Sixth Generation Wireless by 6G Tech Development (Investment, R&D and Testing) and 6G Market Commercialization (Infrastructure, Deployment, Apps and Services), Use Cases and Industry Verticals 2022 – 2030
Overview:
In its fourth year of analyzing the emerging six-generation wireless market, the publisher of this report is the leading market research company focused upon emerging 6G technologies, capabilities, solutions, applications and services. This report edition expands upon previous analysis focused primarily upon emerging 6G technologies. This edition evaluates 6G development including technology investment, R&D, prototyping and testing.
The report also assesses 6G market commercialization including opportunities for infrastructure development and equipment deployment as well as a realization of applications and services. The report also analyzes 6G market use cases by industry vertical. The report provides 6G market sizing for 2022 through 2030, with the lower end of the range focused primarily on technology development, and the later end of the range focused on 6G market commercialization.
Select Report Findings:
6G communication services will achieve initial commercialization during 2028 to 2030
Pre-commercial 6G infrastructure and testbeds market will reach nearly $5 billion by 2030
The Asia Pacific region will lead 6G core and RF investment, followed by the US and Europe
6G technologies are best characterized as ultra-secure, ultra-fast, ultra-reliable, and ultra-short-range oriented capabilities
Network optimization beyond 5G will rely upon smart surfaces with solutions for 6G networks and devices reaching $16 billion by 2035
Post commercialization investment in 6G technologies will be dominated by short-range wireless use cases as well as peer-to-peer networking
6G wireless will drive a new wave of electronics innovation including device power management, miniaturization, networking, and edge computing
Communications with 6G will depend on device peering for short-chain connectivity for short-range communications and long-chain connectivity for front-haul and back-haul
Sixth Generation Wireless Technologies
Expanding upon the trend started with technologies supporting 5G capabilities, 6G will be integrated with a set of previously disparate technologies. Several key technologies will converge with 6G including AI, big data analytics, and computing. 6G networks will extend the performance of existing 5G capabilities along with expanding the scope to support increasingly new and innovative applications across the realms of communications, sensing, wireless cognition, and imaging.
Whereas 5G leverages mmWave in the microwave frequency range, 6G will take advantage of even smaller wavelengths at the Terahertz (THz) band in the 100 GHz to 3 THz range. While the impact to the Radio Access Network (RAN) for 5G is substantial, it will be even bigger with 6G networks, which is driven largely by a substantial increase in frequency, which will facilitate the need for antennas virtually everywhere.
Just as there have been, and will continue to be, many challenges with 5G, so will there be many new challenges with 6G. One of those challenges will be developing commercial transceivers for THz frequencies. This is largely an area in which electronics component providers must innovate. For example, semiconductor providers will need to deal with extremely small wavelengths and correspondingly small physical size of RF transistors and how they will interwork with element spacing of THz antenna arrays.
6G wireless will also exploit some completely new RAN approaches to increasing bandwidth and reducing latency, such as sub-THz radio frequencies and visible light spectrum, as well as leverage enhancements to existing radio methods, such as advanced MIMO technologies to increase spectral efficiency. This will include some innovative methods such as angular momentum multiplexing, combining multi-RAT and 3D multi-link connectivity, along with ultra-dense radio access point deployment such as hyper-extension of the small cell concept in a HetNet environment.
Ongoing Study of Technologies Beyond 5G and Sixth Generation Wireless
Starting in 2018, we began to formulate a vision for wireless and networking beyond 5G. Working independently, we published our first 6G market research report titled Sixth Generation Cellular: Looking Beyond 5G to the 6G Technology Market in June 2019. This ground-breaking research represented an initial investigation into the upcoming 6G technology market. This research built upon our extensive analysis in LTE, 5G, and computing (core cloud, edge computing, HPC, and quantum), and other related areas such as artificial intelligence and AI support of other technologies.
6G Flagship, an organization funded in part by Academy of Finland with an overall budget of 251 million Euros to study 6G from 2018 to 2026, published the white paper titled “Key Drivers and Research Challenges for 6G Ubiquitous Wireless Intelligence” in September 2019. This publisher subsequently became involved with efforts at the University of Oulu to develop a set of new white papers focused on various additional aspects of 6G.
