As 5G evolves, 6G takes aim at Internet of Everything

As 5G technology continues to evolve and expand globally, experts are already looking ahead to the next generation of mobile communications: 6G. While 5G promises faster data rates, lower latencies, and more terminals per unit area, many are still searching for the "killer app" that will make it an essential upgrade for consumers.


However, the development of 5G is ongoing. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an umbrella body for telecom standards development, has already frozen Releases 15 and 16 of the 5G specifications. Release 15 defines the foundational baseband, mobile broadband, and millimeter-wave connectivity technologies used to deliver 5G services, while Release 16 offers improvements to core mobile broadband features, massive MIMO mobility, and millimeter-wave connectivity. It also addresses the need for time-sensitive networking in industrial applications and provides connectivity between vehicles and other entities, referred to as V2X.


The next phase of development, Releases 18 through 20, will see a major evolution of 5G to form what is being called 5G Advanced. This is expected to emerge in the second half of this decade and may include features such as full-duplex communications and new ways of transmitting and receiving signals to improve coverage, latency, and reliability.


Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are also expected to play a critical role in mobile networks in the future. 5G, especially when used to advance the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems, will support enormous amounts of data that could be analyzed. For example, ML could be used to manage the handoff between cells for a car on the move, ensuring that all nearby users get the best possible service. Additionally, ML could be used to address the complexity of networks themselves, such as optimizing the signals transmitted by each antenna to have the greatest effect on the receiver.


As 5G Advanced is expected to take us through 2030, work on 6G is already underway to define the standard and its capabilities. 6G is being thought about in the broadest possible terms, with the goal of enabling the Internet of Everything. The exaHexa-X project, part of the European Union’s research and development program, suggests that 6G will enable rich connectivity between the digital world and our human biological world, allowing "digital twins" of our physical environment and ourselves to run in digital environments. This will allow us to anticipate our needs and automate interventions in the real world for positive outcomes.


To achieve this vision, 6G will need to have almost limitless connectivity in any context, strong security and trust facilities, a fully cognitive network that can manage its complexity, and distributed computing capacity. If current mobile technology is already ubiquitous, this vision of 6G suggests that there is still much more to come.

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