With most industry analysts predicting that 6G will become a reality by 2030 you’d be forgiven for thinking that we’re still firmly in the middle of building out 5G.
According a 2022 Global Mobile Suppliers Association report, only 70 countries had 5G networks with 493 operators in 150 countries and territories still investing in 5G.
Coupled with Analysys Mason predicting that private LTE/5G network spend will reach USD7.7 billion by 2027, the question is, how do we get as much out of current 5G networks before starting on the journey to 6G?
It's first important to outline the three main communication capabilities targeted for 5G. The first is Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), which focuses on the speed, capacity and mobility enabling such use cases as high-definition video streaming and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) on the go.
The second is Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), which focuses on super low latency connections and high network reliability for such uses cases as autonomous vehicles and remote surgery.
The last is Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), which enables a massive number of things within the Internet of Things to be connected, enabling such use cases as smart agriculture and other types of industrial IoT.
According to Massimo Fatato, head of networks at NTT Data UK&I, we already know that 5G works, we have the spectrum, the services, capabilities, and equipment. What we need to focus on is how to effectively deliver business KPIs to enterprise customers.
“There are two aspects you need to consider,” he says. “One is the business perspective, ensuring they engage with their best customers in a discussion on how the technology will help them improve bottom line operations.”
The second aspect, he says, is from a technological standpoint, the evolution of 5G and its weaknesses.
“Although 5G improves massively on the 4G in terms of coverage and latency, there are still areas of improvement to be made. For example, its uplink capabilities. While the downlink signal is already very well equipped to carry signals that are high definition, the uplink is still suffering from bandwidth issues.”
Ian West, head of technology, KPMG UK, offers a slightly different perspective believing that 5G hasn't lived up to its expectations, with further technology upgrades and advancements required before it does.
“The general view of consumers is that 5G technology has not delivered on its promises, and the upgrade [between 4G and 5G] has not been particularly noticeable. A primary reason for this is the slow rollout of the network infrastructure. According to a report published in June 2023 by OpenSignal, 5G availability is only 10.1% in the UK, placing the country 39th among 56 advanced and developing markets.
“There is still a long way to go until all the required infrastructure upgrades have been made across the UK that will allow the ubiquitous deployment of 5G. However, some telcos are forming partnerships with hyperscalers to help get the most out of their existing networks and services in the meantime,” he adds.
Regional outlook
With all these questions about 5G improvements and getting the most from this technology, from a geographical standpoint, there are arguably countries and territories, such as the small islands in the Pacific or the Caribbean, where 5G or even 4G is enough for the foreseeable future.
Speaking to Sylwia Kechiche, principal industry analyst, enterprise at Ookla, this comes to down to the need and the business case.
“Looking at the 5G rollout in India, these are some of the questions that we're asking because while see India just awarded 5G spectrum last year, there are other questions such as having the necessary backhaul. In countries in Africa, you see them still trying to get 5G spectrum and most devices are only 4G-enabled.”
Her point is that “it shouldn't be technology for technology's sake. It should be technology for the use case”.
Interestingly, Maria Cuevas, networks research director at BT Group, believes that some of the more advanced iterations of 5G will be more than enough to satisfy demands and that moving too fast may be a mistake.
“The imminent advancements in 5G technology, including 5G standalone (SA) and 5G Advanced, will more than satisfy consumer demand and meet expectations for the foreseeable future,.
“5G Advanced will facilitate significant network uplink improvements through improved MIMO performance and other upgrades,” she explains.
She goes on to add that, “5G SA promises dedicated network capacity and denser coverage which will combine to reduce latency and significantly improve customer experience when consuming data-rich, high bandwidth services. A narrow focus on the next ‘G’ and premature preoccupation with 6G risks the industry losing focus on ensuring customers get maximum value from 5G today.”
6G is an inevitability with large scale use cases requiring latency, bandwidth, and capabilities beyond 5G advanced.
“6G is needed to address technology that wasn't available when 5G was in the early stages of creation 10 years ago,” says Sarah LaSelva, director of 6G at Keysight Technologies.
“There are two that come to mind —the maturity of artificial intelligence tools and the rise of quantum computing and needing to address security in a post quantum world. While 5G will be able to serve most, 6G is looking at ways to provide coverage globally.”
She also says that lower cost of launching satellites is making non-terrestrial networks (NTN) a more viable option for operators.
“NTN blurs the line between 5G and 6G, but it's a technology that will continue to evolve in the 6G timeframe and fill a critical role.”
6G also has a part to play in improving our use of spectrum, as with 5G, “we are already hitting the limits of what is possible, so 6G will need to find ways to both access new spectrum and improve spectral efficiency in the spectrum that is already allocated for cellular communications,” she adds.
According to Volkan Pakoglu, director of consulting services at CGI UK, there are several key requirements and design considerations that form the 6G roadmap.
These include: “Network simplification and energy reduction; seamless integration and interoperability with fixed and satellite networks; Global 6G standards; 6G must ensure interoperability and backward compatibility with 5G; and a new spectrum allocation. 6G will support all bands used by 5G and previous generations, and it will use new spectrum bands.”
Steven Carlini, vice president of innovation and data centre at Schneider Electric, thinks that some operators might be jumping the gun on developing 6G so soon, given the current state of 5G development.
“In my opinion, many telcos are still struggling to make a return on their multi-billion-dollar investments in 5G before they will even consider investing in 6G,” says Carlini.
“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), for example, has created a new category of experimental 10-year licenses between 95GHz and 3THz for 6G. The FCC hopes companies will use them as a testbed for 6G technologies. The broad industry speculation is that 6G will start to emerge in 2030, which is around the same time that these experimental licenses expire.”
Standards
But there is no 6G without standards, which learning from the lessons from 5G, needs to come about sooner rather than later if we want that scaled and ubiquitous network coverage that is required globally.
“3GPP is on track to include the initial set of study items in release 20 and the first work items for 6G in release 21. This puts us on track for a first 3GPP release around 2028,” adds LaSelva.
With this 2028 standards timeline in mind, Carlini says that telcos need standards that ensure interoperability.
“These standards take many years to define and finalise, and involve industry players from across the ecosystem, including vendors such as Schneider Electric, academics, and government representatives,” he says.
“This is a different situation than the IE Wi-Fi where IEEE sets and evolves the standards. You can guess which one is fast and efficient, and which one is muddled in bureaucracy.”
Given the extensive investment in 5G, many telcos are asking whether 6G can be delivered using existing assets and how 6G will work alongside current generational infrastructure.
“Whenever you go from one generation of technology to the next, there will always be some kind of investment required. You will have to upgrade the system in some way or another,” says Rajesh Pankaj, EVP chief technology officer at InterDigital.
“Typically, we try to make sure that the first release is of the next generation of technology works alongside existing infrastructure so that’s compatible and serves as more of a ‘softer release’.
But ever the optimist. Pankaj believes that by the time we get to 6G investments, operators will have seen the benefits of 5G and the possibilities of 6G, to the point where they’ll be clamouring for those next level capabilities that customers will be undoubtedly demanding.
