Leaders in the Chinese telecom sector have urged for further research on 6G with independent capabilities and industrial chains built on significant 5G accomplishments, as the race for the next generation of network technology heats up globally and geopolitical dangers mount.
The current 2022 World 5G Convention, which began on Wednesday in Heilongjiang, Northeast China, has made 6G a hot issue for debate, underscoring the growing need to research 6G and maintain China’s leadership in 5G. According to a report on cnstock.com on Wednesday, Zhang Ping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, stated on the sidelines of the convention that forward-looking research into 6G is of great significance to fully exploit China’s significant market advantages, create an industrial ecosystem, and achieve technological dominance.
Zhang said that the US, the EU, Japan, South Korea, and other nations have been preparing for 6G in advance and claimed that it is essential for a new wave of technical innovation and the industrial revolution. The event, which intends to catalogue the country’s 5G growth, also featured popular themes including the metaverse, industrial internet, and intelligent healthcare.
More than 1.85 million 5G base stations, or 17.9% of all mobile communication base stations nationally, have been installed in China as of June. China has 455 million 5G mobile subscribers, and the country’s 5G base stations and users made up more than 60% of the totals for the whole world. Experts have focused attention on the nation’s 6G development in light of these impressive accomplishments, with some speculating that 6G technology may become commercially available around 2030, as both domestic and international industries are currently debating and researching the standards of 6G.
According to Wang Jun, vice president of Huawei’s wireless network product line and chief scientist of 6G, “global uniform standards are the route to go for 6G, as well as the direction of the whole industry’s efforts,” at the convention. In order to create a worldwide agreement on 6G research, Wang pointed out that the International Telecommunication Union would issue the 6G vision the next year. Within the following three to four years, the industry will undertake research and verify 6G technology.
Wang said that 6G has become a top priority for virtually all nations, with significant government funding committed in both talent development and 6G research. However, protectionism and regional agendas have recently surfaced as a result of geopolitical reasons, which are detrimental for open research. “China must have autonomous research capabilities and an independent industrial chain in the global competitive climate,” Wang continued. China is now the primary source country for 6G patent applications, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. Over 38,000 patent applications have been filed worldwide in the area of 6G communication technology, with China accounting for 35% of those, placing it top in the world. Businesses are also moving more quickly toward a forward-thinking position on 6G.China Mobile has applied for more than 400 6G invention patents, and it has released 18 white papers on 6G technology independently. China Unicom said during its first-half results briefing on Monday that the company is actively laying out 6G key technology directions such as computing network integration, and network and information security, making reserves of 6G technology.
“6G will completely assist society’s digital transition and create a digital universe. According to Wu Hequan, chairman of the Future Mobile Communications Forum, we should keep up the internationalization of 6G standards, conduct relevant technical research with more vigor, and foster innovation. The current global mobile communication network, according to Chen Shanzhi, deputy general manager of China Information and Communication Technologies Group Corp (CICT), only covers 20% of the land and 6% of the ocean, whereas 6G will integrate satellite communication and terrestrial mobile communication using hundreds of low-orbiting satellites to achieve worldwide wide area coverage.
