View to beyond 6G
In retrospect, mobile communications can be explained to have devel-oped in an evolutive manner from 1G to the current 5G, as described in preceding chapters. To chart future 5G evolution and 6G, this book applied the technology foresight perspective, which focuses on science, technology, and innovation to make better-informed policy decisions, thereby following the technology enablers, regulatory delimitations, and business and other societal and environmental phenomena associated with 6G. To look beyond 6G with a futures research approach, one must therefore pay attention to the weight of the past in mobile communications, the push of the presently recognizable trends, events, and preferences, but especially, emphasize the pull of the future to achieve plausibility (Inayatullah, 2008). For what we label beyond 6G, there will be no single inevitable future, but rather a set of numerous alternative futures. Thus, the future of mobile communications should not be considered evolutive or predictable, but malleable.
In 2020, the European Commission (EC) set extensive political goals to boost economies and competitiveness: green deal; fit for the digital age; an economy that works for people; a stronger Europe in the world; promoting our European way of life; and a new push for European democracy. It is planned that European geostrategic and global approach initiatives will be pursued via partnerships with like-minded countries and regions. The objectives of the established smart networks and services joint undertaking program with the Euro 0.9 B budget are to safeguard industrial leadership and foster technological sovereignty in future 6G. The key means to achieve the goals are the research and innovation program leading to conception and standardization around 2025 and preparatory actions for early market adoption of 6G technologies by the end of the decade. The initial work program has strategic aims to advance an open strategic autonomy via human-centric technologies and innovations. It is envisioned that Europe will become the first digital-led circular, climate-neutral, and sustainable region, leveraging Europe’s technological innovation advan-tages in digital and future emerging technologies. This is planned to contribute to several key technology policies: green deal; resilient communication privacy and security; AI, data & cloud computing; blockchain technology; high-performance computing; the Internet of things; and microelectronic components. From a services and applications perspective, it is foreseen that the program will impact communication and sensing fusion, immersive environments, digital twinning, and holographic communication. The programs will be measured via democracy, ecosystem, innovation, and sustainability key value indicators. In China, mobile communications technologies have become closely tied to national issues of development and prestige, and wider strategic infras-tructure and digitalization initiatives such as China standards 2035, belt and road, digital silk road, and made in China 2025. The ministry of science and technology (MOST) has constituted a working group for 6G research, development, and policymaking, consisting of key research institutes and enterprises. In 2019, the ministry of industry and informa-tion technology (MIIT) established the IMT-2030 promotion group as the main platform for gathering China’s industry and academic forces to promote technological research, advance international dialog and coop-eration, and develop a national standardization strategy. In 2020, the Chinese government introduced a subsidies and stimulus package worth RMB 10 T until 2025, focusing on the evolution of 5G, artificial intelli-gence, data centers, and smart manufacturing. A Chinese 6G white paper on 6G vision and candidate technologies was released in 2021 (China’s IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, 2021). The vision, called ‘Intelli-gent connection of everything, digital twin,’ envisioned an intelligent era of society built on balanced high-quality social services, scientific and precise social governance, and green energy-saving social development. The vision urges the establishment of new technological industries for high-quality economic growth, driven by the shift from physical products to digital services. The imbalance in wealth and demographics was seen to anticipate changes in social structure. Moreover, a more diversified and flattened governance structure was found to demand scientific and precise governance powered by digital twinning and AI to make timely accurate decisions and respond to real-time topical events. Eight usage scenarios were discussed: the proliferation of intelligence with a ubiq-uitous smart core; immersive cloud extended reality; digital twinning; holographic communications; converged communication and sensing; sensory fusion; intelligent interactions of feelings and thoughts; global seamless nationwide coverage; and a cross-cutting theme of multilateral network security. China’s IMT-2030 (6G) promotion group determined the antecedents of the successful 6G development as follows (China’s IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, 2021). In Japan, The beyond 5G promotion consortium (B5GPC, 2020) was established in 2020 by the government, academia, and industry for information sharing and promoting Japanese first-mover advantage in 6G (The Japanese ministry of internal affairs and communications, 2020). The three policy objectives