6G: The Network powering the comprehensive metaverse experience
The road to 6G While the first 6G networks are not expected to be commercially available before 2030, we are already laying their foundations through innovations in 5G-Advanced in 3GPP Releases 18 and 19, as well as other key steppingstones on the path towards 6G. These stepping stones include distributed massive MIMO, an AI-native network fabric, new spectrum and radio architectures and the evolution of intent-based automation. Distributed massive MIMO The enormous demand that will result from the development of new, more collaborative user experiences will require greater uplink performance from networks, without sacrificing downlink performance. Distributed massive MIMO (DmMIMO) is a stepping stone for new extreme massive MIMO cell-less wireless network concepts using existing and new spectral bands in 6G.
We use wireless connections for streaming, video calls and downloading big files because we accept the fact that our connections may suddenly drop or become intermittent. But for life-critical services such interruptions are intolerable. When it comes to engine control in vehicles, hazard prevention in factories or flight stability control in aircraft, the cable remains the gold standard for connectivity.
What’s in in-X?
In our 6G vision, all highly sensitive connectivity should be in-X, meaning it is provided by highly specialized radio cells installed within the entity where the application runs, for instance in robots, production modules, vehicles and even human bodies. We say subnetwork, because these specialized radio cells must be able to operate autonomously even when out of coverage of an overlay wide area network. These cells support life-critical services that cannot depend on connections to the overlay network, though they can benefit when those connections are available.
In addition, VIRKTECH is engaging with major industry peers, customers, academia and research institutions globally to shape a common view and direction for 6G that will maximize its added value. Our current key engagements span the North America, Europe and APAC.