What is 6G Technology?

Most of us have yet to use 5G, so why is there talk already about 6G technology? Trust me when I tell you: those days aren’t far off when 6G will become a reality for millions of people around the world.

So, while we all wait for this technology to arrive, let’s also delve into what is 6G technology and how it would affect our lives.

What is 6G?

Let it be known that 6G is the official term for the upcoming technology. Although it is often referred to as 6G, the name of this technology is not yet officially coined, so it can be anything.

6G refers to the sixth generation of wireless technology. It follows up on the 4G and 5G technology, and would hopefully build upon the advanced capacity that is currently being established through 5G networks.

It is expected that this technology would make use of higher-frequency radio bands that would allow higher speeds to pass through with low latency. It is expected that this technology would be big enough to support automated cars of the future.

It is common for new wireless standards to emerge every decade. So, it is also assumed that 6G technology would be introduced somewhere around 2030. But don’t set this in stone just yet. As mentioned, nothing is confirmed and things might be different in the future.

The reason why 6G is being talked about by all the experts is because of the advancements being made in 5G technology. Also, consumers now use more devices than ever. There are more smartphones in the world than people. And every person uses multiple smart devices, all of them connected to the internet. With society adopting technology at record rates, it is expected that wireless technology would also receive a facelift soon in the form of 6G and more future generation networks.

4G vs. 5G vs. 6G

Most of the world today is still using 4G technology for wireless connectivity with the internet. In fact, even first-world countries like the US and the UK have yet to see 5G technology arrive in their borders.

4G technology was first launched back in 2009. It allowed us to reach approximate speeds of 33.88 Mbps. This allowed us to finally be able to watch HD videos and play high bandwidth video games on fast networks.

Interestingly, many mobile phone networks are yet to arrive on the 4G network. Many are still using 4G LTE systems. The term “LTE” might sound like a deluxe version of 4G, but it’s not. In fact, it is the opposite. LTE refers to long-term evolution. To explain it in plain terms, it means it’s almost 4G but not quite there yet. LTE is technically just an advanced version of 3G technology.

In 2018, we saw major cellular networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and other brands finally launched 5G technology in the United States. It might take a while for them to set up 5G compatible cellular networks across the country, but at least they’ve begun. The new technology is better than 4G technology by a huge margin, because the speed range of 5G technology can range from between 40 to 1,100 Mbps. How remarkable would it be if the technology manages to teach its full potential? It would mean that the concept of online buffering would become a myth of the past. Downloading an HDR movie would take mere seconds!

That’s not all. It is also predicted that with technology like millimeter-wave spectrum and beamforming, we might actually be able to see 5G hitting speeds of up to 10,000 Mbps. This has the potential to help so many industries, especially the automobile, healthcare, and remote working industries.

However, reaching this peak might take years. And we might even be able to see 6G arriving before the 5G technology reaches its full potential. What’s clear though is that internet speeds would continue to rise, and 6G might even allow us to see download speeds in Terabytes per second!

So, what will 6G look like?

It’s hard to predict exactly what 6G would be like. That is because the technology does not exist yet. And we’re not sure when it would be launched. But we do know that 6G would be a massive improvement to the 5G technology. And if you’ve read above about what 5G is, then you can easily imagine how massive 6G is going to be.

Here is what the experts predict about the 6G technology.

Speeds up to 1 Tbps!

Many experts predict that 6G might offer speeds up to 1 Tbps! This is massive because it means speeds that are a thousand times faster than 1 Gbps speeds offered by 5G technology. This might look like a long shot, but it’s not. Judging by the improvements in speed that are predicted about 5G, 6G will have the potential to outbeat these speeds by a tremendous margin.

Dependent on Terahertz waves

In 2019, the FCC increased our excitement levels when they allowed companies to start experimenting with the terahertz waves, also referred to as submillimeter waves. These names actually refer to radio bands that have a spectrum of 95GHz to 3THz.

Allowing companies to experiment with this wave spectrum opened the doors for a potential 6G future because these are the waves on which it would most probably ride on. As mentioned above, these waves have the potential of pushing the 5G speeds by a margin from 1,000 Mbps to 10,000 Mbps. But these waves also have the potential to launch the new wave of internet technology in the form of 6G.

6G internet FAQ

We’ve tried our best to explain the current concept of 6G technology to you. As mentioned, we are still in the realm of predictions and can’t say for sure if the technology would be exactly like we predicted or if it would be different. Anyways, if you have any more questions about the technology, then you’d most probably see them answered below.

What does 6G mean?

6G is a term that refers to sixth generation. Much like 3G, 4G, and 5G, 6G will also have a similar interpretation.

Is 6G better than 5G?

Of course! 6G would represent the sixth generation of online communication. Just like 5G offers a massive improvement over 4G technology, we’d most definitely see the same when 6G launches. According to the experts, internet speeds on 6G have the potential of going over 1 Tbps. This is a 1000 times greater figure than the ones being offered by 5G today. So you should definitely expect to see 6G outperforming 5G technology in all areas of wireless connectivity.