INTRODUCTION
What will life be like in 2030?
In 2030, the world will look dramatically different, thanks to advancements in connectivity and smart connected technologies.
The metaverse – in some form or other – is likely to become a key part of our everyday lives. 8K virtual reality (VR) headsets and even brain-interface devices will start to become mainstream. By 2050, we could be looking at commercially available fully autonomous (‘level-5’) vehicles roaming our streets, whilst hyperloop tunnels could whisk people through tunnels to far flung destinations. Hypersonic airliners could enter service. Smart Grid technology will become widespread in the developed world, saving energy and supporting renewables, by carefully matching electricity supply and demand.
Technologies long in the realm of science fiction – such as 3D-printed organs, blood vessels, and nanorobotics – may improve our quality of life. Artificial brain implants could restore lost memories. Quantum computing may become cheap enough to go mainstream, and the first version of the quantum internet is likely to emerge, with terabyte internet speeds becoming commonplace. The entire ocean floor will probably be mapped, making deep ocean mining operations feasible. Hypersonic jets will be a plausible addition to aviation, offering speeds nearly six times faster that today's commercial flights, eventually cutting travel time by 80%.
The High-Definition Space Telescope (HDST) could be operational. The first permanent lunar base could be established.
Making this hyper-connected world a reality will require a massive leap forward; one that provides 1,000 times faster connectivity than what is possible today, with data transfer speeds in terabytes per second and extremely low latency, allowing response times of a few microseconds.
Although 5G networks are slowly maturing, and their full potential is still to be unleashed, the limits of 5G do not allow infrastructure and networks to simultaneously guarantee a speed of terabytes/second with ultra-low latency. This calls for thinking beyond 5G.
In the 6G era, the digital, physical, and human worlds will seamlessly fuse to trigger extrasensory experiences. Intelligent knowledge systems will be combined with robust computation capabilities to make humans endlessly more efficient. This will redefine how we live, work and take care of the planet.
Mobile networks: past, present, future
Wireless cellular communication networks have seen the rise of a so‐called ‘new generation’ technology approximately every ten years. Each generation resulted from disruptive technological advancement and societal change, as shown in Figure 1.
The 2G and 3G eras focused on human-to-human communication through voice and text. 4G heralded a fundamental shift to the massive consumption of data, while the 5G era has turned its focus on connecting the Internet of Things (IoT) and automation systems, including real time applications. This includes industrial applications, such as robotics, medical applications like remote operations, and military tasks, like surveillance.
If the historical trend were to continue, 6G might be introduced in the early 2030s, or at least that’s when most smartphone manufacturers are likely to release 6G-capable mobiles, and 6G trials likely to be in full swing.
It is too early to provide a detailed list of features that 6G will bring, but there are emerging themes from research that are shaping new technologies, like new spectrum, visible light communication, AI native radio, cell free networks, intelligent surfaces, holographic communication, non-terrestrial networks (satellites, High Altitude Platforms (HAPs), drones) etc. In addition, the lessons learned from 5G network deployments and user ecosystems will play a big part in defining 6G.
Figure 1: Mobile networks: past, present, future
