Chinese telecom operators are showcasing their 6G research results
On the streets, dense self-driving cars shuttle back and forth quickly and orderly; When you dial the phone, the hologram of the other party will "cross" thousands of mountains and rivers to achieve "face-to-face" communication; Satellites in space are constantly in motion, allowing for a high-speed, stable network to cover every corner of the globe seamlessly...... These scenes, which once appeared in science fiction movies, are people's prospects for 6G network applications. Recently, during the fourth plenary meeting of the 2022~2024 study period of Study Group 15 (SG15) of the International Telecommunication Union Standardization Sector (ITU-T), the Chinese delegation systematically explained the requirements and core concepts of 6G transmission networks to the industry for the first time. This marks the official start of the global 6G transmission network standardization research, and it is also a milestone progress in the field of 6G transmission network research. Liu Guangyi, chief expert of 6G at China Mobile Research Institute, said: "The first 6G standard is expected to be released in the second half of 2029, and 6G will be commercially available around 2030. The reporter learned that the global 6G research is on the right track, driven by the technical research step by step, the era of "hyper-connection" led by the 6G network is gradually approaching. 6G technology selection has entered a critical window period 6G, the sixth-generation mobile communication standard, which mainly uses terahertz frequency bands for space satellite networking to achieve higher speeds, lower latency and wider connections than 5G. In June 2023, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released the Recommendation on the IMT Framework and Overall Objectives for 2030 and Future Development (hereinafter referred to as the "Recommendation"), which proposes typical scenarios and capability indicators for 6G. Subsequently, China's IMT-2030 (6G) promotion group put forward a specific timetable for the development of the sixth generation of mobile communications in the mainland, dividing the formulation of 6G standards and network deployment into three stages: 2020~2025 is the concept formation stage, forming 6G vision requirements and concepts, breaking through key technologies, and laying a technical foundation for 6G international standards; 2025~2029 is the international standard stage, carry out international standard research, and form a globally unified 6G international standard; 2026~2030 is the stage of industrial R&D, comprehensively promote industrial R&D, build a complete industrial ecology, accelerate industrial maturity, and support 6G commercialization.
6G on the way
ZTE's Forecast for 5G, Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G Timeline "Since 2024, the industry's R&D and cooperation around 6G cutting-edge technologies have gradually intensified, and 6G technology R&D has reached a new level." Industry experts told reporters. 2024 is an important time node for the transition of the near stage in the above timetable, and it is also a key window period for the selection of 6G technology. The recent R&D progress revealed by Liu Guangyi shows that the standard development of 6G technology will begin around June 2025, which means that the breakthrough of 6G key technologies needs to take shape before that time node. At the Global 6G Technology Conference held in April, Purple Mountain Laboratory exhibited a series of 6G technology achievements: 6G end-to-end comprehensive test platform, 6G cellular-free radio access network system, and the world's first 6G comprehensive laboratory built by Continental...... During the same period, a series of 6G cutting-edge technology fields, such as 6G wireless coverage expansion technology, key technologies of wireless network security architecture, and 6G satellite communication technology of space-ground integration, have also made new achievements.
With the joint efforts of the industry, 6G has recently ushered in a wave of intensive technological breakthroughs: on July 10, Zhang Ping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and his team announced their theoretical breakthroughs in semantic information theory and key technologies of semantic communication, providing new basic theoretical support for 6G standardization research; At the same time, based on a number of key technologies of communication and intelligence integration, they built the world's first 6G field test network for communication and intelligence integration, verifying the feasibility of 4G and 5G links with 6G transmission capabilities. On July 12, Li Han, chief expert of China Mobile, explained the requirements and core concepts of 6G transmission network to the industry system for the first time, opening the prelude to the global 6G transmission network standardization research......
