Where Are We at With 5G, and Where Are We Going With 6G?

5G is recognised as an important infrastructure for both developed and developing countries. As of Sep 2022, 98 nations have either commercialised 5G or are conducting 5G trials, compared to 79 at the end of 2021. The majority of countries deploy 5G sub-6 GHz frequency band, and only a few countries including the US, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Australia, South Africa, etc. have commercialised 5G mmWave. While the consumer mobile market for 5G is becoming more developed, 5G is also gaining pace in the private network sector, such as 5G for Industry 4.0. The 6G era will begin within the following ten years. The sub-THz spectrum (100 - 300 GHz) is the primary focus of the first wave of 6G. 6G will require both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks to enable 3D communications. In addition, 6G will enable more applications than 5G can, such as sensing, precise positioning, and other services.

 

The severe signal attenuation in the atmosphere and the signals easily blocked by obstacles are two significant barriers to employing mmWave and higher frequencies. Beamforming is still essential for enhancing network coverage. Additionally, the design must ensure that transmission loss is minimised, and the proper semiconductor technologies are used to enhance the total link budget of a transceiver.

 

Speaking of the ecosystem of the telecommunications infrastructure, we can observe that Open RAN is gaining ground. As we all know, a sector with a diverse supply chain is more likely to bring new technologies, reduce the cost of equipment, and enhance the dynamism of the sector as a whole. Leading telecom operators all around the globe are pushing "Open RAN" - networks built on disaggregated RAN components with defined interoperability, including the usage of non-proprietary white-box hardware, open-source software from diverse suppliers, and open interfaces.

 

Dr. Yu-Han Chang, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, will discuss the following subjects in this webinar to address some of the 5G and 6G key development and most pressing industrial challenges:

 

IDTechEx has covered 5G and 6G technologies for many years. We offer a comprehensive selection of technical market research reports on this industry, including 5G overview, 5G small cells, 5G thermal management, 5G and 6G low-loss materials, and 6G overview. Technical analysis, SWOT analysis, granular 10-year market forecast, application examples, extensive company profiles, and technological/commercial readiness assessment are all included in our studies.