Although 5G networks are still expanding and have a long way to go, some are already looking to the future. The new horizon is in the development of 6G networks and some Chinese companies have already tested them successfully. When they will be available? What can you expect from them? This is what we know, so far, of the 6G networks of ZTE and company.

ZTE and the Chinese government tested key technologies for 6G networks

The race for the development of 5G networks was won by China, which earned the United States a veto for Huawei and ZTE, the main companies in charge. Now a new competition has started, that of 6G networks, and once again the Asians start ahead .

Thanks to a report from ITHome , we now know that ZTE and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) successfully conducted a test showing some of the technology that will be used in 6G networks.

According to the source, ZTE provided some of the staff and most of the equipment needed to run the test. Specifically, the tests carried out were the following:

• Testing of a distributed 6G stand-alone network , as well as a digital twin network.
• Examples of key technologies associated with the computing power of 6G networks.
• Conceptual samples of 6G networks operating above the terahertz frequency.
• Testing of conceptual key technologies of integration and communication 6G.
• Examples of conceptual 6G smart metasurface technologies.

According to the source, the results of these first tests were successful , although there is still a long time for 6G networks to become a reality. But how much?

The commercial launch of 6G networks is expected by 2030, according to Ericsson

As we mentioned at the beginning, the race for 6G networks is just beginning and there is a long way to go before we can compare them with 5G networks. There are different companies and organizations working on their investigation, but basically there are four: Huawei and ZTE, which are working hand in hand with Chinese telemarketers; meanwhile, Europe and the United States bet on Nokia and Ericsson .

In fact, it is known that Ericsson will invest millions of pounds for the research and development of 6G networks in the United Kingdom. Your plan? A ten-year project that will culminate in the commercial launch of the 6G service in 2030 . On this, Katherine Ainley (Ericsson UK & Ireland CEO) detailed that: “We will establish a team of 20 senior researchers in the UK and also provide funding for students. The initial focus will be the development of the network 6G and hardware security”.

Now, although there are already companies making progress in this regard, there is still much to be done, such as discussing and agreeing on the standards of this network . Likewise, the first theoretical data on what the speed of this network could be already exists.

Forecasts estimate a data download speed that could reach up to 1 Tbps (terabits per second). How much is this equal to? To put you in context, it is 1000 times faster than what 5G mmWave networks (1 Gbps) can offer . That, or 100 times faster than the maximum speed that the current 5G standard can deliver, which is 10 Gbps.

The post China is already testing 6G networks, will they win the race again? first appeared on CuteRank.