The latest report from market research firm Omdia shows that on March 1, 2022, the European Commission (EC) developed its 6G vision, which aims to create a regulatory framework to encourage infrastructure and technology that supports 6G. This vision is supported by many research and innovation (R&I) projects, for which €2 billion of public and private funds have been allocated. In December 2021, the Joint Commitment (SNS JU) between industry in the EU and the European Commission on 6G Intelligent Networks and Services (SNS JU) approved its first work plan for 2021-2022, allocating €240 million to support four major complementary workflows. In the coming years, industry, governments, and regulators will need to address some fundamental issues before 6G can become a reality, including data security, privacy and trust, as well as spectrum resources and interference.
Regulators need to start preparing for 6G development and eventual deployment
The European Commission's vision for 6G is to combine public and private resources with an investment-friendly regulatory framework to build the required level of infrastructure and technological capacity. It also develops strategies and tools to enable the industry to develop 6G technology. Compared to 5G systems, 6G networks are expected to offer greater system capacity, higher data transfer rates, lower latency, stronger security, and better quality of service (QoS).
The EU's vision outlines the development of new critical applications, such as real-time automation or extended reality ("perceiving the Internet") – the digital twins that perceive, collect and deliver data for the physical world of reality. These new applications and technologies will pave the way for leading tech companies; for example, in the field of microchips for 6G or next-generation cloud technologies.
6G is expected to improve the energy efficiency of network connectivity infrastructure to cope with the massive increase in traffic and become the foundation for people-centered services and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
In support of the EU's vision, 6G R&I initiatives have been launched at European and member state level; for example, 6G R&I and 5G deployment operations are funded by European or national funding. €2 billion in public and private money has been announced. There are also plans to invest €100 million exclusively in the 6G R&I programme, partly funded by the next-generation EU recovery programme, which covers a wide range of technologies, test benches, intellectual property, specialized digital skills and sustainable development solutions.
Back in December 2021, the Joint Commitment on 6G Smart Networks and Services (SNS JU) between industry in the EU and the European Commission approved its first work plan for 2021-2022, with public funding of €240 million. The work program will fund a range of activities, such as large-scale trials and pilots of 5G in vertical industries, as well as research into 6G systems. The plan also builds on the EU's allocation of €900 million over the next seven years, with the private sector providing the same amount of funding. The aim is to enable European businesses and institutions to establish R&I capabilities for 6G systems and develop markets for 5G infrastructure to support digitalization and green environmental transformation. The work plan lists four main complementary workflows, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: SNS JU workplan flow. Source: Omdia, European Commission.
The work plan is expected to amplify the early wave of 6G projects in Europe launched under the 5G public-private partnership. This workflow is expected to evolve into research, proof-of-concept, standardization and deployment in subsequent phases, and open up new opportunities for technology development in broader supply chains, such as microelectronics or cloud-based service offerings.
Sarah McBride, senior regulatory analyst at Omdia, said 6G networks are expected to be implemented between 2027 and 2030, with 2037 becoming the dominant technology. After a typical 10-year cycle of intergenerational updates to mobile technologies, industry, governments, and regulators now need to start preparing for the development and eventual deployment of 6G. In the coming years, before 6G becomes a reality, industry, governments, and regulators will need to address some fundamental issues, including data security, privacy, trust, and spectrum resources and interference. C114 Communication Network Ace