6G Wireless Networks: Vision, Requirements, Architecture, and Key Technologies

By Zhengquan Zhang, Yue Xiao, Zheng Ma, Ming Xiao, Zhiguo Ding, Xianfu Lei, George K. Karagiannidis, P. Fan. IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, 2019

1,989 citations recorded by the source corpus.

A key enabler for the intelligent information society of 2030, 6G networks are expected to provide performance superior to 5G and satisfy emerging services and applications. In this article, we present our vision of what 6G will be and describe usage scenarios and requirements for multi-terabyte per second (Tb/s) and intelligent 6G networks. We present a large-dimensional and autonomous network architecture that integrates space, air, ground, and underwater networks to provide ubiquitous and unlimited wireless connectivity. We also discuss artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning [1], [2] for autonomous networks and innovative air-interface design. Finally, we identify several promising technologies for the 6G ecosystem, including terahertz (THz) communications, very-large-scale antenna arrays [i.e., supermassive (SM) multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO)], large intelligent surfaces (LISs) and holographic beamforming (HBF), orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing, laser and visible-light communications (VLC), blockchain-based spectrum sharing, quantum communications and computing, molecular communications, and the Internet of Nano-Things.

Subfields: Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ffa6396d0749697fc11e24a5d9ce53f8bf10c1fc

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Citations in the corpus

6G: Opening New Horizons for Integration of Comfort, Security, and Intelligence (2020, background): “Such applications demand high data rates (downlink peak rate >1 terabit per second (Tbit/s), user experienced rate >10 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) [4]) for high definition video streams and large amounts of interactive instructions, as well as low latencies for real-time voices (<0.”
Communications in the 6G Era (2020, neutral): “, [4], [6]–[10].”
Enabling Massive IoT Toward 6G: A Comprehensive Survey (2021, background): “It provides more ways, such as through gestures, voices, and minds, for communicating and interacting with mobile users and intelligent devices [39], and the interaction forms are diverse, such as hologram videos and ﬁve senses.”
Edge Learning for B5G Networks With Distributed Signal Processing: Semantic Communication, Edge Computing, and Wireless Sensing (2022, neutral): “ceived much attention as a new paradigm shift in B5G IoE networks to provide a full sensory experience [280].”
Holistic Network Virtualization and Pervasive Network Intelligence for 6G (2023, methodology): “There are three types of solutions for integrating AI models [6].”
The Roadmap to 6G Security and Privacy (2021, background): “For new latency extremely-sensitive 6G applications in the Enhanced Ultra − Reliable , Low − Latency Communication ( ERLLC / eURLLC ) use case, the E2E latency in 6G should be reduced down to µ s level [23].”
Towards 6G Networks: Use Cases and Technologies (2019, background): “Then, just like video-over-wireless saturated 4G networks, the proliferation of AR/VR applications will deplete the 5G spectrum, and require a system capacity above 1 Tbps, as opposed to the 20 Gbps target deﬁned for 5G [1].”
An Overview of Signal Processing Techniques for RIS/IRS-Aided Wireless Systems (2021, neutral): “WHILE the fifth-generation (5G) of wireless communication systems is under deployment worldwide, research interest has shifted to the future sixth-generation (6G) of wireless systems [1]–[3], which targets supporting not only cutting-edge applications like multisensory augmented/virtual”
Toward 6G Networks: Use Cases and Technologies (2020, methodology): “references [1] Z.”
Large Language Model (LLM) for Telecommunications: A Comprehensive Survey on Principles, Key Techniques, and Opportunities (2024, background): “In particular, 6G networks are expected to achieve terabits per second (Tbps) level data rates, 10 7 /km 2 connection densities, and lower than 0.1 ms latency [1].”
A Tutorial on Environment-Aware Communications via Channel Knowledge Map for 6G (2023, background): “Though the standard for 6G is yet to be developed, there is more or less a consensus on its key performance indicators (KPIs), such as a connection density of at least 10 million devices per km(2) [2]–[6], a peak data rate of Tera bits per second (Tbps) [1,2,5,7,8], latency of less than 1 ms [1,2,4]”
Artificial-Intelligence-Enabled Intelligent 6G Networks (2019, background): “Furthermore, in order to support near-instant and seamless super-connectivity, an integrated space-air-ground-underwater network (ISAGUN) will be the core potential architecture of 6G networks [6, 8], as shown in Fig.”
Security and Privacy for 6G: A Survey on Prospective Technologies and Challenges (2021, methodology): “Following [3], [85], other enabling technologies for 6G service layer and AI are summarized in the third and fourth rows of Table III.”
Digital Twins: A Survey on Enabling Technologies, Challenges, Trends and Future Prospects (2022, background): “…service classes like further enhanced mobile broadband (FeMBB), ultra-massive machine type communication (umMTC), and enhanced ultra-reliable and low latency communication (eURLLC) [153] and latency less than 1ms for ensuring safety in mission critical communications and IIoT applications [154].”
Terahertz Wireless Channels: A Holistic Survey on Measurement, Modeling, and Analysis (2021, background): “99999% reliability, enormous connectivity density of more than 10 million devices per 1 km(2), and 100× improved energy efficiency, positioning and sensing resolution and accuracy at millimeter level, among others [1]–[3].”
White Paper on Broadband Connectivity in 6G (2020, background): “…internet access on planes, wireless brain-computer interface based applications, broadband wireless connectivity inside data centers, Internet of Nano-Things and Internet of Bodies through smart wearable devices and intrabody communications achieved by implantable nanodevices and nanosensors [5].”
A Survey on Channel Estimation and Practical Passive Beamforming Design for Intelligent Reflecting Surface Aided Wireless Communications (2021, background): “TABLE I COMPARISON OF MAIN KPIS BETWEEN 5G AND 6G [1]–[3], [8]–[10].”