications to meet those requirements.

Since 6G networks can handle high data rates, new applications will be available to end users. To enable all these applications, 6G will use several enabling technologies, including higher frequency bands, such as sub-terahertz, artificial intelligence and machine learning, intelligent reflecting surfaces, non-terrestrial networks, and joint communication and sensing. Let's take a deeper look.

6G will provide maximum data rates in the order of hundreds of gigabits per second. To achieve this, signal bandwidth will have to increase, higher spectral efficiencies must be attained, and the use of higher frequency bands should be introduced. The main challenge in using higher frequencies is the high attenuation and path loss. Engineers need to use MIMO techniques and accurate channel models in millimeter-wave and sub-terahertz bands.

Channel models based on ray tracing have already provided good prediction capabilities at millimeter wave and are expected to do the same at higher frequencies. Engineers can apply artificial intelligence, including machine learning, deep learning, or reinforcement learning to configure, optimize, and self-organize 6G wireless communication systems. An AI workflow requires architecting, deep neural networks, and generating vast amounts of data for training them, which, in turn, needs GPU and parallel computing support for efficient training.

Reconfigurable intelligence surfaces allow us to control the propagation of signals between transmitters and receivers. You can control the surface properties dynamically through an array of reflecting elements. This way, 6G engineers have more flexibility in controlling radio environments and suppression of interference in high-density, urban, outdoor scenarios.

The present decade is marked by the emergence of non-terrestrial networks. NTNs include commercial drones, HAPS, and low Earth orbit satellites all working together to provide near universal coverage. 6G networks need to accurately localize wireless devices to optimize the transmissions. By introducing new frequencies, wireless networks can furnish highly accurate sensing and yield spatial knowledge of their physical surroundings. This is why 6G will use joint communication and sensing that integrates a wireless network's localization, sensing, and communication functions.