Sixth Generation Networks Are Expected To Intelligently And Selectively Use Different Frequencies To Achieve The Highest Transmission Rate And Regulate Signals. 

This method is theoretically possible because atoms and molecules can emit and absorb electromagnetic radiation at specific frequencies.

In addition, each material’s transmission frequencies and absorption rates are specific values.

The sixth generation of communication networks will provide outstanding achievements for government and industrial businesses, improving the rate of access to information and significantly enhancing security.

The sixth generation provides significant functional capabilities to companies, the most important of which are the following:

•  Early detection of threats through rapid data transmission
•  Providing practical services for the health sector
•  The possibility of using the facial recognition feature in a wide range of client equipment
•  They provide valuable services for measuring air quality so that intelligent sensors can quickly detect air pollution measurements and send information to data centers.
•  The possibility of extensive use of sensory interfaces in personal and business life

The advances in this area not only cause a big revolution in the supply of mobile equipment, especially smartphones, but also allow intelligent cities, autonomous vehicles, virtual reality, and augmented reality to enter our world faster.

An Overview of the Architecture of the sixth generation of communication networks

Speed, capacity, and delay are three essential performance indicators (KPIs) that different generations, networks, and services are measured against. With the beginning of the migration process to the sixth-generation networks, companies will notice these indicators significantly.

However, new performance measures will also be proposed to respond to the broader requirements of stakeholders such as operators, large companies active in network service provision, large organizations, and cloud service providers who try to respond to the values ​​users consider.

Criteria such as Sustainability, Openness, Digital Inclusion, Privacy, and Trust are essential concepts that will enter the world of cellular networks when evaluating the capabilities of 6G-based networks and services.

The metrics above are new KPIs that will be just as important, if not more important, than the traditional KPIs of speed, capacity, and latency. To build operational networks that can achieve such vital indicators, we must have a new design approach in the initial design of 6G architecture.

Nokia has conducted an interesting research entitled Technological Innovations in the field of 6G systems, which targets some essential aspects of 6G architecture. Let’s look at the crucial elements of this technology that Nokia believes will tremendously impact the future of 6G networks.

New architectural goals

Nokia telecommunications experts are working on a new architecture that can be used for 6G networks, aligned with the new key metrics and indicators we mentioned earlier. The new architecture proposed by Nokia is focused on a cloud platform, simplification, stability, flexibility, programmability, peace and security, ability to integrate with artificial intelligence and machine learning. Figure 1 shows these new criteria.

Nokia believes that operators should take a serious look at the criteria shown in Figure 1 when designing 6G networks so that the networks are implemented in line with the needs of the industry world. Of course, each company will draw different goals and policies based on its priorities.

However, the items shown in Figure 1 are essential requirements that operators active in 6G implementation should focus on.

Some stakeholders will focus on implementing networks that produce zero carbon so that all operational aspects of 6G networks rely on operations to deliver the lowest CO2 emissions. Other stakeholders may focus their network design on virtual worlds to enable immersive experiences in Extended Reality, practical use of holography, and digital twins.

Another operator might consider implementing a network that focuses on connecting an increasing number of low-power devices and sensors. As the physical and digital worlds merge in the 6G era, a new wave of new machines will enter our world, all equipped with chips that will have a stable connection to communication networks.

In the new era, wearable and personalized sensors can communicate with each other and the network. Interestingly, Nokia has predicted that the fabric of some of our clothes will be equipped with such sensors. Such highly interconnected systems raise severe privacy and security concerns, as everything we use generates real-time data about our current state at risk of eavesdropping or abuse.

The system architecture of 6G networks

Implementing a network that can respond to the requirements and objectives mentioned above can only be achieved based on innovation in architecture. In addition, various changes should be made in different areas.

A 6G network can be developed in several heterogeneous and distributed public and private cloud infrastructures belonging to different stakeholders and use a cloud platform as a hardware accelerator. Implementations require a new level of programmability to respond to different needs.

In the circumstances, the mentioned architecture will have the highest level of flexibility. Still, at the same time, it needs a high level of expertise to be deployed in large-scale wide area networks and local area networks.

Therefore, telecommunication experts should consider upgrading their knowledge level to implement customized networks with the highest level of detail. This issue will make the networks that will be implemented in the future have unique designs and develop according to the requirements of a city or region.

We need new design patterns for 6G network systems to achieve this level of flexibility in network design.

For this reason, in some designs, the implementation process needs to be redone, and the prejudices or unnecessary insistence on using current technologies are abandoned and instead focused on innovative solutions and new architectures. For this purpose, we must pay attention to the following essential points:

First, we must implement cloud-native network functions and services that can flexibly and dynamically respond to clients in any location with minimal delay and according to the requirements.

Second, we need a new level of specialization and simplification. More precisely, the implementation process of mobile networks and services should be simple enough to resemble the pieces of an assembled Lego set, and each radio access network (RAN) or core network function should consist of a known piece that fits together and works. Open and service-oriented interfaces should allow customers to purchase and connect essentials from different vendors seamlessly.

For example, we can use one company’s solutions for authentication and identification and then move on to other vendors’ equipment whose areas of activity are roaming and hardware equipment. In this case, all requirements must work seamlessly with each other based on the intended architecture.

In this process, the distinction between the access and core networks is blurred, and it becomes possible to establish direct communication between network functions, radio stations, and nodes.

 Although the concepts of RAN and core network are not entirely removed, we can enrich the interactions between the two, consolidate functions and integrate some of them.

