Nation aims for beachhead in 6G development battle

Chinese academic researchers and telecom operators are leaving no stone unturned in efforts to establish a beachhead for 6G, the next-generation wireless technology that has already turned into a key battleground for innovation and industrial transformation.

Despite growing geopolitical interference in the global telecom industry, China has a solid foundation in telecom talent and patents, and its edge in 5G will help the country gain an upper hand in the race toward 6G research and development, experts and company executives said.

The comments came as the world enters a crucial window of opportunity to identify technologies and formulate key standards for 6G. While there is still no universally accepted definition of the technology, 6G is expected to have far lower latency, higher speeds and more bandwidth than 5G.

More importantly, the technology will be able to support the integration of space, air, territorial and maritime communication technologies, which will spawn a wide range of innovative applications, they added.

China is aiming to commercialize the technology around 2030. "We will kick off a string of scientific projects targeting 6G and aim to achieve breakthroughs in crucial technologies," said Jin Zhuanglong, minister of industry and information technology.