Is it already the era of 6G? Traffic analysis says so • The Register

comment If you think 5G networks aren’t living up to their promise, you’re not alone. But while some in the mobile industry are already looking at what’s next, the technology is still in the early stages of adoption.

The first complete set of 5G standards was delivered in 2017 with 3GPP Release 15, and the specifications were officially frozen in 2018. Initial network deployments took place the following year, and many carriers around the world are busy with them to this day.

Some might say that 5G doesn’t live up to the initial hype surrounding the technology. This was expected to not only bring about a dramatic change in download speeds, but also enable many new applications such as augmented reality (XR) and usher in a new era of connected devices.

However, as we wrote late last year, 5G is still in the relatively early stages of deployment, and many networks, particularly in the UK, first introduced 5G by adding 5G radio antennas to their existing infrastructure. . 5G networks will improve when the network core is upgraded to support so-called 5G standalone.

“As carriers continue to update their networks for 5G standalone technology, users will increasingly see the promised speed and reliability improvements,” Gartner analyst Bill Menezes said at the time. Deaf,” he said. He added that it will take approximately three to five years to fully roll out the new mobile generation.

5G is offering faster speeds, at least in some places. The average speeds experienced by UK users are likely to be lower than its theoretical capabilities (estimates say somewhere between 75 Mbps and 240 Mbps), but this is several times faster than his 4G.

Meanwhile, the industry is not standing still, with 3GPP Release 18 marking the beginning of 5G-Advanced, which is expected to be frozen in early 2024 and completed in the summer. This is predicted to bring a number of evolutionary improvements as well as new features that may address the limitations of the early 5G rollout.

5G-Advanced introduces support for non-terrestrial networks (such as satellite connectivity), which is claimed to increase coverage of remote and rural areas and provide better uplink speeds.

While mobile broadband and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been highlighted as use cases for 5G, at least according to a white paper commissioned by telecommunications company Ericsson, 5G-Advanced will improve mobile broadband performance and enable new applications. We are committed to supporting and facilitating intelligent network automation. .

Support for enhanced demodulation reference symbols delivers additional performance with enhanced MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) signal capacity on both the uplink and downlink.

New applications being touted include remote control and industrial automation, as well as augmented reality for applications such as indoor positioning and IoT. According to Ericsson, the performance of augmented reality services comes from the 5G network core’s support for data rate adaptation using low-latency, low-loss systems (L4S).

Intelligent network automation is said to utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to improve network performance, similar to AIOps in data centers. According to the white paper, advances in 5G network core architecture for analytics and data collection should serve as a good foundation for AI/ML-based technologies.

Chinese technology giant Huawei claimed in June that it would launch next year all the kit carriers need to operate 5G advanced networks, but for some reason it still refers to the technology as 5.5G. Some industry insiders are frustrated. .

But perhaps 5.5G isn’t such a bad name. Ericsson sees his 5G-Advanced as a stepping stone to his future 6G network standard. The next-generation technology will not be available for quite some time, with specifications likely to be finalized around 2028, with initial implementation tentatively planned for 2030.

However, the 3GPP standards body (actually an umbrella group of seven global telecommunications standards bodies) could begin initial work on 6G in 2024.

So what can we expect from 6G networks? At first glance, they appear to be faster, more pervasive networks, and better support for demanding applications such as augmented reality. So is there really a need for the industry to offer yet another networking standard?

Peter Vetter, director of Nokia’s Bell Labs Core Research, says we certainly are, if only for the energy efficiency improvements that the industry hopes 6G networks will deliver.

“This is an important research question because mobile traffic is expected to increase 10 or even 20 times over the next 10 years. Therefore, if we do nothing, base station power consumption will increase. “10 or 20 times more,” Vetter said. register.

The goal is to halve the total energy consumption of mobile networks with 6G. In other words, if network traffic increases by 20 times, energy efficiency must improve by 40 times.

“This requires fundamental research. Even if some people say we don’t need 6G, we say, ‘Yes, we do need 6G.’ Because I know I’m going to run out of steam by 10 years,” Vetter said. He stressed that this means 5G networks will not have the capacity to handle the increased traffic.

Nokia is advocating for 6G spectrum, which is just above the current 5G mid-band range (1-6GHz), as it would enable deployment from existing mobile sites, which would allow for more Large antenna arrays that can be properly oriented will be needed, he added. electromagnetic energy.

(A major topic of discussion at the recent ITU World Radiocommunication Conference WRC-23 was said to be the use of the 7-15 GHz band as the primary spectrum for 6G.)

“We need new concepts like hybrid beamforming, new algorithms, sleep modes, antenna muting,” Vetter said, “so there are all kinds of concepts to improve energy efficiency in absolute numbers.” Told. According to Telefonica, 5G networks are already up to 90 percent more energy efficient per unit of traffic than older networks, with the radio access network (RAN) accounting for up to 70 percent of total network power consumption.

One idea to increase energy efficiency is to use AI to manage infrastructure, as touted by 5G advanced networks. It manages the core network as well as the base station’s wireless air interface, allowing it to learn channel conditions and how to adjust configurations for optimal performance.

Vetter claims that Nokia has already tested this proof of concept, showing that using AI in base stations, networks can gain 30% better capacity on the same radio channel.

Nokia is the lead developer of 6G-ANNA, a German government-funded “lighthouse project” aimed at driving global pre-standardization activities for 6G. Other participating companies include Vodafone, Siemens, Ericsson and Bosch.

Initial concepts for 6G based on this project predict peak data rates of over 100 Gbps, depending on the spectrum used, but this may vary depending on the available spectrum in different regions.

Other concepts for future 6G networks include network sensing and even greater connectivity for industrial automation and IoT projects. Network sensing involves a network monitoring its environment using its own radio signals, Vetter said.

“All the wireless systems around us can also be used as sensors. If used wisely, existing base stations can be used to monitor people and objects and optimize movement in airports and urban environments. “You can,” he said. .

Nokia built a proof of concept using existing 5G base stations hacked to act as radar, allowing researchers to pinpoint a person’s location and detect movement with an accuracy of less than 1 meter. Vetter argued.

In terms of connectivity, Nokia believes that wireless networks will eventually replace wired connections in the enterprise and industrial sectors as well, making supporting all these devices an even greater demand. There is a possibility that For this reason, Vetter says that in 6G he plans to support 10 times more connected devices than in 5G.

Overall, the 6G concept to date has focused on making mobile networks more pervasive, creating capacity and performance for demanding applications such as telepresence, and connecting a myriad of sensors and devices beyond phones. It seems that you are putting .

But all of this comes at a cost in terms of infrastructure construction and deployment, as well as research and development costs. A recent article in the Financial Times said network operator spending is expected to slow next year, and carriers want to get a better return on their existing investments in 5G before considering even more expensive network upgrades. I am guessing that you are thinking that.

And here comes the problem. This position may prove untenable as carriers feel pressure to continue investing for fear of falling behind rivals. This is a similar move to previous developments in the mobile network industry.

However, it would be great if everyone could receive a decent 5G Advanced signal in their area before the industry starts inflating the next generation network hype bubble. ®