set for the launched program were global first, the creation of an innovation ecosystem, and strengthening competi-tive advantages in R&D through concentrated allocation of resources (The Japanese ministry of internal affairs and communications, 2020). Japan sets numerical targets for the infrastructure market share (30%) and the share of the number of standard essential patents(10%). The key means of achieving the objectives are to promote global harmonized standardization and policies, collaborative research, and bidirectional globalization.In the USA, the Clean Network Initiative was established in 2020 to address the envisioned cybersecurity threats related to data privacy, secu-rity, human rights, and democracy (The United States Government, 2021). To advance future wireless technological leadership, the alliance for telecommunications industry solutions (ATIS) established the NextG alliance (NGA), leveraging sector efforts in 2021 (ATIS NGA, 2021). The NGA program is organized in six working groups: applications; greenG; national goals; societal and economic needs; spectrum; and tech-nology. The developed national roadmap exhibits six objectives for 6G mobile communication networks. Global ITU-R, the international level joint process for IMT toward 2030 and beyond, which corresponds to 6G, is underway at the ITU-R working party 5D (ITU-R WP5D). The technology trends have been identified and published in Future Technology Trends Towards 2030 and Beyond in late 2022 (ITU-R, 2022). Work on the recommendation about the frame-work for IMT is ongoing and will be completed in June 2023 with the presentation of new usage scenarios for 6G. Work at the ITU-R WP5D on the framework for the future IMT systems involves member states and organizations worldwide to contribute to forecasting driving factors such as user and application trends, use cases, usage scenarios, and capabilities. The first report published by the ITU-R in 2022 (ITU-R, 2022) identifies and application trends for IMT toward 2030 and beyond.
In 2020, the European Commission (EC) set extensive political goals to boost economies and competitiveness: green deal; fit for the digital age; an economy that works for people; a stronger Europe in the world; promoting our European way of life; and a new push for European democracy. It is planned that European geostrategic and global approach initiatives will be pursued via partnerships with like-minded countries and regions. The objectives of the established smart networks and services joint undertaking program with the Euro 0.9 B budget are to safeguard industrial leadership and foster technological sovereignty in future 6G. The key means to achieve the goals are the research and innovation program leading to conception and standardization around 2025 and preparatory actions for early market adoption of 6G technologies by the end of the decade. The initial work program has strategic aims to advance an open strategic autonomy via human-centric technologies and innovations. It is envisioned that Europe will become the first digital-led circular, climate-neutral, and sustainable region, leveraging Europe’s technological innovation advan-tages in digital and future emerging technologies. This is planned to contribute to several key technology policies: green deal; resilient communication privacy and security; AI, data & cloud computing; blockchain technology; high-performance computing; the Internet of things; and microelectronic components. From a services and applications perspective, it is foreseen that the program will impact communication and sensing fusion, immersive environments, digital twinning, and holographic communication. The programs will be measured via democracy, ecosystem, innovation, and sustainability key value indicators. In China, mobile communications technologies have become closely tied to national issues of development and prestige, and wider strategic infras-tructure and digitalization initiatives such as China standards 2035, belt and road, digital silk road, and made in China 2025. The ministry of science and technology (MOST) has constituted a working group for 6G research, development, and policymaking, consisting of key research institutes and enterprises. In 2019, the ministry of industry and informa-tion technology (MIIT) established the IMT-2030 promotion group as the main platform for gathering China’s industry and academic forces to promote technological research, advance international dialog and coop-eration, and develop a national standardization strategy. In 2020, the Chinese government introduced a subsidies and stimulus package worth RMB 10 T until 2025, focusing on the evolution of 5G, artificial intelli-gence, data centers, and smart manufacturing. A Chinese 6G white paper on 6G vision and candidate technologies was released in 2021 (China’s IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, 2021). The vision, called ‘Intelli-gent connection of everything, digital twin,’ envisioned an intelligent era of society built on balanced high-quality social services, scientific and precise social governance, and green energy-saving social development. The vision urges the establishment of new technological industries for high-quality economic growth, driven by the shift from physical products to digital services. The imbalance in wealth and demographics was seen to anticipate changes in social structure. Moreover, a more diversified and flattened governance structure was found to demand scientific