China has established three pivotal 6G technological standards under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), marking a significant advance in setting the international framework for next-gen telecommunications.
The new standards are tailored to enhance scenarios outlined in the union’s international mobile telecommunications 2030 framework: communications that are immersive, ultra-reliable low-latency and AI integrated.
Cui Kai, an associate research director from consulting company IDC who covers the telecoms industry, highlighted the importance of the standards.
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For example, immersive communication “goes beyond just VR or multimedia screens. Any service requiring high bandwidth, low latency and high reliability can benefit from these architectures and modules”, he said.
The developments were endorsed on July 26 during a plenary meeting of the union’s Telecommunication Standardisation Sector study group 13, a work group dedicated to future networks and emerging technologies.
The collaborative effort was supported by Hu Honglin, of the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and China Telecom. Hu has been researching the field of communication technology for 20 years and is a leading player in information-centric networking.
From 4G to 5G and now 6G, each evolution needs standards established as guidelines and references. Industry experts and companies strive to be involved in the development of these standards, aiming to secure a competitive market position as early as possible.
However, there are still divergences in the operational tech pathways for 6G, as discussed by Liu Guangyi, chief technology officer of the Wireless Department at China Mobile Research Institute, in an academic paper published in March.
“Operators in Europe and America, where 5G deployment has been relatively slow, show less enthusiasm for 6G development,” Liu wrote. “In contrast, East Asian operators like China Mobile, Japan’s Docomo, and Korea’s SKT are more proactive.”
The proposed standards are intended to aid different 6G requirements, such as the need to send secure content, keep data up to date and check how well the system is performing. They define functionalities for immersive and AI services.
Cui said the new features added to the system – such as the ability to calculate quickly – could handle information as it came in. They improved the spreading out of tasks and self-evaluation, so the system could make changes as needed, he said.
According to the SARI website, the move would make the research institute even more well known around the world for its work in information-centric networking. It also lays a strong foundation for creating standards that will be used in the future technology of 6G.
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