China officially launches research into 6G mobile technology

China has officially kicked off research and development into 6G cellular technology.

In a statement released yesterday, the Ministry of Science and Technology said that it is creating two working groups to oversee the work related to 6G research.

One group, which will include many government departments, will have the responsibility to promote and support the research work. The second group will consist of experts from 37 research institutes, universities, and enterprises, and it will oversee the technical side of the research. This group will offer advice to government, as and when needed.

Countries around the world are currently in a race to roll out 5G mobile technology for their people. 5G wireless technology can offer superfast data speeds, at least 20 times faster than 4G. It also promises to support technologies like virtual reality and driverless cars.

Earlier this month, China's top three mobile operators rolled out 5G services nationwide. The country had originally planned to launch the service in early 2020, but then, the efforts to launch 5G were accelerated as tensions with the US intensified.

China is now working to activate more than 130,000 5G base stations by the end of 2019.

While there is a lot of excitement about 5G technology around the world, most people are still using 4G networks as 5G is still in initial phases of roll out.

And if we talk about 6G, there is still a long way to go. The technical route to 6G is still unclear, as the Chinese Minister Wang Xi of the Ministry of Science and Technology said, and the key indicators for this ultrafast technology are yet to be defined.

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei also revealed in September that the company has also started development work on 6G, although it will take a long time before it becomes available for general public.

According to SearchNetworking, 6G mobile networks are expected to support one terabyte per second speeds. The technology will take advantage of the terahertz spectrum in order to provide higher capacity and much lower latency.

6G wireless technology is also expected to have big implications in the areas of critical asset protection and public safety, including:

6G mobile technology is expected to take at least one decade before it is launched commercially.