6G Looks Set To Be Insanely Fast
5G was such a big milestone when it arrived on the scene, and it made a lot of things possible due to faster transmission speeds and much lower latency. 6G is going to be the next major leap when it comes to internet speeds and it’s bound to make a major difference when it arrives. In Japan, the first-ever 6G device has been tested successfully.
In 2021, a consortium consisting of DOCOMO, Fujitsu, NEC Corporation, and NTT Corporation was formed to usher in the era of 6G. This consortium was able to successfully build and test the world’s first 6G device, which is capable of transmitting data at up to 100 Gbps from as far as 330 feet (100 meters) away. That’s incredibly fast and is twenty times the current maximum speed of 5G.
6G operates in higher frequency bands than 5G does in order to achieve such fast speeds, and these frequencies, between 100 GHz and 300 GHz, are referred to as “sub-terahertz bands”, which I reckon is a term that will be heard a lot more in the coming years. This is opposed to “millimeter-wave bands“, a term you must have heard if you’ve been following 5G deeply for quite some time.
6G Is Also Bound To Have Its Downsides
Sure, 6G is going to be blazing fast, but it doesn’t mean that this speed comes at no additional cost. First off, just like 5G did, you’re going to need brand-new devices, whether computers, routers, or smartphones, in order to be able to take advantage of 6G speeds, whenever it happens to come to the consumer.
On top of that, a major drawback is that higher frequency bands don’t have as much penetration power as lower frequencies do. Theoretically, 6G won’t be able to travel as far from its source as 5G can, which means the more obstacles or distance that there is between you and a 6G network source, the weaker the signal you get will be. This applies to all networks, really, but it should be more pronounced on sub-terahertz bands.
Don’t Hold Your Breath, It Probably Isn’t Coming Anytime Soon
6G almost certainly isn’t coming within the next five years. 5G hasn’t reached full penetration and 5.5G is still waiting in the stables in almost all countries. This is the very first test of 6G to prove what it can do, but there’s no buzz around any networks, beyond the ones in the consortium, starting the process of adopting the technology. For now, it’s just a wireless technology in the works, and nowhere close to consumers.
