How will 6G develop in the future?

In the past two years, with the gradual popularization of 5G and the acceleration of commercialization, the exploration and discussion of 6G has also become the focus of discussion in the industry. As early as November 2019, my country's Ministry of Science and Technology launched the 6G technology research and development IMT-2030 promotion group, which was participated by 37 industry, academia and research institutions, and held a number of 6G seminars. The ITU and 3GPP, the relevant standard organizations in the field of communications, also gave a timetable for the formulation of 6G-related standards. my country's 6G research and development has officially started.

On May 12, Liu Liehong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, presided over a special meeting on 5G/6G, requiring the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group to further plan ahead, strengthen research, and promote the development of 6G in a steady and progressive manner. First, conduct in-depth research on 6G application scenarios. On the basis of the existing 5G, combined with the evolution of technology and the trend of economic and social development, research and propose the vision, needs and application scenarios of future 6G. Second, focus on promoting breakthroughs in key technological innovations. Focusing on 6G potential technologies such as terahertz communication, integrated communication perception, and the integration of communication and artificial intelligence, take the initiative to plan, deploy forward-looking deployment, and lay a solid foundation, and strive to achieve major breakthroughs in key core technologies. Third, actively promote international exchanges and cooperation.

On June 6, the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group (hereinafter referred to as the "Promotion Group") officially released the white paper "6G Overall Vision and Potential Key Technologies". As a phased achievement of the Promotion Group, this white paper covers the overall vision, eight business application scenarios, ten potential key technologies, etc., and elaborates on some thoughts on the development of 6G.

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Eight business application scenarios

The white paper proposes that the overall vision of 6G is "intelligent connection of all things, digital twins". In the future, 6G services will present new development trends such as immersion, intelligence, and globalization, forming eight major business applications such as immersive cloud XR (extended reality), holographic communication, sensory interconnection, intelligent interaction, communication perception, inclusive intelligence, digital twins, and global coverage.

Specifically, immersive business applications such as cloud-based XR, holographic communication, sensory interconnection, and intelligent interaction can not only bring users a more immersive and ultimate experience and meet the interactive needs of human multiple sensory, emotional, and conscious levels, but can also be widely used in entertainment life, medical health, industrial production and other fields, helping various industries to transform and upgrade their digitalization.

Smart business applications such as communication perception, inclusive intelligence, and digital twins will leverage new capabilities such as perception and intelligence to further enhance the performance of 6G communication systems. They will also help complete the digitization of the physical world and push humans into the virtualized world of digital twins.

With the help of the global seamless air-space-ground integrated network built by 6G, the full-area coverage service will eliminate all mobile communication coverage blind spots on the earth. 6G services will provide more universal service capabilities and promote the sustainable development of mankind.

Ten potential key technologies

To meet the above-mentioned business applications, the white paper also proposes ten potential key technology directions for 6G, including new air interfaces and new network architectures with inherent intelligence, new wireless technologies such as enhanced wireless air interface technology, new physical dimension wireless transmission technology, new spectrum utilization technology, and integrated communication perception technology, and new network technologies such as distributed network architecture, computing power-aware network, deterministic network, integrated satellite-ground networking, and inherent network security.

In addition, the white paper elaborates on the views of the promotion team on four key issues in the development of 6G. Regarding the relationship between the development of 5G and 6G, the white paper proposes that 6G will transition from the Internet of Everything to the Intelligent Internet of Everything based on 5G. The successful commercial use of 5G, especially its widespread application in vertical industries, will lay a good foundation for the development of 6G.

Regarding the issue of 6G spectrum resources, the white paper states that 6G will expand to higher frequency bands and efficiently utilize low, medium and high spectrum resources. Among them, low-frequency band spectrum will still be a strategic resource for the development of 6G, millimeter waves will play a more important role in the 6G era, and higher frequency bands such as terahertz will focus on meeting the short-distance and high-capacity needs of specific scenarios.

Regarding the intelligent evolution of 6G, the white paper points out that intelligent empowerment of all things and endogenous wisdom will become important characteristics of 6G, and the deep integration of artificial intelligence and communication technology will trigger all-round innovation in network information technology.

