Four leading vendors (NEC, Fujitsu, DOCOMO, and NTT) are collaborating on experimental 6G trials.
5G and 4G networks still have plenty of time before they’re shuttered, but it’s never too soon to prepare for what comes next.
The joint 6G trials announced today will aim to accelerate progress towards realising practical applications for the next-generation network.
Naoki Tani, Executive Vice President and CTO at DOCOMO, said:
“DOCOMO has been collaborating with Fujitsu since 2014 to verify wireless technologies towards the realisation of 5G and has leveraged the obtained know-how to provide 5G commercial services since 2020.
We are delighted to collaborate with Fujitsu also towards the realisation of the 6G concept.”
In the joint trials, high-frequency radio waves in the 100 GHz and 300 GHz range will be used. This sub-terahertz region is seen as a promising candidate for 6G networks to enable high speeds.
“DOCOMO and NTT will initiate experimental trials with Fujitsu to establish 6G wireless technologies for sub-THz communication using 100 GHz and 300 GHz band, and make a solid contribution to 6G commercialisation with a variety of industry partners,” added Tani.
However, higher frequencies can be more easily impacted by obstacles.
Among the trials planned by the partners is a distributed MIMO network. Multiple dispersed sub-terahertz antennas will simultaneously emit radio waves from multiple directions to a receiving terminal.
Through the distributed MIMO experiment, the partners aim to develop obstruction-resistant technology that supports a stable wireless speed of over 100Gbps.
Fujitsu also aims to develop high-frequency wireless devices utilising compound semiconductors such as gallium nitride (GaN) and indium phosphorus (InP).
Compound semiconductors will enable devices for 6G networks that are smaller and have low power consumption while supporting high speeds and large capacity.
(Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash)
SOURCE: https://www.telecomstechnews.com/news/2022/jun/06/nec-fujitsu-docomo-and-ntt-begin-6g-trials/
