Nokia, DOCOMO, Fujitsu, NEC, and NTT have established a collaboration to design and develop critical 6G technologies. In proof-of-concept (POC) experiments, next-generation mobile technologies will be focused on the sub-terahertz band and AI-enabled interfaces.
The partnership will concentrate on two proof-of-concepts for upcoming 6G technologies: an AI native air interface and sub-THz radio access. These seek to prove that an AI-based 6G air interface outperforms a traditional air interface in terms of performance, and that high-data-rate beamformed access can be obtained in a high frequency band at 140 GHz.
Nokia thinks that 6G will not only improve on existing technologies and systems, but will also expand and revolutionize the capabilities of a network. It will bring together the human, physical, and computer realms in order to unleash the full human potential. Nokia has identified six important technologies that will be critical components of future 6G networks in order to reach this goal. New spectrum technologies, AI native air interfaces, network as a sensor, extreme connectivity, cognitive, automated, and specialized architectures, as well as security and trust, are among them.
Meanwhile, Docomo will collaborate with NEC on distributed MIMO technology to enable high-capacity throughput using mid-band and sub-terahertz spectrum and multiplex transmission technology. The company said it will work on device technologies that will lower the device’s size and power consumption, as well as high-precision beamforming technologies. The operator’s partnership with Fujitsu will focus on 100MHz and 300MHz distributed MIMO transmission.
The objective of the partnership is to establish trial and demonstration settings in DOCOMO and NTT facilities in Japan, as well as Nokia facilities in Stuttgart, Germany, by 2022, and to begin executing the required tests and measurements.
Naoki Tani, CTO at DoCoMo, said: “6G studies are progressing two or three years ahead of that of 5G. From this early stage, we would like to collaborate with world-leading global vendors to proactively demonstrate breakthrough concepts and technologies and promote them to the world.”
“Nokia is very honored to engage in this collaboration with DoCoMo and NTT, as global leading operators that are always among the first to bring new generations to the market. We look forward to working together and validating key concepts and key technologies to realize the 6G vision,” said Peter Vetter, President Bell Labs Core Research, Nokia.
