By Juan Pedro Tomás
Chinese vendor Huawei expects 6G technologies to hit the market by around 2030, the company’s rotating chairman, Eric Xu, recently said a Huawei global analyst conference.
“We think 6G will be on the market by around 2030, but we don’t really know what 6G is yet. Our industry expects to launch something that will contribute to businesses and consumers by around 2030, just like we have done for 4G and 5G,” Xu said.
The executive noted that Huawei is currently working to define the main specifications of 6G technology, adding that the company may release a 6G white paper soon. “We are working with other players in the industry to define what 6G actually is. Maybe in the near future, we will be launching our 6G white paper. We want to discuss with businesses and consumers about what 6G will look like. Driven by our vision and the possible definition of 6G, we are also researching basic science and cutting-edge technologies, aiming to realize the 6G that we define together.”
Xu also noted that the future development of 6G will depend on the potential use cases that would require the support of this technology.
“If Huawei or the global industry has a limited imagination, and if we could not come up with a compelling use case for 6G, maybe 6G would not be needed. If all of the use cases for 6G that the industry would come up with could be supported by 5G or 5.5G, we would not need 6G. Then we may need to wait for our next generation, who might be smarter than us and have different demands. They might come up with some use cases that could only be addressed by 6G. That would be where 6G could find its value (…) We certainly look forward to what 6G will bring, but 6G will not necessarily come. And yet, we still need to do research and make necessary investments to get ourselves prepared.”
The Chinese government has already begun researching 6G technology. According to reports by Chinese state media, government ministries and research institutes have had initial meetings with the aim of establishing a national 6G technology research and development group. The Ministry of Science and Technology said that it will set up two working groups to carry out the 6G research activities.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the German government said it plans to provide up to 700 million euros (US$833 million) in financing for research into 6G technologies by 2025. In a release, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) said it is starting the first German research initiative on 6G technology this week.
The ministry said that the aim of the first funding measure is to create the basis for an innovation ecosystem for future communication technologies around 6G
