6G Research

6G research is currently developing fast, with academia, industry leaders, and governmental bodies worldwide collaborating to outline the potential standards and capabilities. In November 2023, for example, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved the institution’s 6G vision, and more standardization work is on the way.

As of today, efforts are focused on identifying the pillars that will enable 6G, such as terahertz frequency bands, advanced AI integrations, and novel network architectures, and find solutions for the challenges the new technologies will demand.

Recent advancements include breakthroughs in terahertz communications, which promise to deliver data speeds up to 100 times faster than 5G. Additionally, innovations in energy-efficient network components and AI algorithms for predictive networking are paving the way for a sustainable and intelligent infrastructure.

Experts are also carrying out 6G research in the Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) field. RIS are expected to direct scattered signals toward a predetermined path, making mobile communications much more efficient.

6G roadmap: Growing from 5G to 6G

There is not yet a detailed roadmap for 6G, but based on several years of research, pre-standardization work is now starting. Research into new technology areas for 6G will then continue in parallel with the evolution of 5G. Learnings from live 5G networks and interactions with the user ecosystems will continuously feed into the research, standardization and development of 6G.

6G will build on the strengths of 5G, but it will also provide entirely new technology solutions. Around 2030 is a reasonable time frame to expect the very first 6G networks to appear.

By that time, society will have been shaped by 5G for 10 years, with lessons having been learned from 5G deployment, and new needs and services appearing. Even with the built-in flexibility of 5G, we will see a need for expanding into new capabilities. This calls for further evolution – following the pull from society’s needs and the push from more advanced technological tools becoming available – that must be addressed for the 6G era when it comes.

5G New Radio (NR) and 5G Core (5GC) evolution is continuing in 3GPP toward 5G Advanced, to ensure the success of 5G systems globally and to expand the usage of 3GPP technology by supporting different use cases and verticals. AI/ML will play an important role in 5G Advanced systems, in addition to other technology components, to provide support for extended reality (XR), reduced capability (RedCap) devices, and network energy efficiency.

6G technologies

Examples of the types of technology that will be needed to deliver 6G use cases include zero-energy sensors and actuators; next-generation AR glasses, contact lenses and haptics; and advanced edge computing and spatial mapping technologies. From our perspective at Ericsson, we have determined that creating the 6G networks of 2030 will require major technological advancements in four key areas: limitless connectivity, trustworthy systems, cognitive networks and network compute fabric.

6G security

High-trust cyber-physical systems connecting humans and intelligent machines require extreme reliability and resilience, precise positioning and sensing, and low-latency communication. This places high demands on 6G security capabilities, but also on its ability to provide assurance that the required capabilities are in place. 6G networks must give this assurance to users and operators – in deployment as well as during operation – in the form of security awareness and resilience. On the personal level, 6G security capabilities must respect privacy and personal data ownership in a connected world. It must be powerful and yet easy to adapt to users’ preferences.