We are in 2020, of course a disastrous year, but yeah amidst all these, 2020 was highly regarded from a decade. Even Abdul Kalam dreamed of a revolutionary 2020 which could bring a huge change in the field of science and technology. He actually wrote his ideas and imaginations about the upcoming technologies in the book “India 2020“.
One huge step ahead in the field of communication technology in 2020, was the launch of fifth generation networks [5G] all over the globe.
But at the same time, the study of possibilities of 6G communication has already begun.
We haven’t even experienced the quality or efficiency of 5G or in other words, 5G is yet to make its way to every homes, besides it has various advanced technology imbibed in it, then why do we need to think of 6G?…. This post might give you some answers.
Before thinking of 6G, let us just know basically what 5G will bring?
Primarily 5G brings as we all know very high data rate. With the growing demand, increase in the number of internet users, as applications of internet got wider, it was essential to have high data rate in terms of Tbps [enhanced Mobile Broad Band]. Along with that, the number of smart devices have increased drastically. Most of them requires connectivity [Massive Machine Type Communication]; 5G provides large connectivity too. Along with them, decrement in latency is one more additional feature. IoT is now possibility due to 5G.
Image Courtesy: ZDnet
The above image just depicts various applications of 5G because of the features it provides.
It already covers the dream technology of many. Then why 6G?.
We all know, technology doesn’t take birth in a day or two, it is like an evolution [ did you know LTE in 4G actually means Long Term Evolution?]. Lots of research and experimentation leads to one fine technology which we could enjoy. With the view point of what may be the future, the talks of 6G has begun. It is like when we had no mobile phones, the invention of mobile phone seemed like that is the greatest thing ever to be invented, seemed like it is enough for future. But look at the mobiles available now. It has transformed from huge box sized phones to ultra-thin smart phones. The smart phones are becoming more and more smart every month. Every month, a new phone will be released with improved features. This itself indicates, for the current smarter human race, nothing would suffice. The demand keeps on growing. That is why, despite having a superb 5G technology, the theoretical research about 6G has already started. 6G is expected roll out in 2030. Statistically and technically let us see why 6G?
The above picture shows the global traffic volume. In 2020, it is expected to be 62 Exabytes/Month. 1 Exabyte = 1000 Terra bytes = 1000000 Gigabytes [GB]. Just think how huge it is already. But looking at the future, it wouldn’t be constant as generations grow smarter with new smart devices, it is expected to grow exponentially to reach 5016 EB/month. Clearly none of the current technology nor 5G could bear that. thus there is a requirement for new technology.
Image Courtesy:arxiv.org
This picture depicts the traffic volume per subscription /month vs years. What data plan you have for your mobile, may be 1-2GB/day. That’s like 50 GB/month. That is the traffic volume for your mobile. Considering all the devices, the traffic volume per subscription is meager 5.3 GB/month in 2020. Obviously, the number of devices definitely would be increase. With the introduction of IOT, smart homes, smart cars, there would be a spike in the increment. Thus, the data consumption. Graph says it would be 257.1 GB/subscription which is too huge and beyond the scope of 5G. Hence 5G is expected to reach its limit in 2030. Plus, various new technologies like AI, 3D mapping, VR, AR, autonomous vehicles, smart wearable et cetera requires many features like high data rate per connectivity, ultra-low latency, capability of handling massive data and they are expected in 6th gen. I will post about these technologies in subsequent posts.
Image Courtesy:arxiv.org
The above picture just gives an idea how massive the connectivity grows!!!
Image Courtesy:3G4GBlog
The above picture shows what are the limitations of 5G which could be overcome by 6G. Conclusively, it is not that 5G is inefficient, it is just that 6G becomes inevitable in future.