This culminated in the publishing of “White Paper on 6G Networking” in June 2020. Written by an international expert group, and led by the Finnish 6G Flagship program, the paper sheds light on advanced features relevant to networking that are anticipated to shape the evolution beyond 5G, ultimately leading to 6G. Gerry Christensen, founder of the publishing firm, was one of the authors of the paper and his name is found among the contributors listed on the 6G Flagship website.
Our involvement in 6G Flagship’s efforts has both solidified its initial research findings as well as provided an opportunity to network with wireless and networking experts from industry and academia. This makes this publisher the foremost market research authority in the emerging area of 6G technology, solutions, applications and services.
Companies in Report:
AT&T
Autotalks
Broadcom Corporation
China Telecom
China Unicom
Cisco Systems
ComSenTer (University of California)
Corning Incorporated
DARPA
DeepSig
Ericsson
European Commission
Federated Wireless
Fujitsu
Huawei
InterDigital
International Telecommunication Union
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Keysight Technologies
LG Corporation
MediaTek
Motorola Solutions
Nanyang Technological University
National Instrument Corp.
National Science Foundation
NEC Corporation
NGMN Alliance
Nokia (Bell Labs)
NTT DoCoMo
NVidia
NYU Wireless
Orange
Qualcomm
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited
Samsung Electronics
SK Telecom
T-Mobile
TU Braunschweig
University of Oulu (6G Flagship)
Verizon Wireless
Virginia Diodes
Virginia Tech
ZTE
- 1.0 Executive Summary
- 2.0 Introduction
- 2.1 Defining 6G Wireless
- 2.1.1 6G Key Performance Indicators
- 2.1.2 5G and 6G Comparison
- 2.2 6G Roadmap: Evolution to 6G Wireless Networks
- 2.3 Beyond 5G Evolution, 5G Context, and 6G
- 2.3.1 Much Greater Data Speed
- 2.3.2 Focus on Edge Computing for Latency Reduction
- 2.3.3 Dealing with Radio Propagation and Mobility Challenges
- 2.3.4 Providing Massively Scalable Support for IoT
- 2.3.5 Increased Emphasis on Private Networks for Business
- 2.4 6G Network Elements
- 2.4.1 New Spectrum and Frequencies
- 2.4.2 Many More Radio Access Points
- 2.4.3 Changes to Core Networks
- 2.4.4 Evolution of the Datacenter
- 2.5 6G Features
- 2.5.1 THz Wave Communication
- 2.5.2 Energy Saving Communication
- 2.5.3 Operational, Environmental, and Service Intelligence
- 2.5.4 Improved Security and Privacy
- 2.5.5 Connected Satellite Network and Intelligence
- 2.5.6 Synergy among Information and Energy
- 2.5.7 Super 3D Connectivity
- 2.5.8 Small Cell Network
- 2.5.9 Ultra-Dense Heterogeneous Networks
- 2.5.10 High Capacity Backhaul
- 2.5.11 Integration of Mobile Technology with Radar
- 2.5.12 Softwarization and virtualization
- 2.6 6G Benefits
- 2.7 6G Growth Drivers
- 2.7.1 The Need for Microsecond Latency
- 2.7.2 Growth of IoT and Industrial, Object Driven Traffic
- 2.7.3 Wireless Cognition, Single Core Structure, and Public Safety
- 2.7.4 Smart City Applications: Sensing and More
- 2.7.5 Ubiquitous Coverage from Satellite Internet to Ultra-Local Networks
- 2.7.5.1 Ultra-Macro Coverage
