Envisioning 6G Through The Eyes Of Experts

Broadband India Forum (BIF) is greatly honored to have the pleasure of compiling this compilation of illuminating views from various leading experts on the vision of 6G. We warmly thank all the esteemed authors and members who have taken the time to contribute their rich and prolific views on this futuristic topic. T. V. Ramachandran Chairman, Broadband India Forum As a knowledge-based think tank, BIF’s endeavor through this publication is to present an interesting and insightful encapsulation of diverse visionary views of leading subject matter experts on an aspect of technology that has not yet crystallized, and will require immense refinement before it is ready to hit the market and propel mankind forward. A humble and brief overview of some of these excellent views, ideas, and insights, as presented in the compilation, are provided below.

The 6th generation mobile communications system, aka 6G, which is most likely to be implemented by 2030 according to experts, is expected to usher in an era of ultra-wideband based digital connectivity on a heretofore unprecedented scale. It is likely to be a ubiquitous as well as immersive communications network, touching virtually every part of human society, and will include machines and things. Research indicates that due to the ultra-high capacity and speed requirements, frequencies in the THZ and above range will be primarily considered for 6G. It is also expected that there will be a heightened focus on energy conservation, carbon emission reduction, and propelling ‘green telecom’ initiatives in the 6G ecosystem.

6G networks will be far more intelligent, all-enabled, and more defined by software. They will be highly heterogeneous, interoperable, self-healing, and with embedded processing capability on the inside, at the edge, and on the outside. Hence, the difficulties and challenges involved in creating and setting definitions of standards will need to be considered. To achieve the desired level of flexibility, adaptability and interoperability, open collaboration between academia, industry, startups, society and government will be crucial.

6G is expected to witness a seamless integration between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). This will enable the realisation of the vision of a single handheld device that can operate across different types of networks—be it mobile, Wi-Fi, satellite or any other, without any degradation in service or loss of quality. It is envisaged that 6G networks will be extremely fast and support very high capacity applications such as holograms, immersive applications, among others. It will also be able to support a massive number of devices with ultra-low latency requirements at a level significantly higher than 5G. Studying the potential applications of 6G will prove to be an area of ​​intense research in the coming years as we get to shape and realise the 6G vision.

A sharp increase in highly demanding applications that require very low latency and high data rates for their functioning such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality as well as remote control of sensitive operations is already visible. As 6G approaches, this trend can be expected to continue placing even higher demands on the performance that networks need to deliver.

6G will also involve the introduction of fundamental air interface innovations and its evolution into new applications. New business cases will lead to the introduction of AI-enabled air interfaces and help develop mm-wave evolutions that adequately match the requirements of the new domains. Taken together, the elements of 6G are targeted to create a seamless system that has all the necessary capabilities to empower the vision of ever-present intelligent communications connecting the cyber-physical worlds. With a foundation of trusted systems and a highly efficient compute fabric with built-in cognitive capabilities, the future network is envisioned to deliver limitless connectivity for upcoming applications and services. It is expected to make 6G a comprehensive platform for innovation and the information backbone of a digitally transformative society.

As early commercial 5G networks were being deployed in various parts of the world (e.g. Europe, USA, South Korea, Japan and China) since the beginning of 2018, discussions on 6G increased and started gaining momentum.

The Government of India has taken a progressive decision in 2021, to further our efforts to achieve global leadership in 6G by 2030. This resulted in the creation of six task forces to look at various aspects of the technology and come up with an overall vision document for India to be carried forward for the global vision as it evolves in other regions and domains. All 6G task forces are headed by leading subject matter experts from leading Indian academic institutions. These task forces have already submitted their independent reports to the Government. It is understood that the task forces have recommended, among others, research and analysis regarding the need for further studies in each domain – including spectrum sharing studies and pre-standard activities. In addition, TSDSI (India’s SDO) has independently submitted its 6G Vision to ITU-R as a contribution to developing a global 6G Vision for the IMT 2030 Vision.

It is imperative that the government, industry and academia continue to collaborate closely in identifying research priorities for 6G through a concerted and collaborative effort to develop a research agenda for Indian 6G leadership in areas of shared interest. India needs to start building country-specific applications and use cases that can be scaled globally. Policymakers and regulators will need to consider the changes that will be necessary to adapt to the rapidly evolving technology landscape due to the emergence of new and disruptive technologies such as 6G. We would like to once again thank our esteemed experts for their valuable contributions, and sincerely hope that the ideas and insights captured in this compilation will serve as a useful and objective resource for reference, and meaningfully assist research, standards development and policy-making to develop a globally harmonised 6G vision.

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