AI-generated visual, Microsoft Designer
5G has not yet delivered all its promises with the imminent arrival of 5G stand alone (SA) that 6G is already on the launch pad. Expected by 2030, the future wireless communications standard should panic the meters with a theoretical speed up to a hundred times higher than that of 5G.
Positioned on millimeter waves close to THz, it should offer ubiquitous connectivity for new immersive experiences.
6G must respond to the exploitation of digital uses and the massive use of artificial intelligence which requires processing ever-increasing volumes of data.
9 “friendly” countries
By increasingly reducing latency time, the future standard brings disruptive innovations in key sectors of the economy such as industry 4.0, health, automobiles and the media.
The development of these future critical applications already raises questions in terms of the security and resilience of these critical infrastructures or sovereignty issues.
In July, the government launched with France 6G, a program dedicated to the networks of the future, with a budget of 65 million euros.
At the end of February, France signed with nine other “friendly” countries – Australia, Canada, United States, Finland, Japan, South Korea, Czech Republic, United Kingdom and Sweden – a joint declaration in favor of 6G. open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, resilient and secure for a more inclusive, sustainable, secure and peaceful future. »
Six main principles to govern 6G
Distributed by the White House, this declaration is structured around six major principles for the networks of the future:
In the service of national security
The development of 6G must be supported by “ secure and resilient technology as part of a secure and reliable communications ecosystem ”, facilitating the ability of governments to protect national security.
Respectful of privacy
Through systematic cybersecurity approaches and by design, organizations must guarantee the availability of essential services and their rapid recovery in the event of a failure.
Reliable, resilient, secure, 6G technologies must protect the privacy of individuals.
Based on international standards
6G technologies will be based on global technical standards, interfaces and specifications developed in “ the framework of open, transparent, impartial and consensual decision-making processes. »
These global standards will respect intellectual property rights and promote, among other things, sustainability, accessibility and security.
Ensuring open innovation and interoperability
International cooperation within the framework of this standardization work must enable “ seamless interoperability between products from different vendors, including software and hardware. »
The development of 6G will benefit from joint R&D efforts, leveraging innovative technologies such as virtualization, Software-Defined Networking (SDN), AI.
Promoting accessibility and energy sobriety
Less energy-intensive, 6G will contribute to the sobriety effort of telecom operators while contributing to the reduction of the environmental impact of user companies.
Exploiting non-terrestrial networks (NTN) via satellites, the future standard must reduce digital divides in the world and be widely accessible to developing countries.
Fairly sharing the spectrum
To realize its promises of ultra-high speed, 6G will use the high bands of the radio spectrum, millimeter waves (mmWave).
The declaration proposes to integrate mechanisms for sharing this spectrum so that 6G can coexist with existing service providers.
A big absentee: China
The list of signatory countries does not include a major state in the development of wireless communications technologies: China. Western nations and their Asian allies – Japan, South Korea – have deliberately sidelined the post-5G Middle Kingdom.
After the United States, the European Commission called, last June, on member states to ban Chinese equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE from their 5G infrastructures, considering that these suppliers represent a risk for the security of the European Union.
Heavyweight in the telecoms industry, China has long maintained its technological lead in the world of 5G, making its equipment all the more difficult to replace.
A constellation of satellites in low orbit
In France, the government would have granted a respite of more than 3 years to SFR and Bouygues Telecom to dismantle their Huawei antennas according to The Informed.
China intends to maintain this supremacy with 6G, including from space. According to the site China Daily, Chinese state-owned telecom operator China Mobile recently launched the world’s first experimental 6G satellite.
This test could kick off a constellation of satellites in low orbit (around 500 kilometers above the earth), capable of covering white areas.