① It is expected that the 6G standard will be completed in 2029, and 6G commercial use will be achieved around 2030. ② We are currently researching some key technologies and developing prototypes, and will begin research and formulation of 6G standards next year.
Financial Services Association, April 28 (Reporter Guo Songqiao) 6G, as a technological supremacy in the digital economy, has a strong driving effect on digital industrialization and the digital development of the industry.
During the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum, the 6G Innovation and Development Forum, one of the parallel forums, was held at the same time. The theme of the forum was “Jointly Promoting the Integration of Communications and AI and Leading 6G Technological Innovation”, and discussed hot issues such as “6G Technology Innovation” and “6G and AI Integration”.
“It is expected that the 6G standard will be completed in 2029, and 6G commercial use will be achieved around 2030.” In an interview with a reporter from the Financial Federation, Huang Yuhong, director of the China Mobile Research Institute and executive vice director of the Zhongguancun Pan Union Institute, made a judgment on the 6G development trend.
According to public information, China has formed an IMT-2030 (6G) promotion team, and Huang Yuhong is also the deputy leader of this promotion team. Huang Yuhong told the Financial Federation reporter that research on some key technologies and prototype development are currently being carried out, and research and formulation of 6G standards will begin next year.
CIFA: Could you please tell us about the current 6G R&D situation in China?
Huang Yuhong: China attaches great importance to 6G development, and our layout is also early. Currently, 6G R&D work is basically in sync with the international community, and has initially established a 6G innovation system with close collaboration between industry, academia, and research with “government coordination, enterprise leadership, and platform support”.
As early as 2019, China initiated 6G organized research and set up relevant expert committees to organize universities, research institutions, enterprises, operators, manufacturers, etc. to jointly conduct research on 6G.
On the one hand, various units are carrying out scientific research. At the same time, everyone also held discussions in an organized manner and published many white papers. In the specific 6G research layout, China Mobile actively led the overall architecture design and proposed a three-body, four-layer, five-sided 6G network logic architecture, focusing on breaking through key 6G technologies such as integrated networked sensing, intelligent simplified networks, and intelligent computing integration.
Currently, we are focusing on 6G system design and prototype system research and development, and will begin research and formulation of 6G standards next year. It is expected that the 6G standard will be completed in 2029, and 6G commercial use will be achieved around 2030.
Financial News Agency: How is 6G improving compared to 5G?
Huang Yuhong: 6G upgrades 5G's high speed, low latency, high reliability, and large connectivity features. The speed can reach tens of times that of 5G, and the number of terminal connections has also increased by an order of magnitude. In addition, 6G has also added three new abilities, namely the integration of space and sky, integration of intuition, and integration of intelligence.
In the 6G era, the organic integration of land mobile communications with high-, medium-, and low-orbit satellites will enable seamless global coverage and on-demand access for anyone, anywhere, and at any time. 6G networks can cover places where terrestrial signals are difficult to reach, such as deserts, oceans, and air.
Financial News Agency: What kind of changes do you think the integration of 6G and AI will bring to the industry?
Huang Yuhong: 6G and AI coexist and promote mutual development. In our industry, there is an adjective, AI for Network and Network for AI. The meaning is that AI promotes the development of network technology and also promotes the development of 6G technology. We call it “endogenous AI.”
With endogenous AI capabilities, it will greatly change the architecture and operation of wireless communication and networks. We hope that with AI in the future, the network will be more automated and intelligent.
In terms of networks helping AI development, it is also an important goal of 6G. Currently, artificial intelligence is developing very fast. General artificial intelligence will gradually appear in the next few years, and in the future, all aspects of our lives and production may change due to AI.
As a simple example, in the future, we will call people from different countries. If we didn't know a foreign language before, it would be difficult to communicate, and everyone couldn't understand each other. However, with AI, it can be translated in real time. Currently, text can be displayed on mobile phones in real time, and sound will be directly translated in the future.