6G: The Next Generation Wireless Technology Landscape
- Although 5G is still evolving, 6G discussions move closer to standards growth, but the debate goes on.
- The moment that 3GPP published the first 5G standard (Release 15), discussions started about what 6G should do.
- When 6G discussions began, the telecom industry lacked sufficient 5G experience to determine what worked, what didn't, and how the sector should respond and define 6G. Figure 1...
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Although 5G is still evolving, 6G discussions move closer to standards growth, but the debate goes on.
The moment that 3GPP published the first 5G standard (Release 15), discussions started about what 6G should do. Nobody at the time knew how 5G would unfold. We’ve now seen how 5G has changed – or not changed - wireless communications. 6G conferences started in 2020, and since then, the discussions have changed as 5G issues have emerged.
When 6G discussions began, the telecom industry lacked sufficient 5G experience to determine what worked, what didn’t, and how the sector should respond and define 6G. Figure 1 provides a visual portrayal of 6G discussions.
Also read: Hybrid LoRa-cellular 5G enhances global asset tracking.
Figure 1. Conversations around 6G have dropped some topics, added some, and changed one.
Conversations at 6G conferences focus on 5G’s shortcomings. With 5G, 3GPP went beyond the usual smartphone applications, adding machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). As Release 15, 5G standards have grown to include technologies such as RedCap, designed for IoT applications that don’t need high bandwidth. More recently, satellite communications, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), have gained importance while other topics have faded away.
To create Figure 1, we reviewed our 6G conference coverage and developed a timeline.In 2025, nobody mentioned holographic images or the metaverse. 6G seems to be leaning towards use cases outside of smartphones. Instead, the focus now is on “vertical” applications.
Given the artificial 10-year timeline for releasing a new wireless “G” standard, we’ve now reached the approximate time for 3GPP to begin defining 6G (Figure 2), starting with Release 20. As I see it, we still don’t know enough about 5G implementations to know what to do with 6G. Many People are now questioning the need for a ten-year cycle. The only reason, I believe, for such a cycle is that marketers need something to hype. Regrettably, they will be disappointed because 6G appears to focus on verticals, not consumers. The only thing everyone agrees on is that AI needs to be everywhere in the network.
6G Development Shifts Focus from Metaverse to Integrated Sensing
The telecommunications industry is rapidly pivoting away from concepts like the metaverse and holograms,instead concentrating on integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) as a key component of future 6G networks. Experts anticipate ISAC will become part of the 3GPP 6G specification, though the precise method of integrating it into radio signals remains under discussion, as demonstrated at recent exhibits like Brooklyn 6G.
Debate continues regarding the necessity of a wholly new 6G air interface. Some industry observers question the need,citing compatibility with existing 5G infrastructure and the significant costs associated with deploying new radio systems. However,Qualcomm asserts that 6G will deliver up to a 50% increase in data rates through a unified air interface. The company supports this claim with simulations, though details regarding the specific radio design used in those simulations haven’t been fully disclosed.
Qualcomm presented data, shown in Figure 3, suggesting 6G air interfaces are approaching the theoretical shannon Limit for data transmission.
Figure 3. Qualcomm simulations comparing 6G and 5G air interfaces.