Chinese engineers field test a “6G” network with semantic communications on 4G infrastructure

According to the Xinhua news agency, Chinese telecom engineers have established the world’s first field test network for 6G communication and intelligent integration. That’s before 6G is even defined let alone specified by ITU-R WP5D or 3GPP Release 21.  The experimental network has demonstrated that semantic communication [1.] can reach the transmission capabilities of 6G on existing 4G infrastructure.

Note 1. Semantic communication aims at the successful transmission of information conveyed by the source rather than the accurate reception of each single symbol or bit regardless of its meaning.

The network has achieved a remarkable tenfold improvement in key communication metrics, including capacity, coverage and efficiency, according to a team from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications who unveiled their work at a seminar on July 10th.  The network serves as a platform which facilitates the efforts of research institutions in conducting theoretical research and initial verification of 6G pivotal technologies. It can effectively lower the entry threshold for 6G research, making it more accessible for innovation, according to the team.

“The integration of the two will accelerate the formation of new business forms of the digital economy,” Professor Zhang Ping, who heads the university’s research team, reportedly said at the conference where the 6G field test network was unveiled. “AI will improve the perception and semantic understanding of communication, while the ubiquitous communication of 6G will in turn extend the reach of artificial intelligence to all corners of all fields,” Zhang was quoted as saying.

Existing 4G and 5G infrastructure has potential to ramp up to 6G, according to the results of a test network. Photo: Shutterstock

China is working to commercialize 6G, the next-generation wireless technology after 5G, by around 2030, the same time at which 6G standards are expected to be completed.  The ITU-R says 6G could promote the growth of a range of advances, allowing communication to be immersive and connectivity universal. But with existing communication technology reaching its theoretical bandwidth limit, there are a series of big problems that have to be overcome. These include the difficulty of increasing capacity, the high cost of coverage, and high energy consumption.

The 6G technology market is also expected to enable major improvements in imaging, presence technology and location awareness. In conjunction with AI, the 6G computing infrastructure should be able to determine the best location for computing, including decisions about data storage, processing and sharing.

References:

https://english.news.cn/20240711/5dd430b4f66141d6a75a7fc505597fb3/c.html

https://www.lightreading.com/6g/china-builds-world-s-first-6g-field-test-network

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3270354/could-chinas-intelligent-6g-experiment-signal-way-next-generation-technology

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