Let’s talk 6G. Yes, I mean the sixth generation of mobile devices. But wait, you ask, isn’t 5G the big thing now? Yes, it is, and 5G is shaping up to be a massive improvement over 4G. Average data speeds (as opposed to theoretical maximum data speeds) for 4G are roughly 30 Mbps, fast enough to allow your phone to stream videos, handle social media, and manage complex gaming. 5G, on the other hand, is expected to have anywhere from 60 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps, or 2-30 times as fast. Also, latency, which refers to the time between your phone sending a signal and getting a reply, will drop from 20-30 milliseconds with 4G down to 5-10 milliseconds (and possibly less) with the new 5G networks and devices. 5G will be incredible, but 6G – that will be revolutionary.
Roughly every ten years, a new mobile standard hit the marketplace. 3G networks began in about 2000, 4G in about 2010, the current 5G is getting up and running in parts of the globe these days, so it’s reasonable to expect 6G to start being commercialized in 2030. However, the definitions are currently being worked on by international teams and will continue to be so for several more years.
How will 6G be implemented that will make it faster than 5G? We’ll likely see ultra-massive MIMO, AI, and machine learning playing a large part in network operations, higher-speed channel coding, distributed processing, and Terahertz (THz) signaling. Signaling for 5G, in theory, goes up to 100 GHz, but in practice isn’t being used above 39 GHz. The THz band will be in the hundreds of GHz or THz range, allowing huge channel sizes and blazing speeds – although over very short distances.
These technical improvements will have latency targets for 6G at <1 millisecond, with some predicting <.01 milliseconds, and speeds forecast at up to 1,000 times as fast as 5G. You could download over 100 hours of Netflix movies in one second.
Enough of how it will work. More interesting is what we’ll be able to do with it. Try 3D holograms, a la Princess Leia in the first (but Chapter 4) Star Wars movie. We’ll see flexible displays everywhere – walls, furniture, clothing. We’ll see improved virtual reality and actual remote surgery. Some radical ideas for 6G applications include wireless brain-computer interfaces and implants that can understand human senses.
Yes, I’m excited about 5G, and I’m sure I’ll love the increase in speed and other features, and I’m interested in seeing what will become the ‘killer app’ for 5G, which no one knows yet. But the arrival of 6G? That’s the one that’s really got me curious.