- 2.7.5.2 Ultra-Micro Coverage
- 2.7.6 Fully Digital and Connected World
- 2.7.7 Significant amounts of Data will be Created
- 2.7.8 Considerable Catalyst for HPC and Quantum Computing
- 2.7.9 Substantial Disintermediation
- 2.7.10 Fundamental Improvements in User Experience
- 2.7.11 Unprecedented Impacts on Industry Verticals
- 2.7.12 6G Makes Democratizes Intelligence
- 2.7.12.1 Smart Surfaces
- 2.7.12.2 Smart Environments
- 2.7.12.3 Smart Power
- 2.7.13 UN Sustainable Development Goals
- 2.7.14 Private-Public Industry Collaboration
- 2.7.15 Hyper Connected Intelligent World
- 2.8 6G Market Challenges
- 2.8.1 High Deployment Expenditures
- 2.8.2 Vertical Business Model Considerations
- 2.8.3 Voice and Data Value Perception Approaches Zero
- 2.8.4 Extreme Focus on Local Communication and Networking
- 2.8.5 Device to Device Signaling, Relay, and Mesh Networks
- 2.8.6 Supporting Micro-Operators Networks
- 2.8.7 High Security and Privacy Issue
- 2.9 6G Business Models
- 2.9.1 Decentralized Business Model
- 2.9.2 Partitive Business Model for MNOs
- 2.9.3 Private Network Model
- 2.9.4 Micro-operators and Distributed Services Model
- 2.10 6G Value Chain
- 2.10.1 User Equipment Manufacturers
- 2.10.2 Infrastructure Manufacturers
- 2.10.3 Connectivity Providers
- 2.10.4 IoT Solution Provider
- 2.10.5 Analytics Solution Providers
- 2.10.6 Enterprise, Government, and Industrial Users
- 2.10.7 Software Solution Providers
- 2.11 6G Economic and Cultural Impacts
- 2.12 6G Research Initiatives and Industry Development
- 2.12.1 China
- 2.12.2 United States
- 2.12.3 Canada
- 2.12.4 Japan
- 2.12.5 South Korea
- 2.12.6 Finland (6G Flagship)
- 2.12.7 European Commission
- 2.12.8 International Telecommunication Union
- 3.0 Technology and Application Analysis
- 3.1 6G Spectrum Evolution
- 3.1.1 95 Ghz to 3 THz Frequency Bands
- 3.1.2 THz Spectrum and Benefits
- 3.1.3 Radio Frequency and Data Rates Targeting One Terabit
- 3.1.4 Unlicensed Spectrum and Private Networks
- 3.1.4.1 NR U and 6G U
- 3.1.4.2 6G Private Networks
- 3.1.5 Citizens Broadband Radio Service and Spectrum Sharing
- 3.1.6 Impact of Softwarization and AI
- 3.2 6G Network Management and Orchestration
- 3.3 6G Communication Infrastructure
- 3.3.1 Physical, Digital, and Biological System Convergence
- 3.3.2 Short Range Communication Impact
- 3.3.3 AI and Machine Learning
- 3.3.4 Inter-Protocol Interference
- 3.3.5 Molecular communications
- 3.3.6 Internet of Nano-Things
- 3.3.7 Internet of Sense
- 3.4 6G Communication Technology
- 3.4.1 Substantial Improvements in Enhanced Mobile Broadband
- 3.4.2 Secure Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications
- 3.4.3 3D Integrated Communications
- 3.4.4 Unconventional Data Communications
- 3.5 6G Enabling Technology
- 3.5.1 Terahertz Frequency
- 3.5.2 Optical Wireless Technology
- 3.5.3 FSO Backhaul Network
- 3.5.4 Blockchain-based Spectrum Sharing
- 3.5.5 3D Networking and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
- 3.5.6 Call Free Communications
- 3.5.7 Integration of WIET, Sensing and Communication, and Access Backhaul Networks
- 3.5.8 Dynamic Network Slicing
