China rolls out initial blueprint for 6G: industry insiders

China will work to formulate a set of standards for ultrafast 6G, advancing innovation and taking proactive measures to develop supporting technologies, according to information released at a recent seminar discussing the development prospects of 6G.

Photo shows a pavilion at the China International Digital Economy Expo 2021. (Photo/Xinhua)

Han Xia, chief engineer for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said at the seminar that the successful commercialization of 5G lays a solid foundation for the development of 6G.

He pointed out that it is also necessary to analyze and summarize the directions of 5G applications that are presently hard to realize so as to gradually clarify potential business scenarios for 6G, thereby helping shape the 6G vision and fine-tune its requirements.

Wen Ku, secretary-general of the China Communications Standards Association, a telecom industry association in China, called for efforts to be taken to advance the use of 5G so as to set the stage for 6G.

Han pointed out that it is necessary to optimize the development layout of supporting industries, such as chips and new materials, in order to build a good environment for both upstream and downstream development.

He also noted that in order to create a unified standard for 6G worldwide, efforts should be taken to strengthen exchanges and cooperation among global 6G promotion organizations, enterprises, universities and research institutions.

“For some potentially effective and valuable 6G application scenarios, apart from theoretical studies, it is also necessary to carry out market-oriented research so as to examine the capacity of 6G through practice,” Wen suggested.

The IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group was established in June 2019 under the guidance of the MIIT. In June 2021, it released a white paper which gave the industry players a clear guide and a head start on research and development plans for 6G.

Wang Zhiqin, vice president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think tank affiliated with the MIIT, and also head of the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, said it is necessary to strengthen research on supporting technologies and cross-disciplinary technologies, advance the effective use of low-, medium- and high-frequency bands for 6G, and promote the integration of 6G and non-terrestrial mobile communication networks. In particular, a globally unified standard for 6G should be advocated so that the world can avoid a fragmentation in 6G standards.

Data shows that as of August 2021, China has built the world’s largest 5G mobile network, building 1.03 million 5G base stations, which accounted for more than 70 percent of the global total.