The rapid development of communication technologies is reshaping our world. 5G is no longer just a concept; it is a reality, offering unprecedented speed and connectivity. Meanwhile, 6G, the next generation of communication technology, is being developed in laboratories, signaling a future that will be even more interconnected and intelligent.
The 3GPP 5G standard has advanced to the R18 version, marking the official entry of 5G into the 5G-Advanced evolution phase. There are now 3,720 global 5G devices, with 1,878 of them being non-phone devices, making up more than 50% of the total. This trend shows a diverse development of 5G terminal types. On September 10, 2024, Apple launched the iPhone 16 Pro, featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 5G modem, supporting 5G-Advanced technology, making it the first iPhone to support 5.5G.
The prospects and potential of 6G technology
For 6G, IMT has proposed 15 capability indicators, including six new capabilities: coverage range, sensing-related capabilities, artificial intelligence capabilities, sustainability, operational capabilities, and positioning accuracy, along with nine enhanced capabilities compared to 5G: security/privacy/resilience, reliability, latency, mobility, connection density, regional traffic capacity, spectrum efficiency, user experience data rate, and peak data rate.
The next three years will be a critical period for researching and validating key technologies for 6G. The global 6G R&D efforts are accelerating. The 3GPP plans to start standardizing 6G technology in the second half of 2025, with 6G devices expected to be available by the second half of 2028.
As the next-generation mobile communication technology, 6G networks will leverage new frequencies, ubiquitous connectivity, and artificial intelligence to deeply integrate the digital and physical worlds. This will create a network that covers land, sea, air, space, and earth, achieving ubiquitous intelligence to accommodate new businesses and scenarios, and shaping the future communication ecosystem.
Currently, the global industry has begun exploring the next-generation mobile communication technology (6G). Building on the IMT-2020 (5G) "Iron Triangle" (eMBB, URLLC, mMTC), 6G will further extend to six major business scenarios: immersive communication, massive connectivity, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, AI and communication convergence, integrated sensing and communication, and ubiquitous connectivity. Based on these six scenarios, four overarching goals for 6G networks have been proposed: sustainability, connecting the unconnected, security/privacy/resilience, and ubiquitous intelligence.
5G and 6G are not just upgrades in communication technology; they represent a whole new digital world. In this era of infinite possibilities, let's look forward to and explore the transformations and opportunities that 5G and 6G will bring.
