6G Wireless Technology: Questions and Answers

This page provides frequently asked questions (FAQs) about 6G wireless technology, useful for job interviews and to improve your understanding of the basics of 6G wireless systems.

Introduction:

We’ve witnessed five generations of cellular wireless communications, from 1G to 5G. The fifth generation of wireless network (5G New Radio) is being deployed in some countries and planned for others.

Initially, these cellular technologies were primarily used for voice communications, with less emphasis on data. However, in the last decade, data-intensive applications have driven the growth of cellular technologies that support higher speeds. These applications include multimedia, online gaming, video streaming, and more.

5G and 6G have been developed to target these applications by offering higher speeds and lower latency. 6G is planned to be available by 2030. It will utilize millimeter-wave frequency bands (73 GHz, 140 GHz), sub-6 GHz bands, and Terahertz frequencies (1-10 THz) for its operation. Moreover, it will use bandwidth in the THz range.

The goal for 6G equipment vendors and operators is to achieve data rates greater than 1 Tb/sec and latency in microseconds.

Question-1 : What is the speed supported by 6G Wireless or how fast 6G wireless works ?

Answer-1 : The data transfer rate through 6G wireless defines its data rate or speed. The 6G is almost 8 to 10 times faster than its predecessor i.e. 5G technology. The speed of 6G wireless is 1 Tb/s. This is also referred as peak data rate of the 6G technology. Experienced data rate of 6G is 1 Gb/s.

Question-2 : What maximum range 6G Base Station support ?

Answer-2 : 6G wireless technology uses multiple connectivity options such as THz (Terahertz), VLC (Visible Light Communication), mmWave and sub-6 GHz links. Hence the range or distance supported by 6G depends on these wired/wireless connectivity options.

Question-3 : What is the spectral efficiency of 6G Wireless ?

Answer-3 : Spectral efficiency of 6G is 5-10 times than of 5G wireless technology. 6G supports peak spectral efficiency of 60 b/s/Hz and experienced spectral efficiency of 3 b/s/Hz.

Question-4 : Which are the 6G KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and how it differs from 5G KPIs ?

Answer-4 : Like 5G, 6G supports various KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) as mentioned below.

• Bandwidth (maximum)
• Data rate
• Spectral efficiency
• Traffic capacity
• Connection density
• Latency
• Reliability or FER
• Mobility
• etc.

Jitter and energy per bit are specified for 6G and not for 5G wireless.

Question-5 : How much latency is required to be supported by 6G system ?

Answer-5 : End to end latency of 6G wireless is about 10 to 100 µs.

Question-6 : Explain 6G network Architecture and its elements.

Answer-6 : The figure depicts network architecture of 6G wireless system. It consists of 6G base stations (BSs), 6G RRHs (Remote Radio Heads), drones, VLCs and other network elements mounted on things. Satellites are also used to connect 6G networks.

Question-7 : What are the advantages and disadvantages of 6G Wireless ?

Answer-7 : Following are the advantages of 6G wireless technology.

• Higher mobile connections than 5G
• Remote health-care operations have become possible
• Increased Traffic Capacity with more indoor traffic served by Femtocells and DASs
• 6G uses Terahertz which offers many benefits
• 6G uses VLC based communication which offers many benefits
• It offers higher speed (~ 1 Tb/s) and very low latency (~10-100 µs).
• It offers better spectral efficiency which is 5-10 times better than 5G.

Question-8 : What is the difference between 5G wireless and 6G wireless technologies ?

Answer-8 : The difference between 5G and 6G technologies lies with respect to various parameters such as bandwidth, data rate, latency, traffic capacity, spectral efficiency, application areas, reliability, architecture and so on.

Question-9 : What is the bandwidth and frequency bands used by 6G ?

Answer-9 : The maximum bandwidth supported by 6G wireless technology is about 100 GHz. It uses sub 6 GHz and mmwave frequency bands for its wireless operation. It uses optical and VLC bands for its non-RF operation.

Question-10 : Explain unique features of 6G technology.

Answer-10 : Following are the unique features of 6G wireless technology. Other than use of satellites for its network connectivity, 6G uses following advanced innovations in its network architecture.

• Intelligent connectivity with the help Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Deep connectivity
• Holographic connectivity using Augmented Reality(AR) / Virtual Reality (VR)
• Ubiquitous connectivity to cover Space, Air, Ground and Sea.