What is6G?

6G wouldn’t be much of a generational upgrade if it wasn’t faster than 5G, and it could be far faster. 

The relevant technologies are still being tested and developed, but Ericsson predicts that it could offer speeds of several hundred gigabits per seconds (Gbps). The UK’s 5G networks for comparison top out at around 1Gbps, with average speeds being more in the range of 100-250Mbps. So that would make 6G hundreds of times faster than 5G’s peak speeds and potentially thousands of times faster than its average speeds.

As such, you’d be able to download apps, games, videos, and most other files instantly, bringing an almost complete end to the concept of waiting for downloads to complete. But all that speed won’t just benefit people – it could also aid AI and other advanced technologies, which we’ll get to further down.

It’s not just raw speed that 6G will have going for it – it’s also expected to have incredibly low latency.

How low? Well, with 5G and fibre we talk about latency in milliseconds (ms). A typical 5G connection might have a latency of around 30ms, while full fibre broadband can range between roughly 5ms and 25ms on average. But with 6G, Ericsson reports that we could get end-to-end sub-millisecond latency. So in other words under 1ms.

In fact, according to TechTarget, 6G might one day achieve one-microsecond latency, making it 1,000 times faster than even 1ms latency. But even at 1ms, that would mean latency is basically non-existent, which would benefit online games but will be even more beneficial to some of the 6G use cases we’ll get to below.

Mobile coverage is pretty good these days, but there are still coverage black spots, particularly in rural areas. 6G could put an end to that – both in the UK and globally.

But it won’t do this alone, with Ericsson explaining that global coverage will become a realistic possibility through 6G coupled with low-Earth orbit satellites (that the network can fall back on when there’s no ground-based coverage) and spectrum sharing. That means you’ll be able to get a signal even deep in nature – as well as across oceans and in the sky. You’ll never not be able to reach people, which is both convenient and potentially life-saving in the case of an emergency.

On top of which, 6G is being designed to provide greater security and reliability – with the latter being enabled in part by the high capacity of spectrum that’s expected to be used, so that even in dense, busy areas with lots of people using the network, you’re never struggling to connect.

AI is likely to be the defining technology of at least the next few decades, and 6G is a vital part of AI’s continued development, thanks to its promised speed, low latency, coverage, and reliability.

All those perks will allow it to power AI tools when Wi-Fi isn’t available, whether that’s advanced AI tasks on your phone, or even AI-powered robots and cars.

Plus, 6G networks themselves will likely be heavily reliant on AI, with this technology likely being used to automatically and dynamically optimise mobile networks, so that they’re always performing at their peak, and in the most energy-efficient manner possible.

Beyond AI, 6G could also power various other cutting-edge technologies, including some that simply aren’t possible on a 5G connection.

We’re talking about things like advanced holographic communications, and mass-market mixed reality, with Ericsson describing a future with “seamless integration of physical and digital worlds.”

Smart/automated transport and factories will also benefit through the low latency and high capacity of 6G networks, and the Internet of Things (IoT) will become bigger and smarter as we move towards a future of – as IEEE Xplore puts it – “fully intelligent and autonomous systems.”

Imagine a world of almost complete automation, where factories – run by AI and powered by 6G – build whatever we need without any humans in the building, where transport doesn’t need drivers, and where the systems that keep the world going are all managed, run, and optimised automatically. 6G – for all the reasons outlined above – is one of the key technologies that could one day enable this futuristic vision.