The rapid evolution of wireless communication has transformed how people connect and share information globally. From the early days of analog systems that enabled voice calls to the current 5G networks offering ultra-fast data speeds and low latency, each new generation of mobile technology has introduced significant improvements over its predecessor. However, as the demand for faster, more reliable, and ubiquitous connectivity continues to rise, attention has shifted toward the next frontier: sixth generation (6G) wireless communication.
6G is expected to revolutionize communication networks by delivering unprecedented data speeds, near-zero latency, and seamless integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and holographic communication. Standardization will be critical in ensuring that 6G is globally interoperable, secure, and inclusive. This blog explores the key aspects of 6G standardization and its challenges.
An Overview of Standardization
Standardization refers to the process of developing and implementing technical standards, ensuring that products, services, and systems follow a consistent set of guidelines. It plays a crucial role in various industries by promoting efficiency, safety, interoperability, and quality. These standards may pertain to various elements such as design specifications, safety protocols, data formats, or operational procedures.
In the telecom industry, standardization holds paramount importance.
Indeed, the telecommunications industry is one of the most complex and fast-evolving sectors, requiring a high degree of interoperability between various devices, networks, and services. As explained in more details below, standardization in this industry is fundamental for global connectivity and interoperability, network evolution and technology upgrades, spectrum allocation, network security, and consumer and market benefits.
Global Connectivity and Interoperability: In telecom, the ability to communicate across regions is essential. Telecommunication networks connect billions of devices, from smartphones to computers to Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and they must work together, often across different nations and continents. Without standardization, devices would require custom settings to communicate across networks in different regions. Global standards ensure that devices can connect to networks across different countries and provide consistent service to users.
Network Evolution and Technology Upgrades: The telecom industry is continuously evolving, with regular upgrades in network technology. Each new generation of network technology requires massive infrastructural changes, and without standardization, these transitions would be chaotic and expensive. Standards help guide these transitions by establishing protocols for network evolution, ensuring backward compatibility, and making the implementation of new technologies smoother.
Spectrum Allocation: In the telecom industry, radio frequency spectrum is a finite resource, and its efficient use is critical for maintaining reliable service. Standardization plays a significant role in spectrum allocation, ensuring that different telecommunications services—such as mobile, satellite, or broadcast—operate without interference. By setting standards for how different parts of the spectrum are used, industry regulators can ensure that network services are reliable and don’t interfere with one another. For example, cellular networks operate within designated frequency bands that are standardized across regions, ensuring that mobile networks don’t interfere with TV broadcasts, satellite communications, or emergency services.
Network Security: As telecommunication networks become more complex and essential to daily life, security is a growing concern. Standardization plays a vital role in setting security protocols to protect networks from cyberattacks, data breaches, and other security threats. Telecom standard setting organizations such as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and the International Telecom Union develop security frameworks that ensure that devices, networks, and services follow stringent security protocols. These standards help telecom operators secure their infrastructure and ensure the privacy of users’ data.
Consumer and Market Benefits: From the consumer’s perspective, standardization provides assurance that devices and services will work as expected, regardless of the manufacturer or service provider. This opens up markets and prevents monopolies by allowing consumers to switch providers or upgrade devices without being locked into proprietary systems. In the market, standardization promotes competition by creating a level playing field where companies can compete based on innovation, service quality, and cost rather than proprietary technology.
Key Objectives and Features of 6G
The vision for 6G is to create a network that transcends current capabilities and enables ubiquitous connectivity for people, machines, and systems.
The key features of 6G include:
- Ubiquitous Connectivity: 6G will provide seamless connectivity across different environments, including urban, rural, and remote areas, ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age.
- AI-Driven Networks: AI will play a central role in optimizing network performance, enabling self-learning and self-organizing networks that can adapt to changing conditions in real-time.
- Extreme Low Latency and Ultra-Fast Speeds: 6G networks will offer data speed up to 100 times faster than 5G, with latency reduced to microseconds, enabling real-time applications such as immersive augmented reality (AR) and autonomous driving.
- High-Energy Efficiency and Sustainability: 6G will prioritize energy-efficient technologies, reducing the environmental impact of wireless networks while supporting green initiatives.
- Holographic Communications and Extended Reality: 6G will enable new forms of communication, such as holographic telepresence and immersive virtual environments, enhancing remote interaction and collaboration between people.
- Integration of Terrestrial and Satellite Networks: 6G will integrate satellite communication with terrestrial networks, providing global coverage and connectivity in even the most remote regions.
These objectives are ambitious and underscore the importance of developing a comprehensive and standardized framework that can support the diverse use cases and applications envisioned for 6G.
Organizations leading the change
Several major industry and regulatory bodies are involved in shaping the future of 6G, such as 3GPP, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
3GPP is a partnership project uniting seven telecommunications standard development organizations (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC), known as “Organizational Partners” to develop standard specifications. 3GPP specifications cover cellular telecommunications technologies, including radio access, core network, and service capabilities. The 3GPP specifications also provide hooks for non-radio access to the core network, and for interworking with non-3GPP networks.
3GPP publishes standard technical specifications. Each functional set is assigned a release number. 3GPP consists of two major groups: the Technical Standardization Group (TSG), in which companies and other organizations directly participate in creating technical specifications, and the Project Coordination Group (PCG) in which Organizational Partners participate to determine the overall timeline and manage progress.
