The battle for 6G dominance has already begun. It was just four short months ago, in October 2020, that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled their first iPhones to support 5G connectivity. And according to mobile industry association GSMA, 5G networks will likely not reach the milestone of covering one-third of the world’s population until 2025. Yet, even as 5G continues its rollout across the world, companies (and countries) have wasted no time in putting 6G wireless in their sights.
When could we see this new futuristic technology launch? It will be quite a while. Most telecom experts agree that early adopters shouldn’t expect to see the fruits of these labors until 2030. But, as we start the journey down the inevitable road to 6G, here are some highlights of what we know so far:
No. 1: Apple Is Hiring 6G Engineers
One could make a relatively safe assumption that Apple would already be noodling about 6G. But it appears they have gone a step further. This week, they posted job listings for research engineers at their San Diego and Silicon Valley locations. According to Bloomberg, the listing includes the following job description:
“research and design next generation (6G) wireless communication systems for radio access networks” and “participate in industry/academic forums passionate about 6G technology.”
No. 2: Countries Place Their 6G Bets
It’s not just China and the U.S. that will be vying for 6G dominance. It was widely reported in December 2020 that Japan will invest 50 billion Yen ($482 million) in 6G R&D, with the goal of commercially launching the technology in 2030. South Korea has an even more impressive launch goal as early as 2028, with a pilot project planned for 2026.
No. 3: When Will 6G Launch? Dominate?
In “6G: A $1 trillion opportunity for telcos,” an article on ITP.net, it mentions this prediction from a recent IDTechEx report:
“While the first 6G networks may launch in 2030, the new technology will overlap with 5g before becoming the dominant network infrastructure by 2037.”
No. 4: How Fast Will 6G Be?
Very fast. Very. Very. Fast. Mahyar Shirvanimoghaddam, a wireless communications expert at the University of Sydney claims 6G networks have the potential to give users speeds of 1 terabyte per second, or 8,000 gigabits per second. As Digital Trends explains:
“Forget one movie downloading in a few seconds from Netflix with 5G, with 6G speeds like that, in just one second you could download 142 hours of Netflix movies.”
No. 5: Holograms and Digital Twins
In Samsung’s 6G Vision report, two of the most exciting 6G features it predicted was “high-fidelity mobile holograms” and “digital replicas.” As the report explains:
“With the unprecedented rate of advances in high-resolution rendering, wearable displays, and wireless networks, mobile devices will be able to
render media for 3D hologram displays. Hologram is a next-generation media technology that can present gestures and facial expressions by means
of a holographic display … With the help of advanced sensors, AI, and communication technologies, it will be possible to replicate physical entities, including people, devices, objects, systems, and even places, in a virtual world. This digital replica of a physical entity is called a digital twin.”
With an anticipated launch date of 2030, it may be some time before analysts start recommending 6G stocks to buy. In the meantime, here are plenty of 5G stock opportunities to consider:
- 4 5G Stocks for the Long Run
- 4 5G Stocks That Aren’t Phone Companies
- 7 5G Stocks to Keep Your Eye on in 2021
- The 5G Stocks Opportunity Everyone’s Missing
On the date of publication, Vicki Passmore did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Vicki Passmore is a Web Content Producer with InvestorPlace.com.