6G on the way
At the 2024 National 6G Technology Conference, there are many exhibitors and diverse technologiesWu Hequan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said: "6G is no longer 'unattainable', and these tangible technical achievements have set a roadmap for the development of 6G networks and pulled the engine for the accelerated development of communication technology." Facing the development path of 6G technology research in the future, Zhang Ping said: "The new generation of communication technology needs to explore new paths, from 'stacked innovation' to 'disruptive innovation'. Zhang Ping pointed out that in order to promote the breakthrough and sustainable development of 6G key core technologies, it is necessary to start from three aspects: "First, form a knowledge development map of 6G core and key technologies, and build an independent and controllable key technology system; The second is to improve the 6G industry chain, so as to achieve 'intelligent empowerment of all things, intelligent endogenous', and empower the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries; the third is to overcome key core technologies, break through 6G key technologies such as terahertz, intelligent metasurface, and communication and perception integration, and expand the available spectrum such as millimeter-wave terahertz and visible light. "Six major scenarios" just need "6G technology research and development is the means, and landing application is the goal." Market Research Future predicts that the global 6G market will exceed $340 billion in 2040, and China will be one of the largest 6G markets in the world. Based on 6G's "10~100 times more network capability than 5G", the industry has put forward an imagination for 6G application scenarios. For example, the Recommendations clearly define the use scenarios for 6G: "The sixth generation of mobile communication standards is expected to expand to support a wide range of users, applications and new technology trends, while providing prospects for sustainable digital transformation; Specifically, 6G envisions enabling new use cases, including immersive communications, ultra-reliable and low-latency communications, hyperscale communications, ubiquitous ubiquitous connectivity, inclusive intelligence and communications, and integrated sensing and communications. "An ordinary consumer-grade mobile phone can be directly connected to the satellite with simple debugging, so that it can make calls and send text messages in the "blank area" of the terrestrial network, and can simultaneously send the altitude and latitude of the place where the information is released at any time...... This is one of the current 6G technology applications that can be implemented in practice. Judging from the released 6G technology achievements and application distribution, it is not difficult to find that the application of 6G in scenarios such as air-space integration and low-altitude economy is the focus of the industry's attention.
6G on the way
In this regard, relevant experts from China Mobile Research Institute said: "6G technology can improve perception performance, accuracy and efficiency, and can solve the challenges of high cost and difficult deployment of current radar and other perception systems to a certain extent; In addition, 6G's synaesthesia, computing and intelligence fusion technology has been initially applied to scenarios such as drones and unmanned vehicles. For the application prospects of 6G in this regard, Han Juke, vice president of the China Communications Industry Association, is also very optimistic: "6G technology will promote the integration of new communication technologies with satellites, high-altitude platforms, unmanned aerial vehicles and other terminals, and is expected to give rise to more phenomenal applications." Wu Hequan believes that 6G will become the development pillar of the three trillion-level industries of intelligent terminals, computing power and intelligent networked vehicles in the future: "Compared with 5G and 5G-A, 6G has shown the characteristics of ultra-low latency, ultra-high throughput, and more secure and reliable; When 6G is combined with AI, it has the characteristics of wide application and stronger intelligence. Based on this, he pointed out that in the future, 6G application scenarios should serve the real economy more and promote the development of digital twins, intelligent robots and other technologies. Zhang Ping also emphasized that after integrating AI, machine learning and other technologies, empowering the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries is an important scenario for 6G commercialization: "On the one hand, it will drive the transformation of production methods and promote the digital transformation of traditional industries; On the other hand, 6G technology can promote the development of virtual reality and other technologies and promote the formation of new types of consumption. In the industrial field, there is also a "rigid demand" for 6G technology. Zhang Ping told reporters that the response time of the mechanical motion control demand network is < 1 ms, and the control accuracy should reach 99.99999%; XR technology requires a network response time of < 10 ms and a bandwidth of 1~3 Gbps. To truly realize industrial automation and intelligence, 6G capabilities are indispensable. The reporter learned that 6G technology can realize the real-time collection of operation information of workshops, machines and components in industrial environments. Through edge computing and artificial intelligence technology, monitoring data can be processed in real time on the device side and control instructions can be issued quickly. Relying on the advanced functions of the 6G network, various smart devices and terminals in the factory can easily form a network, and at the same time, the configuration of smart devices can also be quickly optimized and reconfigured according to the specific needs of the production line, so as to flexibly respond to the growing personalized and customized needs of the manufacturing industry. "All kinds of key scenarios need the support of the 6G system with differentiated technical connotations, such as communications, medical care, transportation, industry, entertainment and other vertical fields have unique industry needs." Regarding the development plan of 6G application scenarios, Zhang Ping pointed out, "On the one hand, it is necessary to lay out and grasp the right to speak on 6G technical standards in advance to avoid the risk of inconsistent technical standards caused by industry needs; At the same time, it is necessary to expand application scenarios and integrate with more disciplines to further build a more complete and open ecosystem. ”