Regarding the relationship between non-ground communications such as satellites and cellular networks, the white paper stated that the future 6G network will still be based on ground cellular networks, and various non-ground communications such as satellites, drones, and aerial platforms will play an important role in achieving seamless coverage of integrated air, land, and space.

The world is actively deploying 6G

Not only that, the white paper points out that the global 6G development is still in the early research stage. 3GPP 6G technology pre-research and international standardization are expected to start after 2025 and be commercialized around 2030.

It is reported that at present, international organizations around the world have started 6G-related work, the earliest of which is ITU-T, which has carried out relevant research on some potential technical directions of 6G. ITU-R has also started research on 6G vision and technical trends, but there is a lot of controversy about the timetable for the completion of 6G standards. One view is that it is expected to be completed in 2028, while another view is that it is expected to continue the 10-year standard evolution timetable and be completed in 2030.

Subsequently, 3GPP will formulate a 6G standard schedule based on the specific schedule of ITU-R. It is expected that 3GPP's 6G standard formulation work will start around 2026.

Despite this, countries are unwilling to fall behind and are quietly starting the battle for 6G by taking the lead while groping in the dark.

In China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology revealed in 2018 that it had begun researching 6G technology. In November 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and others launched the research and development of my country's sixth-generation mobile communication technology. The establishment of the 6G technology research and development promotion working group and the overall expert group marked the official launch of my country's 6G technology research and development work.

The United States and Japan announced a joint investment of $4.5 billion to develop the next generation of communications technology known as 6G or "beyond 5G." The United States pledged $2.5 billion and Japan pledged $2 billion. In order to further catch up with China's development in the field of communications infrastructure, the United States and Japan also sought cooperation with Australia to prepare to lay submarine communications cables in the Pacific region.

The South Korean government plans to invest a total of 200 billion won (US$169 million) between 2021 and 2026, and launch a pilot project for 6G mobile services that have not yet been standardized in 2026. It is expected that 6G services will be commercially available in South Korea between 2028 and 2030. According to reports, its 6G pilot projects include: digital medical immersive content, self-driving cars, smart cities and smart factories.

The German government plans to provide up to 700 million euros ($833 million) by 2025 for research into 6G technology.

Among the 6G developments of various countries, China is clearly the fastest. According to the "6G Communication Technology Patent Development Status Report", the total number of 6G communication network technology applications worldwide is 38,000, and China accounts for one-third of the share, reaching 35%, with 13,449 6G patents.

It is reported that many Chinese companies, including the three major operators, Huawei, ZTE, vivo, etc., are also conducting research and development of 6G.

Taking the three major operators as an example, China Mobile has formulated a ten-year 6G research plan. The first phase is from 2018 to 2025. The main work of this phase is to define the vision and requirements, conduct research and verification of potential key technologies for 6G, and design the system of 6G concepts. The second phase is from 2025 to 2030. This phase mainly focuses on 6G standard formulation, industry promotion, commercial applications, and application cultivation.

China Telecom Research Institute has been deeply involved in the research work of the promotion group since 2019. It has taken the lead in carrying out research on national key projects such as the ITU-T international standard "Requirements for Interactive Immersive Services" (H.IIS-reqts) and "6G Network Architecture and Key Technologies". At the same time, it is actively promoting the international standard work of 5G enhanced technology and its implementation in 5G vertical applications, laying the foundation for 6G service and key technology research.

China Unicom has also released a 6G white paper, which points out that China Unicom is still in the initial stage of 6G research. At present, China Unicom's 6G vision is: intelligent, integrated, green and trustworthy. In the future, China Unicom will carry out 6G technology research layout around the above vision, build a 6G full technology system and research team including vision and demand, network architecture and enabling technology, and continue to carry out key research on 6G enabling technology in line with the development trends and situation of the industry.

The release of this white paper will surely accelerate the development of the 6G industry, and also provide the industry with a lot of thinking directions for its 6G layout. I believe that in the future, China's 6G will still be in the leading ranks.