China makes breakthrough in global race to provide ultra high-speed 6G (2024)

A research team from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Second Institute has conducted the first real-time wireless transmission of its 6G communication technology, marking a significant step forward in the development of an eventual successor to 5G.

The test used terahertz orbital angular momentum communication technology, according to a report in the official Science and Technology Daily on Wednesday.

6G cellular networks – still years away – are expected to be faster and more reliable than current 5G technology, while offering lower latency and more efficient spectrum use, according to industry experts, who say it will support data speeds of up to one terabit per second.

Such networks are likely to use new technologies like terahertz waves to improve wireless communication, which would enable applications like high-definition virtual reality, real-time holographic communication and other data-intensive tasks that are not possible with current technology.

In the experiment, researchers used a special antenna to generate four different beam patterns at a frequency of 110 GHz. With those patterns, they achieved real-time wireless transmission at a speed of 100 gigabits per second on a 10 GHz bandwidth, significantly increasing the efficiency of bandwidth usage.

“In the future, this technology can also be applied to short-range broadband transmission fields, supporting high-speed communication between lunar and Mars landers, spacecraft and within spacecraft themselves,” the report said.

The technology advancements have implications for improvements in multiple areas of communication by enhancing the bandwidth of transmissions to meet higher speed requirements.

The first area is in terahertz communication – a new type of spectrum technology that is one of the cornerstones of 6G communication.

Terahertz refers to a frequency range between 100 GHz and 10 THz in the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of its higher frequency, terahertz communication can carry more information and allows for faster data transfer rates. It has attracted significant attention for its potential in 6G communication, high-speed internet and in secure communications, such as in complex military environments.

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However, higher information density often means more noise. Terahertz communication experiences increased signal loss and attenuation over greater distances. Although the team did not provide technology details, the application expectations indicated an effort to address the challenge.

The second area for advancement is orbital angular momentum (OAM) transmission, in which an encoding technology adds extra information in the electromagnetic waves.

By utilising OAM, multiple signals can be transmitted simultaneously on the same frequency without interference, enabling more efficient use of the available spectrum, and allowing for greater data transfer capacities and improved communication speeds.

Another key advancement is in the wireless backhaul technology that connects base stations and core networks.

In mobile communication networks, data needs to be transmitted between user devices, base stations and core networks. Backhaul refers to the process of sending user data received by a base station back to the core network.

Traditional backhaul methods mainly rely on fibre optic lines. However, as the number of base stations increases in the 5G/6G communication era, traditional fibre-based transmission methods face higher costs, longer deployment times and lower flexibility.

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As a result, wireless backhaul technology has emerged to become the dominant solution. According to experts, by 2023, more than 62 per cent of global base stations will use wireless backhaul technology.

The research team, which has been focusing on leading-edge international communication technology since 2021, chose terahertz orbital angular momentum communication as its breakthrough target.

“They have already achieved multiple signal transmissions and ultra-large capacity data transfers in the terahertz frequency range, more than doubling the spectrum usage efficiency,” the report said.

In the future, peak communication speeds using 6G are expected to reach one terabit per second, which will require further improvement to the efficiency of existing spectrum resources to achieve higher wireless transmission capabilities.