A team of Chinese researchers has taken a major step in 6G wireless communication technology, according to the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MST).
According to the MST’s official newspaper Science and Technology Daily (S&T Daily), a research team from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Second Institute was responsible for the breakthrough. The researchers used terahertz (THz) orbital angular momentum (OAM) communication technology.
They also employed a special antenna to generate four different beam patterns at a frequency of 110 gigahertz (GHz). With those patterns, the researchers attained real-time wireless transmission at a speed of 100 gigabits per second on a 10 GHz bandwidth, substantially expanding the effectiveness of bandwidth usage. The research team selected THz OAM communication as its breakthrough target.
“They have already achieved multiple signal transmissions and ultra-large capacity data transfers in the terahertz frequency range, more than doubling the spectrum usage efficiency,” S&T Daily noted. “In the future, this technology can also be applied to short-range broadband transmission fields, supporting high-speed communication between lunar and Mars landers, spacecraft and within spacecraft themselves.”
While still years away, 6G cellular networks are predicted to be faster and more reliable than the current 5G technology. Compared to its predecessor, 6G provides more effective spectrum use and lower signal disruptions. Experts have also predicted that it will be able to support data speeds of up to one terabit per second.
The 6G technology has the ability to improve wireless communication and enable applications like high-definition virtual reality, real-time holographic communication and other data-intensive tasks that are not possible with present technology.
6G sees potential use in the military
This technological advancement has also attracted serious attention in complex military environments.
By using OAM, multiple signals can be transmitted at the same time on an identical frequency without interference. This enables more effective use of the available spectrum and allows for both higher data transfer capabilities and improved communication speeds.
Another essential advancement is in the wireless backhaul technology that links base stations and core networks. Backhaul deals with the process of sending user data received from a base station back to the core network. Traditional backhaul methods mostly depend on fiber optic lines.
Nonetheless, as the number of base stations increases in the 5G and 6G communication era, traditional fiber-based transmission methods face greater costs, extended deployment times and reduced flexibility. As a consequence, wireless backhaul technology has appeared to become the dominant solution.
Over at the West, the U.S. government said it is putting together plans for the future use of 6G networks, hoping to provide Washington with a technological advantage over Beijing’s quick advances.
The White House talked with corporate leaders, technology officials and academic experts to formulate strategies for upcoming 6G networks and to “take the lessons learned from 5G about the importance of early involvement and resilience.”
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