With Japan's announcement of the successful development of 6G technology, this has triggered a fierce counterattack from some domestic experts. However, while these experts are trying to criticize 6G technology, they have also accidentally exposed the major flaws of current 5.5G technology. It can be said that in the process of trying to explain the shortcomings of 6G, they also inadvertently tore off the "fig leaf" of 5.5G, exposing that mobile communication technology has not made fundamental innovations in several key aspects.
First of all, a well-known science expert pointed out that the 6G technical standard is not clearly defined at present, so all devices that claim to have 6G technology may be suspected of fraud. At the same time, he also said that Japan's so-called 6G technology is not a real technological innovation, but only uses more spectrum resources to increase speed, which is a low-tech approach. This discussion can't help but be reminiscent of the current development logic of 5.5G technology.
As we all know, the core strategy of 5.5G technology is to achieve ultra-high speeds close to 10Gbps by integrating the 5G mid-centimeter-wave band with the previously abandoned mmWave band. Isn't this exactly what experts call a "low-tech" approach? In fact, the key to 5.5G's incredible speeds is that it uses a wider spectrum rather than a real technological innovation. This can't help but make people wonder if 5.5G is also suspected of "calling itself 6G".
What's more interesting is that the expert also pointed out that the 5G millimeter wave technology that was vigorously promoted by the United States at the beginning failed completely in reality, because it could not solve the problem of millimeter wave signal penetration. And this problem also exists in 5.5G technology today. The coverage of the mmWave frequency band is blocked, resulting in operators having to significantly increase the density of base stations, which undoubtedly greatly increases the cost of network construction. The shift to low-frequency 5G technology also means sacrificing speed performance.
These problems are not unique to 5.5G, but have been plaguing the entire mobile communications industry since the development of 5G technology. In fact, even the current mainstream 5G mmWave technology has many challenges in terms of coverage and penetration. The coverage radius of 5G base stations is only about 500 meters, resulting in operators having to deploy a large number of base stations, which undoubtedly greatly increases network construction and operating costs. In addition, 5G mmWave signals are also difficult to receive in stairwells, toilets and other areas of the city, which has a serious impact on the user experience.
It can be said that mobile communication technology has made significant progress in improving communication speed, but it has not been able to achieve breakthrough innovation in key areas such as solving the coverage problem of high-frequency signals and improving the efficiency of spectrum utilization. Whether it is 5G, 5.5G, or 6G as claimed by Japan, it essentially achieves speed improvement by increasing the spectrum width, without fundamentally solving the problem of high-frequency signal propagation. This kind of development model of "quantitative change leads to qualitative change" may be difficult to sustain.
Looking to the future, the coverage radius of 6G technology is said to be only 100 meters, which can be said to be the scale of "large WiFi". If the coverage of high-frequency signals cannot be fundamentally solved, 6G may not be successful in real-world applications. In contrast, 4G technology can reach a rate of 150Mbps with 20MHz spectrum, and the spectrum utilization efficiency is much higher than that of subsequent 5G and 5.5G. This has also led some experts to think about whether 4G technology will become an "evergreen" in mobile communications.
Overall, 5G and next-generation communication technologies have made some progress in improving communication rates, but they have failed to achieve fundamental breakthroughs in key indicators such as network coverage and spectrum utilization efficiency. While criticizing 6G, experts have also accidentally revealed many shortcomings of 5.5G and even 5G itself. This undoubtedly casts a shadow on the future development of mobile communication technology. Only by fundamentally solving the problem of high-frequency signal propagation and greatly improving the efficiency of spectrum utilization can mobile communication technology achieve real innovation. Otherwise, 4G has the potential to become the "standard answer" for future mobile communications.
Although mobile communication technology has made great progress in the past few years, there are still many bottlenecks and problems in its key technical indicators, as mentioned above. This makes people wonder, what kind of technology path can really drive mobile communication into the next era?
Industry experts believe that the key to breaking through the existing bottleneck is to re-examine the basic theory and key technologies of communication technology. Fundamentally solving the problem of high-frequency signal propagation and improving the efficiency of spectrum utilization may be the key to the innovative leap forward in mobile communication technology.
First of all, for the problem of high-frequency signal coverage, scholars are exploring some novel technical paths. For example, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are used to intelligently perceive and optimize the signal propagation environment, so as to improve the signal penetration ability. In addition, the use of large-scale antenna array technology to enhance coverage by focusing beams is also a high-profile solution.
In terms of spectrum utilization efficiency, industry insiders believe that physical layer technology should be fundamentally revolutionized. For example, new moderation and channel coding technologies are used to greatly improve the transmission performance per unit of spectrum. At the same time, the use of software-defined radio (SDR) and cognitive radio and other technologies to dynamically perceive and adapt the use of spectrum resources can also achieve higher spectrum utilization efficiency.
At the same time, scholars are also exploring new communication theories and seeking new ideas to break through the current technical bottlenecks. For example, quantum communication technology based on quantum theory may subversively change the design of communication systems in the future. In addition, the "hybrid" communication architecture, which integrates various physical layer technologies such as optoelectronics and microwaves, is also expected to greatly improve communication performance.
In general, for mobile communication technology to achieve a qualitative leap, it is clear that simply increasing spectrum resources is not enough. Only by fundamentally solving the signal propagation barriers, greatly improving the efficiency of spectrum utilization, and exploring new communication theories, can mobile communication technology truly enter the next era.
At present, countries around the world are competing for the research and development of next-generation 6G communication technology. This is not only a technological competition, but also a strategic game for countries to compete for the dominance of future communications. Only when the mainland's scientific and technological workers have a high sense of mission and responsibility, persist in independent innovation, and make breakthroughs in the field of key technologies, can we occupy the commanding heights in this global competition and contribute to the motherland's telecommunications undertakings.