6G experiment shows future networks can use current 5G equipment
The upcoming 6G standard that will offer speeds up to 50x faster than the current 5G networks is still being ironed out and it might be a distant pipe dream scheduled for commercial rollout after 2030.
This 6G network deployment timeframe, however, can be significantly shortened by a groundbreaking experiment that managed to prove that current 5G and even 4G LTE network equipment can hit 6G speeds as it is.
A research team from Beijing's University of Posts and Telecommunications has demonstrated the potential for a novel method to enhance current 4G and 5G infrastructure to 6G, the next generation of cellular communication technology. The conventional method of addressing these limitations involves adding more resources to boost network performance, which significantly increases network complexity and costs.
The discovery used the so-called "semantic communication," a smart system for relaying meaning, not only data, via existing network infrastructure. The novel system drastically increased transmission efficiency and reduced the data processing costs.
So much so, that the network marked a 10x increase in the main transfer metrics like capacity, coverage, and efficiency, closing in on the range promised to be achieved by the move to the 6G standard.
The sixth-generation wireless technology is expected to revolutionize communication by offering data transmission speeds up to 50 times faster than 5G, and low latency.
While the United States and nine other countries outlined a series of guidelines for 6G communication systems earlier this year, the focus was on building a safe communication technology that prioritizes national security.
China, on the other hand, already aims to make 6G commercially available by 2030, with its take on the 6G standard expected to be finalized next year. Japan also wants to finish work on the standard in 2025, then make "beyond 5G" communication services available in collaboration with carriers like NTT Docomo and companies like Sony starting from 2030.
If all these plans could be done with the present infrastructure, and on the cheap with the semantic communication breakthrough, those deadlines are likely to be significantly shortened.
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