- 3.5.9 Holographic Beamforming
- 3.5.10 Supermassive Intelligent Surface Assisted MIMO and Large-Scale Antenna Arrays
- 3.5.11 AI Assisted PHY Technology
- 3.5.12 Mobility Enhanced Edge Intelligence
- 3.5.13 Modern Random-Access Protocols for IoT
- 3.5.14 Radio Access Technology in Industry 4.0
- 3.5.15 Semantic Intelligence
- 3.5.16 Encryption Technologies
- 3.5.17 Visible Light Communication and Sub-THz Communication
- 3.5.18 Orbital Angular Momentum Multiplexing
- 3.5.19 CMOS Technology and Intelligent Chips
- 3.5.20 Fixed Wireless Access
- 3.5.21 Quasi-Optical Antennas
- 3.5.22 Artificial Intelligence and IoT Fusion
- 3.5.23 Digital Signal Processing Techniques
- 3.6 6G Infrastructure Market
- 3.6.1 6G User Devices
- 3.6.1.1 Smartphones and other Handheld Devices
- 3.6.1.2 Wearables and Implantable
- 3.6.1.3 Modems, Gateways, Access Points
- 3.6.1.4 Vehicle Communications
- 3.6.1.5 Buildings and Facility Communications
- 3.6.2 6G Core Infrastructure
- 3.6.3 6G Equipment Market
- 3.6.3.1 Telecom Equipment
- 3.6.3.2 Semiconductor Equipment
- 3.6.3.2.1 MEET Device
- 3.6.3.2.2 6G Chip
- 3.6.3.2.3 Terahertz Receiver
- 3.6.3.2.4 Nanoscale Atomristor Switch
- 3.6.3.3 Equipment Cost Consideration
- 3.6.4 6G Materials Market
- 3.6.5 6G Transport Networks
- 3.7 6G R&D Investments
- 3.8 6G Testbeds for Technology Acceptance and Market Development
- 3.9 6G Solution Areas
- 3.9.1 6G Communications
- 3.9.2 6G Sensing
- 3.9.3 6G Imaging
- 3.9.4 6G Precise Location
- 3.10 6G Use Cases and Potential Applications
- 3.10.1 Volumetric Media Streaming
- 3.10.2 Connected Manufacturing and Automation
- 3.10.3 Multi-Sensory Extended Reality
- 3.10.4 Next Generation Healthcare
- 3.10.5 Brain-Computer Interaction and Touch Control System
- 3.10.6 Connected Robotics and Autonomous Systems
- 3.10.7 Five Sense Information Transfer
- 3.10.8 Internet of Everything
- 3.11 6G Synergies with Next Generation Computing
- 3.11.1 Multi Access Edge Computing
- 3.11.2 High Performance Computing
- 3.11.3 Quantum Computing
- 3.11.4 Quantum Technologies: Communication, Sensing, Simulation, and Imaging
- 3.11.5 Next Generation Computing
- 3.11.6 Digital Twining Technology, Smart Machines, and Physical-Cyber Convergence
- 4.0 Company Analysis
- 4.1 AT&T
- 4.2 Autotalks
- 4.3 Broadcom Corporation
- 4.4 China Telecom
- 4.5 China Unicom
- 4.6 Cisco Systems
- 4.7 Corning Incorporated
- 4.8 DARPA
- 4.9 DeepSig
- 4.10 Ericsson
- 4.11 Facebook Connectivity
- 4.12 Federated Wireless
- 4.13 Fujitsu
- 4.14 Google
- 4.15 Huawei
- 4.16 InterDigital
- 4.17 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
- 4.18 Keysight Technologies
- 4.19 LG Corporation
- 4.20 MediaTek
- 4.21 Motorola Solutions
- 4.22 Nanyang Technological University
- 4.23 National Science Foundation
- 4.24 Nokia (Bell Labs)
- 4.25 NEC Corporation
- 4.26 NTT DoCoMo
- 4.27 NVidia
- 4.28 NYU Wireless
- 4.29 Orange
- 4.30 NGMN Alliance
- 4.31 Qualcomm
- 4.32 Samsung Electronics
- 4.33 SK Telecom
- 4.34 T-Mobile
- 4.35 TU Braunschweig
- 4.36 ComSenTer (University of California)
- 4.37 University of Oulu (6G Flagship)
- 4.38 Virginia Diodes
- 4.39 National Instrument Corp.
