6G: the new frontier – if the world can work out how to use it

Researchers in China and beyond are looking into the next generation of wireless technology, but face strategic and technical barriers to overcome, experts say

Governments and industry have pledged billions of dollars to develop 6G, but experts can’t agree when it’ll begin to make an impact on our lives

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Experts say sixth-generation mobile networks could reach speeds of one terabyte per second. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:00am, 4 Jan 2020Updated: 8:46pm, 17 Feb 2020

From South Korea to China, tech-savvy users had their first taste of 5G’s lightning-fast internet speeds just months ago.

While the network promises a future of self-driving cars and data-fuelled cities, tech companies and research facilities in China and around the world are already looking into 6G, the next generation of internet networks.

Sixth-generation mobile networks will reach speeds of one terabyte per second, by some estimates. That’s 100 times the rate of even the best existing technology, but is expected to take a decade to roll out.

In that time, competitors in the race to dominate the technology will have to grapple with geopolitical tensions and work out exactly how it will be applied.

Wang Xi, China’s vice-minister of science and technology, says the foundations for 6G are being laid. Photo: Handout

While 6G is in the early stages, 5G technology is already a major sources of trade tension between China and the United States as defence systems incorporate cutting-edge wireless technologies.