While exploring the 5G topic for A2, I stumbled across a post called ‘6G tech is coming!’ in the knowledge mill from that caught my attention. It appears no other students have written about this topic since 2021, so decided to add onto it.
Here’s a quick evolution snapshot of mobile network techology:
0G (1970s) – radio telephones and life before cellphone mobile technology
1G (1980s) – first time general public can make phone calls (think large brick phones)
2G (1990s) – mobile phones can send text and picture messages (remember you’re first text?)
3G (2000s) – support for internet based applications (remember iPhone 3G?)
4G (2010s) – rich multimedia experiences (using internet becomes a daily routine – yes, that’s you!)
5G (2020s) – connected humans, enhanced video and gaming experiences and innovation (self-driving cars, VR, telemedicine, unmanned aerial vehicles)
What is 6G and what’s the current status?
The sixth generation successor to 5G currently in research & development which is projected to be available in the 2030s.
What is the vision?
- Hyper-connected experience for everyone, including:
- 50x faster than the fastest 5G connection with a tenth of the latency (imagine downloading 100hrs of Netflix in an hr. – mind boggling!)
- Support 10x number of devices
- 100x more reliable
- Three major megatrends:
- Connected machines
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Openness
- New 6G services:
- Truly immersive mixed reality
- High fidelity mobile hologram
- Digital replica