Finland already wants to explore 6G but what more will it bring?

2035. In the metaverse, your digital twin goes to the doctor in your place because you’re contagious. Virtual auscultation reveals other concerns requiring surgical intervention from a specialist located in the United States. Small but technical operations are carried out from a distance, but you can almost feel the presence of the creator as the 3D avatar is so realistic and the sensory accessories are so close to real life. There have been no more road accidents this year. Self-driving cars have a lot to do with it. The same is true for many other accidents, thanks to the increased reactivity due to the presence of numerous sensors. We no longer lose anything at home, objects can be geolocated to the nearest centimeter, even underground. Here are some examples of what 6G could bring, namely the sixth generation of mobile telephony planned to be deployed by 2030. Obviously, while 5G is slipping away and having trouble showing what it can really bring, we wonder what 6G will mean. Being and yet, in Finland, a land that saw the birth of a leader in mobile telephony, like Nokia, we bet everything on this futuristic technology. It is in Oulu, located 150 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, that this futuristic 6G is being invented. The country is also a pioneer, as since 2018, the government has pulled out all the stops for Finland to become a major player in technology. There is no question of reproducing the debacle of 2013, when Nokia missed the smartphone shift.

Beyond 6G

As the sun rises late and sets midday in this snowy, frozen winter, at Oulu’s 14,000-student university, 6G is on everyone’s mind. Hundreds of researchers are working on at least 200 projects dealing with wireless communication technology. Financially supported by Helsinki, the university has engaged its researchers with equipment manufacturer Nokia and several other Finnish start-ups to develop the future mobile telephony standard under the 6G flagship banner. And to set an example, on the roof of a building we can see an antenna delivering private 5G connectivity. Besides ensuring fast connection with students, the network makes it possible to record and synchronize real-time data from 400 sensors placed across the campus. It is used to measure temperature, brightness or even humidity level.

1,000 gigabytes/s throughput

This ultra-fast network, however, remains far below what 6G could be. The technology promises data rates of 1,000 gigabytes/second, or 50 times more than 5G pushed to its limits. The delay will be divided by ten with 0.1 milliseconds. But if, for the moment, the matter of 6G laboratories remains, there is still something concrete. Matti Latva-aho, Director of 6G Flagship, presents the latest tests in progress. ” In this lab, we are currently measuring at 5G, millimeter 5G and the famous 6G. Here we can see the radio reflector in front of the transmitter. Our goal is to examine how to optimize and improve network coverage. In this case, the frequency displayed here is 140 GHz. » This is a much higher level than 5G’s 26 GHz maximum. With this tool, we modify the angles to check how the wave behaves and how to precisely direct it to its target. Because, the higher the frequency, the shorter the range of the signal and significant signal loss may occur. To maintain good performance and spread the beam while avoiding physical obstacles, researchers are testing the use of active or passive reflectors. And certainly, one of the challenges of this 6G will be related to the ability to monitor and maintain the performance of this beam. This is where artificial intelligence and machine learning come into play. The same is true with the use of new materials that ensure better propagation of the signal.

Towards a technological leap?

According to the director of the institute, this spectrum of high frequencies over 100 GHz will be a real technological leap, with new uses, such as digital twins or real-time 3D mapping. On the other hand, it will require significant investment from operators who are already struggling to integrate their 5G networks. Likewise, uses don’t really follow, mainly on the industrial side. So it may well be that 6G will just be an advanced 5G with a frequency spectrum from 7 to 24 GHz. In this case, there is no need to revolutionize the installation, a simple update will be enough. This is one of the first discussions conducted by World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 In Dubai, where negotiations are already discussing the 7-15 GHz band. But final standards will instead be set in 2027 as part of a conference by the UN agency responsible for harmonizing telecommunications standards. Meanwhile, in 2018, the University of Oulu is proud to be the first to look at 6G. According to the organization, the United States is in its infancy on this issue, while the Chinese, and Huawei in particular, may not be as advanced. . Through its 6G flagship, Finland intends to have the first experimental 6G network from 2025 to test how today’s devices work with these very high frequencies. For the moment and despite Finns’ efforts to push to higher frequencies, this future 6G looks more like a boosted 5G that we’re still looking for uses for.