Over the past weeks, UAE telecom operators etisalat and du have announced further progress in their march towards 6G, the next generation of wireless communication.
The industry is accelerating its preparations for the technology that being presented as vital to the world becoming more connected, underpinned by increasingly intelligent devices and services.
Du said on Tuesday it has delivered commercial U6GHz connectivity on its 5G+ network, which will serve as a foundation for high-capacity services across homes, businesses and industries.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi's etisalat – which recently rebranded back from e& – said it has commercially launched a service that increase upload speeds to smartphones threefold.
What is 6G and when would it be available?
6G promises faster speeds and efficiency than the current 5G mobile phone technology, which also has more advanced forms under names such as 5G+, 5G Advanced and 5.5G.
Historically, new generations of wireless technology have emerged with every new decade, suggesting 6G could become available in the early 2030s. This is a widely shared industry expectation.
The US introduced the third generation in 2002, the fourth in 2010 and 5G in 2018. The second and first generations were in the 1980s and early 1990s, respectively, with the “zero G” before that.
While a 6G rollout is predicted in the early 2030s, not all of its features are expected to be available at launch, as the industry would continue testing its deployment.
How fast is 6G?
5G's maximum transmission speed is 20 gigabits per second, which is already 20 times faster that 4G's 1Gbps rate under ideal circumstances.
However, 6G's theoretical maximum compared to 5G, has varied from anywhere between 50 times faster, or 1 terabit per second, to 1,000 times, or 2.5 terabytes per second.
One can only imagine how much that will increase transmission speeds. A multi-gigabyte file that used to take seconds or a few minutes to download could be done in a snap.
Where is 6G use ideal?
The consumer proposition of 6G will always be front and centre, especially as digital consumption and reliance on connected devices will only become more widespread.
But on an industrial scale, 6G is expected to power advanced iterations of immersive and mass communication, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated sensing and communication, low-latency and hyper-reliable communication and artificial intelligence communication, according to the International Telecommunication Union, which leads the framework and standards-setting of wireless communications.
Communications, business and economic gains aside, the power of 6G will also play a critical role in society by enabling affordable, resilient and energy‑efficient networks for health, education, agriculture and disaster response, the Geneva-based UN agency said.
“Advanced networks also present a way to close the persistent digital divide that today leaves many people in low-income countries behind,” it added.
Transport, home appliances and security, payment networks, financial transactions and a host of other products and services expected to be highly connected in the future will also rely on the speed 6G would offer.
The challenges
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed to ensure the reliability of 6G networks.
Arguably the biggest challenge is to build 6G networks resilient to any AI-induced compromises. Networks of the future should be able to detect threats and adaptive enough to respond to them, according to the EC-Council University in New Mexico.
Encryption, especially that which can protect against quantum threats, and integration to blockchain would also be important to avoid unauthorised data access and manipulation, the university added.