Will the 6G market size exceed $1 billion in 2028? What are its typical features and potential applications?

Industry experts point out that 6G will achieve speeds of up to 1Tbps, promote future technological innovation, and reshape business models. According to research institutions, the global 6G market size will reach approximately US$1.04 billion in 2028 and approximately US$40.99 billion in 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 150.4%.

6G has the inherent power to provide an extremely immersive intelligent experience, and the technological potential is obvious. It will blur the boundaries between physical and online platforms, opening up multiple opportunities. In other words, 6G technology will promote the integration and collision of the real world and the virtual world, closely connecting people's work and life, and freely interacting socially in the virtual world.

Despite its huge potential, the industry as a whole predicts that it will take some time for 6G to arrive. So, where is the current development of 6G?

6G network: Framework agreement is being planned

There are currently no standards for 6G networks, as there is still a lot of work to be done on power consumption and wireless signal transmission. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set 95GHz and 3THz as the initial research and development frequencies for 6G.

According to industry media reports, the University of Oulu in Finland has launched the 6Genesis research project, which aims to establish a 6G vision for 2030. The institution has also decided to cooperate with Japan's Beyond5G Promotion Alliance on the research of Finland's flagship 6G network.

In addition, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) of South Korea is experimenting with the terahertz frequency band for 6G. In contrast, Samsung plans to invest more than $355 billion in chip manufacturing to promote the development and advancement of 6G architecture.

6G technology: the advancement of many technologies

It may take another decade for 6G technology to be commercialized, as there is still a lot of work to be done. Industry experts must think about providing faster speeds, greater capacity and lower latency than 5G networks.

Since the 6G network will promote the integration of existing technologies, it will be a multi-interface network. Industry experts are exploring the hybrid application of 6G technology, but infrastructure transformation is required. For example, the 6G bearer network needs to upgrade the performance of fiber broadband connections to avoid signal loss during data transmission at terahertz (THz) frequencies.

Japanese telecommunications company NTT uses an end-to-end optical communication architecture called Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) in its 6G exploration. Its network cluster uses photons for fast data transmission without converting data into electrical signals. Compared with traditional methods, NTT claims to improve power consumption, end-to-end latency and transmission capacity by 100 times.

Industry experts point out that 6G technology will promote the integration of WiFi and cellular communication technologies and achieve standardized interoperability. Of course, the vision of 6G and any standardized approach are likely to change before widespread commercial application.

Typical features and potential applications of 6G networks

Industry experts generally believe that 6G networks will change the world due to their wide applications.

• 6G networks will introduce multi-sensory technologies to establish new ways of socializing and interacting with the environment through all senses. This means that 6G networks will eliminate physical and time-related limitations through holographic imaging and simplifying connections between people and machines. At the same time, almost all networks will be driven by artificial intelligence, promoting complete digitalization.
• Terahertz communications (THz), Joint Communications and Sensing (JCAS), artificial intelligence and machine learning, reconfigurable smart surfaces (RIS), and visible light communications (VLC) are all technological advances that will transform the 6G era. Joint Communications and Sensing (JCAS) will improve communications through effective beam management, alignment, and feedback. It will enable new applications, including gesture recognition, vulnerable user detection, and human-computer interaction.
• 6G networks will include ultra-wideband, low latency, high intelligence, and spatialization. These factors will facilitate better communication and allow for the unlimited use of immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity holographic images, and digital copies. In addition, 6G networks will be built with cloud storage in mind for efficient reprogrammability.
• A strong driver behind 6G networks is the upcoming deployment of connected robotics and autonomous systems (CRAS), including efficient drone delivery, self-driving cars and autonomous robots. CRAS has control system-driven latency requirements and potential demand for enhanced mobile broadband (EMBB) transmission of high-definition maps, which are difficult to meet with 5G.
• Authentication solutions will be extremely important for 6G networks. This means that the availability of fast data transmission will allow experts to communicate with each other effectively and detect fraud immediately. In this way, it will allow fast local and cross-border communication, enabling law enforcement agencies to conduct effective investigations.

summary:

The demand for large-scale development and intelligent networks is an important factor in the growth of the global 6G market. The arrival of 6G technology will solve the problems faced by 5G networks. The use of higher-frequency 6G networks for fast data transmission is very attractive to research institutions and the communications industry. Technological progress will promote the exploration and formulation of 6G standards, thereby promoting the development of 6G.