We may be only a short time into 5G deployments, but discussions of the impact 6G technology will have on our lives have already started. In late 2020, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions created a new group called the Next G Alliance to “advance North American mobile technology leadership over the next decade through private sector-led efforts.”
You have certainly heard of some of the founding members of this organization, such as AT&T, Ericsson, Mitre, Verizon and Booz Allen Hamilton. In other parts of the world, such as in Korea, Samsung Research founded the Advanced Communication Research Center in 2019. Its principal engineer leads the 6G Vision Group at the International Telecommunications Union – Radiocommunication.
What Does 6G Do?
When we talk about 6G, we’re talking about the use of the terahertz (THz) bands, a spectrum that has previously been used in high-resolution health imaging technologies. The technological possibilities are kind of wild: holographic communications, multi-sensory extended reality, 3D coverage, minimal latency and mobile hotspots in lieu of physical towers. The difference will truly be astounding. 5G operates at four to five times the speed of 4G, for a max speed of about 20Gbps, whereas 6G is intended to work at a speed of approximately 1Tbps. That’s 50 times faster than 5G!
