Even though 5G isn’t available everywhere yet, tech giants are still testing the next generation of mobile network technology.
So, the Korean electronics company LG has been able to test 6G Terahertz (THz) data transmission, which will allow for very fast transfer speeds.
LG did its tests outside on September 7 at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) in Berlin, Germany. The tests were done over 320 metres.
LG says that the transmission, which took place at a frequency range of 155-175 GHz, is a big step toward making 6G commercially available in cities in the future.
The company and its partners sent the signal with a custom 20 dBm multichannel power amplifier and received it with a low noise amplifier, which made the signal better. Dr. Kim Byoung-hoon, LG Electronics’ CTO and EVP, said:
With the success of our most recent demonstration, we are one step closer to getting 6G speeds of 1 terabit (TB) per second in both indoor and outdoor urban areas.
We think that 6G will be a big part of future business and new user experiences, and we’d rather be at the forefront of its development than anywhere else.
On paper, 6G networks should be able to offer ten times less latency and fifty times faster data speeds than 5G networks, while also being more reliable.
For example, mmWave 5G, which is already on the market, can reach speeds of up to 3 Gbps at their peak, but theoretically, they can reach speeds of up to 5 Gbps. This means that the top speed of 6G networks should be around 150 Gbps.
This should make it possible for things like 3D networking, optical wireless communication (OWC), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and wireless power transfer to work.
But 6G is not likely to come out any time soon. Telecom giants think that the next generation of network technology will be standardised by 2025, and that it will be ready for commercial use by 2029.
