6G

In telecommunications, 6G is the designation for a future technical standard of a sixth-generation technology for wireless communications. It is the planned successor to 5G (ITU-R IMT-2020), and is currently in the early stages of the standardization process. 6G networks will likely be significantly faster than previous generations, thanks to further improvements in radio interface modulation and coding techniques, as well as physical-layer technologies. The frequency bands for 6G are undetermined, and there are concerns that those frequencies may not be commercially viable, especially considering that 5G deployments are very limited due to costs. The largest number of 6G patents have been filed in China. The 6G network is expected to be developed and released by the early 2030s, but given such concerns it is not yet clear which features and improvements will be implemented first. The wireless research community has cautioned that "6G must not inherently trigger a hardware refresh of 5G RAN infrastructure", and that it must "address demonstrable customer needs". This reflects industry sentiment about the cost of the 5G rollout, and concern that certain applications and revenue streams have not lived up to expectations.