and precise governance powered by digital twinning and AI to make timely accurate decisions and respond to real-time topical events. Eight usage scenarios were discussed: the proliferation of intelligence with a ubiq-uitous smart core; immersive cloud extended reality; digital twinning; holographic communications; converged communication and sensing; sensory fusion; intelligent interactions of feelings and thoughts; global seamless nationwide coverage; and a cross-cutting theme of multilateral network security. China’s IMT-2030 (6G) promotion group determined the antecedents of the successful 6G development as follows (China’s IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, 2021). In Japan, The beyond 5G promotion consortium (B5GPC, 2020) was established in 2020 by the government, academia, and industry for information sharing and promoting Japanese first-mover advantage in 6G (The Japanese ministry of internal affairs and communications, 2020). The three policy objectives set for the launched program were global first, the creation of an innovation ecosystem, and strengthening competi-tive advantages in R&D through concentrated allocation of resources (The Japanese ministry of internal affairs and communications, 2020). Japan sets numerical targets for the infrastructure market share (30%) and the share of the number of standard essential patents(10%). The key means of achieving the objectives are to promote global harmonized standardization and policies, collaborative research, and bidirectional globalization.In the USA, the Clean Network Initiative was established in 2020 to address the envisioned cybersecurity threats related to data privacy, secu-rity, human rights, and democracy (The United States Government, 2021). To advance future wireless technological leadership, the alliance for telecommunications industry solutions (ATIS) established the NextG alliance (NGA), leveraging sector efforts in 2021 (ATIS NGA, 2021). The NGA program is organized in six working groups: applications; greenG; national goals; societal and economic needs; spectrum; and tech-nology. The developed national roadmap exhibits six objectives for 6G mobile communication networks. Global ITU-R, the international level joint process for IMT toward 2030 and beyond, which corresponds to 6G, is underway at the ITU-R working party 5D (ITU-R WP5D). The technology trends have been identified and published in Future Technology Trends Towards 2030 and Beyond in late 2022 (ITU-R, 2022). Work on the recommendation about the frame-work for IMT is ongoing and will be completed in June 2023 with the presentation of new usage scenarios for 6G. Work at the ITU-R WP5D on the framework for the future IMT systems involves member states and organizations worldwide to contribute to forecasting driving factors such as user and application trends, use cases, usage scenarios, and capabilities. The first report published by the ITU-R in 2022 (ITU-R, 2022) identifies and application trends for IMT toward 2030 and beyond.
6G twinningDigital twins are software-based implementations of physical systems. They are similar to a simulation but connect by a data feedback loop that allows for real-time integration of changes to the physical or digital system. The value of the digital twin workflow is that it enables iterative system validation before pushing changes to the hardware. As 6G moves into the prototyping and development stage, two key digital twin tools will be critical to efficiently and cost-effectively designing 6G: circuit-modeled digital twins and network digital twins.
- Because traditional modeling tools need highly sophisticated processing to accurately represent complex RF circuits, digital twins can provide an advantage by characterizing the responses of the physical circuit and feeding that back into the digital representation.
- With digital twins, networks can directly link the physical RAN measurements to upperlayer network applications and test new features and functionality in software environments before pushing them live. Network digital twins enable engineers to integrate existing models or other digital twins into a system and conduct a trial without performing costly field tests.
Massive twinningThe idea of creating highly accurate digital copies, or digital twins, of real-world environments, and doing so at a large scale, is known as massive twinning. This application is compelling for industrial use cases and gaming. In industry, massive twinning will serve as a tool in early design and technology development and for test and validation. Digital twins are similar in concept to emulators, but users can update them with real-world data from sensors and measurements. The proliferation of connected sensors will enable higher fidelity and dynamic digital twins that can change and adapt to mirror real-world environments. Digital twins can evaluate new technologies to better understand performance and make design decisions informed by real-world performance before engineers build physical systems. After companies create and deploy devices, they can use massive twinning to reduce risks associated with making software updates. In cellular systems and more generally, software-defined products are becoming the norm. The increased use of software in devices has come with a proliferation of software updates. Massive twinning enables developers to test and validate software updates in a highly accurate emulation environment before pushing them to customers and end users.