The network has achieved significant improvements in key communications metrics such as capacity, coverage and efficiency.
A group of Chinese communications engineers has built what it claims to be the world’s first field test network for 6G communications and intelligent integration, Chinese newspaper China Daily reported.
Although 6G has not yet been standardized, the network has achieved significant improvements in key communication indicators such as capacity, coverage and efficiency, according to a research team from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. The experimental network also reportedly demonstrated that semantic communication can reach the transmission capacity of future 6G systems over existing 4G network infrastructure.
According to the report, the network can also serve as a platform for research institutions to conduct theoretical research and early verification of 6G candidate technologies, effectively lowering the barriers to entry for 6G research, the research team noted.
China aims to start commercializing 6G technology by 2030 and expects standard-setting for the technology to be achieved around 2025, Wang Zhiqin, head of China’s 6G promotion team and vice president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Sciences, has previously said.
Wang noted that China began 6G technology experiments last year and has been making progress in researching 6G system architecture and technical solutions.
“In terms of 6G development, each country is at the early stage of technological research, and unified standards for 6G network construction and key technologies have not yet been formed,” Wang said.
According to Wang, 6G-related research has opened up new application scenarios, such as the convergence of communications and sensing, the convergence of communications and artificial intelligence, and large-scale IoT based on the integration of satellite and terrestrial mobile communications.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced last year that the Chinese government has allocated spectrum in the 6GHz frequency band for 5G and 6G services. The ministry noted that considering the advantages of coverage and capacity, the 6GHz spectrum is the only high-quality, wide-bandwidth resource in the mid-band, making the 6GHz band particularly suitable for the deployment of future 5G or 6G systems.
MIIT noted that the allocation of the 6GHz band will “help stabilize expectations in the 5G/6G industry.”
