6G (Sixth Generation Network)
In telecommunications, 6G is the sixth generation standard currently under development for wireless communications technologies supporting cellular data networks. It is the planned successor to 5G and will likely be significantly faster. Like its predecessors, 6G networks will probably be broadband cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas called cells. Several companies (Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, Samsung, LG, Xiaomi and Apple) have shown interest in 6G as well as several countries (China, Japan, and Singapore).
6G networks will exhibit even more heterogeneity than its predecessors and will likely support applications far beyond anything seen so far in mobile scenario, such as virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), ubiquitous instant communications,9 pervasive intelligence and the internet of things.[6] It is expected that mobile network operators will adopt flexible decentralized business models for 6G, with local spectrum licensing, spectrum sharing, infrastructure sharing, and intelligent automated management underpinned by mobile edge computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies.
Amplifier progress
Recent studies have developed first ideas for 6G. A group based at the University of California, Santa Barbara has claimed significant progress by building a device that can speed up the process of development and save substantial amounts of time during the design phase. They reported key aspects of the device, including an "n-polar" gallium nitride high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT), in two papers which were published in IEEE Electron Device Letters.The presence of this charge in the transistor gives the device the ability to operate at high frequencies, because the electrons are free to move quickly through it without obstruction. Although the data has not been published yet, the researchers claim it shows promising results, and, according to their plan, they will eventually test the new devices at even higher frequencies than before (140 GHz and 230 GHz, with both firmly in the terahertz range).
In 2020, scientists from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and Osaka University of Japan announced they had created a chip for terahertz (THz) waves, which might be used in 6G.
In October 2020, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) launched a "Next G Alliance", an alliance consisting of AT&T, Ericsson, Telus, Verizon, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Samsung, and others that "will advance North American mobile technology leadership in 6G and beyond over the next decade."
Test satellite launch
On November 6, 2020, China successfully launched an experimental test satellite with candidates for 6G technology into orbit, along with 12 other satellites, using a Long March 6 launch vehicle rocket. The satellite is intended to "verify the terahertz (THz) communication technology in space", according to the Global Times newspaper.
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