6G architectures will be implemented with advanced domain automation capabilities that enable coordination and automation across multiple network domains, such as managed domains, redundant resources at the edge, and locations beyond traditional mobile networks.

For example, a significant increase in computing and storage capabilities to store and process the massive amounts of data that must be aggregated for machine learning and artificial intelligence services, augmented reality, and the virtual world will be realized in the shadow of 6G implementation. 

To respond to these requirements, we need a particular type of data architecture that can gather and disseminate the required information from different data sources in an efficient manner.

Nokia has conducted extensive research in this area. It is currently taking the first steps to increase network capabilities with a wide range of features in the form of the 5G-Advanced project, which is scheduled to be launched in 2025.

According to Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer of Nokia, the company will look differently at how to build 6G networks.

The company plans to implement 6G networks based on a long list of features, enhancements, and technologies, providing service providers with solutions and tools to enhance network capabilities in the four dimensions of “Experience, Expansion, Development, and Operational Excellence.”

The new 6G system architecture is the next logical step in the migration path from 5G to 6G, which will be able to make the best use of proven concepts and prototypes.

While the new system architecture is a critical component of 6G networks, other parts exist. Nokia is researching various technologies it believes will play a vital role in the future of 6G networks. Among these technologies, we should mention new spectrum technologies, network sensing, air interface frameworks defined with artificial intelligence, security and trust, and stable connectivity. These components will create the foundation for fundamental changes in building networks, so they must work seamlessly and fully integrated.

Do we need sixth-generation networks?

Several reasons make the need for 6G networks inevitable. Among these reasons, the following should be mentioned:

• Technology Convergence: The sixth generation of cellular networks can integrate existing technologies such as deep learning and extensive data analysis. 5G started the path focused on the convergence of technologies, but 6G will bring this convergence to its peak.
• Edge computing: When we talk about deploying edge computing to ensure the response to the requirements of the network nodes, we emphasize that the delay is as low as possible, and we expect to have access to reliable bandwidth that maintains mobility. Slow, we need a high-speed and efficient network that 6G can meet these requirements.
• Internet of things: By 2030, most of the equipment we use at home or work will support machine-to-machine communication, which requires a high-speed network.
• High-performance computing: There is a direct connection between 6th-generation networks and high-performance computing. While the resources in the edge computing infrastructure can handle some IoT data, some IoT devices require HPC resources that provide the necessary processing power to the equipment.

What companies are working on 6G technology?

There is a lot of competition in the field of 6G among the players in this industry; almost every company is trying to achieve the technology of implementing these networks according to the current standards earlier than others. Major infrastructure companies such as Huawei, Nokia, and Samsung announced that they started research and development on the 6G network in 2020. Interestingly, the race to achieve 5G is incomparable compared to being the first company or country to offer 6G, its related applications, and services.

Major ongoing projects include the following:

• The University of Oulu in Finland is working on the 6Genesis research project to develop the 6G vision in 2030. In addition, the university, as mentioned earlier, has signed a cooperation agreement with Japan’s Beyond 5G consortium to carry out more detailed research.
•  South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute is researching the terahertz frequency band for 6G. A band that can transfer data 100 times faster than 4G networks and five times faster than 5G networks.
•  China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology invests in and oversees 6G research and development in the country.
•  In 2020, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened up frequencies above 95 GHz up to 3 THz for testing related to 6G frequency so that companies can test the spectrum of these frequencies.
•  Hexa-X is a European consortium of universities and industry leaders working to advance 6G research and standards. Nokia is leading this project. This company comprises giants like Ericsson (Swedish operator) and TIM in Italy.
•  Osaka University in Japan and researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia have developed a silicon-based microchip with a unique divider to divide data and enable more efficient management of terahertz waves. During testing, the researchers claimed their device could transfer data at 11 Gbps compared to 5G’s 10 Gbps.

What is the future of 6G networks?

Nearly ten years ago, Beyond 4G indicated that the 4G network needed to improve, leading to the LTE standard’s invention. At the time, it was unclear what requirements, bars, and requirements 5G might include, as there were only a few prototypes and research conducted in the field then.

The term B4G met users’ needs for some time. Ironically, the LTE standard is still in development, and 5G is set to use some aspects of it.

Similar to B4G, Beyond 5G has arrived as the beginning of a new path in the form of the 6G network and is supposed to replace the functions and services of the fifth generation. Many 5G wireless communications implementations, including LTE, 5G, and edge computing, have laid the groundwork for 6G.

The next generation of wireless networks will bring about a significant transformation and create a network of communication service providers, each of which will play an essential role in developing this technology.

In the same way that photovoltaic solar energy caused the emergence of intelligent electricity grids.

6G can upgrade mesh networks from a conceptual model to a deployable model, helping to extend coverage beyond the range of older cell stations.

Data centers are facing significant changes based on 5G, the most important of which are virtualization, programmable networks, edge computing, and issues related to the simultaneous support of public and private networks.

One of the essential benefits that 6G networks will provide is the establishment of regular communication and data aggregation, one of the critical goals that 6G seeks to achieve. This application service will play a crucial role in data analysis, artificial intelligence services, and implementing next-generation computing platforms based on HPC and quantum computing.

In addition to profound changes in RAN technology, the sixth generation of cellular networks will bring about fundamental changes in the basic fabric of communication networks. It is worth noting that there is now a lot of talk about AI and 6G mutual services.