Work on 6G mobilizes suppliers

The FCC has appointed 44 people to a technology advisory board to explore the possibilities of 6G wireless connectivity. The majority of the members of this council come from the largest American and European companies specializing in network technologies. The committee will be chaired by Dean Brenner, a former Qualcomm executive. Intel, Cisco, Comcast, Microsoft, Nokia, Ericsson and all major mobile operators are also represented on the commission’s Technology Advisory Council (TAC). Major professional associations and academia are also represented.

According to FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel, leadership in 6G should be a priority for the United States. “We know that maintaining our leadership in high-priority emerging technologies requires careful planning and execution,” she said in a statement. “We are starting this work here and now by reinstating the TAC and tasking it with conceptualizing 6G, to set the stage for this leadership,” she added.

A speed close to the terabit/s

According to experts, 6G will not be available for another decade, which is not surprising given the slow progress of 5G. But, with advertised terabit speeds enabling extremely detailed virtual/augmented reality applications, moving holograms and even precise digital replicas of real-world objects, 6G is set to upend the landscape and uses. 6G could also bring wireless power capability, which would make it possible to use lots of wireless and battery-less IoT devices.

The technology will be able to achieve these ambitious goals by optimizing spectrum utilization and taking advantage of terahertz frequencies, even higher than future millimeter-wave 5G deployments. 6G is not the only technology on which this council will have to look. Artificial intelligence, spectrum sharing techniques and methods to maintain internet access in an emergency will all be examined. The first meeting of the group will take place on February 28. It will be broadcast live on the FCC website.