It provides the state of global 6G developments regarding technology, economics, geopolitics, and ecosystem. It includes current 6G R&D spend as well as size and regional 5-year forecast for use cases such as integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) and integration of terrestrial networks with non terrestrial networks (TN-NTN), which are already materializing in the 5G domain.
Table of Contents
Key takeaways: 6Geopolitics will realize the complete vision of 5G
Why there is no reason to call it 6G
Geopolitics is defining 6G
- As expected, standard bodies are doing their job
- Superpowers are fighting for 6G supremacy
- China has won the 5G battle and is taking the lead on 6G
- Western countries are trailing and are no longer leading cellular technologies
- The world is certainly heading toward 6G fragmentation
- But there is global consensus on the waveform: OFDM 2.0
The 6G spectrum conundrum
- WRC-27 goes to China
- The harmonization of the 7GHz band looks promising
- Highjacked by Wi-Fi, the 6GHz band is already fragmented
The 6G AI-native fuss
- AI is already embedded in 5G nodes and network elements
- We do not expect to see a 6G core
- Led by NVIDIA and its acolytes, AI-RAN overshadows 6G
NTN and ISAC are the brightest 6G markets, they did not wait for 6G to materialize
- NTN is already happening, 3GPP standards and open RAN are key enablers
- Crucial for spectral coexistence, 5G-based ISAC is taking off