- 4.40 Virginia Tech
- 4.41 Verizon Wireless
- 4.42 ZTE
- 4.43 Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited
- 5.0 6G Market Analysis and Forecasts 2022 – 2030
- 5.1 6G Infrastructure Market 2024 – 2030
- 5.1.1 Global 6G Infrastructure Market
- 5.1.2 Global 6G Infrastructure Market by Type
- 5.1.2.1 Global 6G Infrastructure Market by End User Device
- 5.1.2.2 Global 6G Infrastructure Market by Equipment
- 5.1.2.3 Global 6G Infrastructure Market by Semiconductors
- 5.1.2.4 Global 6G Infrastructure Market by 6G Materials
- 5.1.3 Regional 6G Infrastructure Market
- 5.1.3.1 6G Infrastructure Market by Region
- 5.1.3.1.1 APAC 6G Infrastructure Market: Device, Equipment, and Materials
- 5.1.3.1.2 North America 6G Infrastructure Market: Device, Equipment, and Materials
- 5.1.3.1.3 Europe 6G Infrastructure Market: Device, Equipment, and Materials
- 5.1.3.1.4 MEA 6G Infrastructure Market: Device, Equipment, and Materials
- 5.1.3.1.5 Latin America 6G Infrastructure Market: Device, Equipment, and Materials
- 5.2 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment 2024 – 2030
- 5.2.1 Global 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment
- 5.2.2 Global 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment by Type
- 5.2.2.1 Global 6G End User Device Unit Deployment
- 5.2.2.2 Global 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment by Equipment
- 5.2.2.3 Global 6G Semiconductor Unit Deployment
- 5.2.3 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment by Region
- 5.2.3.1 APAC 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment: Device, Equipment, and Country
- 5.2.3.2 North America 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment: Device, Equipment, and Country
- 5.2.3.3 Europe 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment: Device, Equipment, and Country
- 5.2.3.4 MEA 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment: Device, Equipment, and Country
- 5.2.3.5 Latin America 6G Infrastructure Unit Deployment: Device, Equipment, and Country
- 5.3 6G Testbeds Market 2024 – 2030
- 5.3.1 Global 6G Testbed PaaS Market
- 5.3.2 Global 6G Testbed PaaS Market by Region
- 5.3.3 Global 6G Testbed PaaS Market by Country
- 5.4 6G Investment 2022 – 2030
- 5.4.1 Global 6G R&D Investment
- 5.4.1.1 Global 6G R&D Investment by Funding Type
- 5.4.2 Global 6G Core Infrastructure Investment
- 5.4.3 Global 6G Transport Network Investment
- 6.0 Conclusions and Recommendations
- 6.1 Advertisers and Media Companies
- 6.2 Artificial Intelligence Providers
- 6.3 Automotive Companies
- 6.4 Broadband Infrastructure Providers
- 6.5 Communication Service Providers
- 6.6 Computing Companies
- 6.7 Data Analytics Providers
- 6.8 Immersive Technology (AR, VR, and MR) Providers
- 6.9 Networking Equipment Providers
- 6.10 Networking Security Providers
- 6.11 Semiconductor Companies
- 6.12 IoT Suppliers and Service Providers
- 6.13 Software Providers
- 6.14 Smart City System Integrators
- 6.15 Automation System Providers
- 6.16 Social Media Companies
- 6.17 Telecom Operators
- 6.18 OTT Service Providers
- 6.19 Enterprise and Government
- 7.0 Appendix
- 7.1 5G Technologies in Support of 6G Evolution
- 7.1.1 5G Communication Technology
- 7.1.1.1 Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)
- 7.1.1.2 Ultra-reliable Low-latency Communications (URLLC)
- 7.1.1.3 Massive Machine-type Communications (mMTC)
- 7.1.2 Service Based Architecture and Orchestration
- 7.1.3 Fixed Wireless Access
- 7.1.4 Edge Computing with Communication
- 7.1.5 Smart Antennas with MIMO and Beamforming
- 7.1.6 Smart Surfaces Technology
- 7.2 5G Applications to Expedite 6G Evolution
- 7.2.1 Retail and Consumer Electronics Applications
- 7.2.2 Healthcare Applications
- 7.2.3 Industrial Automation Applications
- 7.2.4 Intelligent Building Automation Applications
- 7.2.5 Automotive and Transportation Applications
- 7.2.6 Home Automation Applications
- 7.2.7 Financial Institution Applications
- 7.2.8 Energy and Utilities Applications
- 7.2.9 Public Safety Applications
- 7.2.10 Military Applications
- 7.2.11 Oil and Gas Applications
- 7.2.12 Mining Applications
- 7.2.13 Agriculture Applications
- 7.3 5G Service Market 2022 – 2030
- 7.3.1 5G Service Market by Communication Technology
- 7.3.1.1 5G eMBB Market by Application
- 7.3.1.2 5G mMTC Market by Application
- 7.3.1.3 5G URLLC Market by Application
- 7.3.1.4 5G FWA Market by Application
- 7.3.2 5G Service Market by Communication Device
- 7.3.3 5G Market by Service Provider
- 7.3.3.1 5G Carrier/MNO Service Market
- 7.3.3.1.1 5G Consumer Application Market
- 7.3.3.1.2 5G Enterprise Application Market
- 7.3.3.1.3 5G Government Application Market
- 7.3.3.2 5G OTT Service Market
- 7.4 5G New Radio Application Market 2022 – 2030
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