6G catching up the race

5G Standalone networks, meaning networks that have been built using a new 5G core and which operate independently of existing 4G infrastructure, are rapidly gaining momentum around the world. 5G connectivity has reached a tipping point globally as 5G networks are now active in 47 of the world’s 70 largest economies by GDP.

The new 5G countries include two of the largest developing economies, India and Mexico, as well as other emerging economies such as Angola, Ethiopia, and Guatemala.

Even though 5G networks are still being deployed in many parts of the world, the research and development of 6G technology have already begun. 6G is expected to offer even faster data speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity than 5G.

The manufacturing sector has emerged as the clear leader for private 5G networks globally, with 44 per cent of the publicly announced deployments, followed by logistics, education, transport, sports, utilities, and mining. This trend appears to suggest a clear pragmatism about how the business world is tackling private 5G.

The global 6G market is set to boom to a valuation of $300 billion by 2033, expanding rapidly at 50% CAGR from 2023 to 2033. With each generation of communications technology, the focus of the network changes. The 2G and 3G eras were focused on human-to-human contact via voice and text. The 4G era represented a fundamental shift toward huge data consumption, whereas the 5G era has shifted its attention to linking the Internet of Things and industrial automation systems.

In the 6G age, the digital, physical, and human worlds will fluidly merge to trigger extrasensory experiences. Intelligent information systems will be paired with robust computation skills to make humans infinitely more efficient and to reinvent how we live, work, and care for the earth. A 6G network is a cellular network that runs in untapped radio frequencies and employs cognitive technologies such as AI to provide low-latency, high-speed communication at a rate many times faster than fifth-generation networks.

Increasing improvements in next-generation networks are expected to contribute to the overall growth of the 6G market. Increasing internet use has led to a sharp rise in the amount of information. All data and information are transmitted via communication networks. 6G is expected to have at least 20 times the wide-area capability of 5G. Furthermore, the 6G user-experienced data rate, which is expected to exceed 1,000 Mbps, is ten times faster than the 5G user-experienced data rate. Due to the numerous benefits, several countries worldwide are moving toward 6G.

India recently conducted its first successful 5G trial in Hyderabad, which was carried out by the state-owned telecommunications company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in collaboration with multinational technology company Ericsson.

India has a large and growing tech sector, with many startups and established companies working on cutting-edge technologies. As such, it is likely that India will be involved in the development of 6G technology in some capacity, either through research, innovation, or deployment.