3GPP standard technical specifications become international standards when the International Telecommunication Union approves them as recommendations. The International Telecommunication Union establishes the standards for categorizing systems as International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) technologies. Achieving IMT classification is crucial, as it grants access to a broad spectrum of frequency bands that are globally or regionally recognized for IMT use.
3GPP Release 15, completed in 2018, defined 5G, while Release-16 and Release-17 expand the scope of functionality and improve the performance of 5G. 3GPP Release-18 started in 2022 and “5G-Advanced” is targeted for commercial service in the late 2020s. This release will serve as a stepping stone toward 6G. For its part, the ITU has already set the framework for 6G, known as IMT-2030, which includes performance and usage requirements.
The International Telecommunication Union and 3GPP are central to the standardization process by ensuring a global consensus on the technological standards that will define 6G.
It should also be mentioned that the European Hexa-X project and North America’s Next G Alliance are also involved in the research and development of 6G technology.
Timeline and Phases of 6G Standardization
The standardization of 6G is expected to follow a structured and long-term process like the previous generations of mobile networks.
According to 3GPP’s work plan, the development of 6G specifications began with the initiation of Release 19 in 2024. The first specifications related to 6G are expected to be completed by 2028 in Release 21, and the first commercial deployments of 6G are projected for around 2030.
3GPP’s work on 6G can be broken down into several key phases:
- 2024-2026: Use Case and Requirement Studies: This phase is primarily focused on gathering inputs from industry stakeholders to define the potential use cases for 6G. These use cases will guide the technical specifications that follow. 3GPP will also work closely with the International Telecommunication Union to align its work with the global IMT-2030 framework.
- 2026-2028: Technical Studies and Feasibility Analysis: Once the use cases and requirements are established, 3GPP will engage in extensive technical studies to evaluate the feasibility of proposed solutions. This will involve simulations, laboratory tests, and trials to validate the technologies that will form the backbone of 6G.
- 2028-2030: Standard Development and Finalization: The final phase involves the creation of detailed technical standards, which will be released as part of Release 21. These standards will serve as the blueprint for telecom operators and manufacturers to build interoperable 6G systems.
This timeline is aligned with the International Telecommunications Union timeline. Between 2024 and 2026, the ITU will work on defining the technical performance standards and the associated evaluation methodologies for IMT-2030. These requirements will include both functional expectations (such as supporting specific capabilities) and quantitative metrics (like achieving a particular spectral efficiency, latency, or positioning precision under specific conditions). Once the requirements are finalized, the submission phase for IMT-2030 technologies will commence in 2027 and continue until early 2029.
In parallel, 3GPP is expected to submit self-assessments of 6G to the ITU, with a deadline at the end of 2028. The final decision by the ITU on whether to officially designate a technology as IMT-2030 is then expected by 2030. Following this, updates to the submission may be made in early 2030 to reflect the most recent specification versions, enabling the commercial deployment of 6G in 2030.
Challenges in 6G Standardization
Standardizing 6G presents several challenges due to its complexity. Some key challenges include:
- Global Coordination: The standardization of 6G will require collaboration between various international bodies, including the ITU, 3GPP, and regional organizations. Harmonizing efforts across different countries and regions will be essential to ensure the global adoption of 6G standards.
- Fragmented Spectrum Allocation: Allocating spectrum for 6G is a major challenge, particularly as the demand for high-frequency bands such as millimeter-wave (mmWave) and terahertz (THz) bands increases. Ensuring efficient spectrum management will be critical to avoiding interference and ensuring network performance.
- Security and Privacy Concerns: As 6G networks become more interconnected and reliant on AI, new security risks will emerge. Addressing these concerns through robust encryption, authentication, and data protection standards will be crucial to maintaining trust in 6G networks.
- Technological Gaps: 6G will require the development of new technologies, including advanced hardware, software, and protocols. Overcoming these technological gaps will necessitate significant investment in research and development.
Conclusion
The path toward 6G standardization is complex and multifaceted, involving a wide range of stakeholders, from industry leaders to government regulators. While significant progress has already been made, particularly with the release of early frameworks and the initiation of global research efforts, there is still much work to be done.
Over the next few years, organizations like 3GPP and ITU will continue to drive the process, with the first commercial 6G deployments expected around 2030. In parallel, deploying 6G globally will involve a coordinated effort across multiple sectors, countries, and stakeholders. From research and development to standardization, infrastructure build-out, and policy negotiations, a massive undertaking will unfold over many years.
Access to information will be paramount for the implementation and deployment of 6G. Indeed, the numerous stakeholders involved need to understand the technological landscape they evolve in to identify the areas where innovation is required. This will foster competition and collaboration. Stakeholders must also understand the 6G legal landscape and identify the patents declared essential to this new generation. This will help them navigate the complex licensing environment and negotiate Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory -FRAND- agreements. Patent owners must indeed secure licensing revenues while patent implementers need to anticipate the licensing costs of 6G and assess their litigation risks. This is what motivated the creation of FrandAvenue! FrandAvenue is a unique all-in-one platform designed for patent owners and patent implementers to provide them with the information necessary for their licensing negotiations. FrandAvenue also provides them with a secure negotiation space that ensures compliance with their FRAND obligations. FrandAvenue has 4 levels of subscription (including one free membership) and offers a wide variety of services for FRAND novice and expert parties alike.
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