We just got to 5G!

The future of communication

As the world has started testing and rolling out 5G – which is expected to rule the wireless world until at least 2030 — companies and countries have started to prepare for the future of communication by aiming R&D efforts at a whole new race of 6G communication technology. Companies like Huawei, Nokia, and Samsung have already proposed ways to make 6G a reality, be it in the form of papers or actual prototype technology. A number of research papers were published on 6G even before the first 5G tests.

You might wonder why we need 6G when 5G hasn’t been properly launched yet. While 5G is powerful enough to satisfy the needs of present internet users, it won’t suffice for future technology like Tesla’s self-driving cars or automated homes, all running at the same time.

Last decade, we saw unprecedented growth in global mobile data traffic, estimated in 2021 to increase over 23 times compared to the entire internet traffic in 2005. And, by 2030, overall use of the internet is expected to be 5 ZetaBytes (ZB) per month as new, heavily internet reliant IoT (Internet of things) technology becomes commonplace. This is where 6G comes into play.

How will 6G work?

We’ll explain it the short and the long way!

Sub-Millimeter Waves: The most “obvious” way to achieve such high data speed is by using sub-millimeter waves. We already use millimeter waves to allow up to 140GHz transmission in 5G technology. 6G would likely build on this to push past limits of the 5G spectrum. It’s possible to design a modern circuit operating at 300GHz to obtain a significant gain in performance. This could very well be the way 6G will operate!

TLDR: Current 5G uses a technology called millimeter wave, 6G will use “sub” millimeter wave to increase internet speeds.

Novel Antennas: To support TeraHertz bandwidth, a meta-material based antenna may be used. It’s precise sharpness, geographical size orientation and other smart properties will be capable of protecting electromagnetic waves against interference. Its absorptive properties could be very useful while transferring high bandwidth.

TLDR: 6G antennas will built from materials that have properties difficult to obtain naturally. This means they will be more resistant to interference and provide much better performance!

Comprehensive AI: AI based communication will support metamaterials, intelligent structures, intelligent network, intelligent devices, cognitive radios, self-sustaining wireless networks and more to create the first machine learning based network. This can solve current cell tower problems like determining which tower is closest to connect with by quickly getting the exact distance from a 6G tower.

TLDR: AI will help the 6G network determine which 6G cell tower is closest to provide the best connection with internet-enabled devices!

Spectrum Sharing: It enables the use of multiple entities while recognizing and utilizing spectrum by others, so that they can make use of spectrum in the optimal way, especially at those low-frequency ranges which would allow for the most seamless connections.

TLDR: By utilizing both high and low-frequency signal, spectrum sharing reaches as many people as possible rather than leaving unused bandwidth.

CHALLENGES OF 6G

• Since 6G is supposed to use sub-millimeter waves, the radio range is even shorter than 5G. The challenge will be to get a good signal despite the short range and make sure it can’t be blocked by a simple object like an umbrella.

• While the network is supposed to be fast using the technologies described above, using THz range means that the 6G network has to compete with an array of endless bandwidth which may result in a distorted signal.

• Low power GHz sampling rate is a big issue for 6G. In areas where the range is lower, providing a high sampling rate will be much more difficult compared to previous generations. While tools such as AI, spectrum sharing, and more look to combat these issues, they need to be tested in real-world scenarios.

Conclusion

6G could be a very promising technology, but its success depends on whether mmwave 5G lives up to the hype. Companies in the 6G race will build off of mmwave to create a network that can achieve tasks like switching self-driving cars from one tower to another seamlessly. This smooth transition between towers, and the high speeds 6G will bring enables brighter possibilities for running the IoT’s smart cities will boast.

While research is still in the beginning stages, the entrance of numerous billion-dollar telecom companies into 6G research signals a big change. The future will be connected, smart, fast, and probably 6G!

Shrey Shrivastava

Instagram