Imagine a phone network that’s 9,000 times faster than what we have now! Researchers have tested 6G and achieved speeds of 938 gigabits per second. This means you could download over 20 movies in just one second.
They did this using a wide range of radio frequencies. The speed is a record for multiplex data—where two or more signals are mixed. A new method for sending multiple streams of data across a wide range of frequencies could significantly improve the performance of next-generation phone networks.
Matthew Sparkes wrote this tech report, which was published on newscientist.com on Wednesday. Here is a shorter version of the report. Mobile phone networks frequently come to a standstill due to the high demand for wireless signals at busy train stations and at large events like concerts and sporting events. The primary cause of this is the constrained bandwidth that 5G networks function within. Although the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum currently devoted to 5G networks varies by nation, it typically consists of narrow bands of frequencies below 6 gigahertz. Using radio waves and light, Zhixin Liu and his colleagues at University College London have employed a broader range of frequencies—from 5 gigahertz to 150 gigahertz—than in any other experiment of its kind in order to increase transmission rates.
Currently, digital-to-analogue converters are used to transmit ones and zeros via radio waves, but they have trouble at higher frequencies, according to Liu. In order to create a broad band of data that can be picked up by hardware that could be integrated into next-generation smartphones, his team used that technology for the lower end of the range and a different technique involving lasers at the higher end.
As a result, the team was able to transmit data at a rate of 938 GB/s, which is over 9000 times faster than the typical 5G download speed in the UK.
This could guarantee that large groups of people can maintain enough bandwidth to stream video or enable individuals to take advantage of enormous data rates for applications that may not even have been thought of yet.
Despite being a multiplex data record, single signals have been transmitted at speeds of more than 1 terabit per second.
According to Liu, dividing the signals into broad frequency ranges is similar to transforming the "narrow, congested road" of existing 5G networks into "10 carriage motorways." "You need wider roads to carry more cars, just like with traffic."
According to Liu, his team is negotiating with network operators and smartphone manufacturers, and while he hopes that this work will serve as the foundation for future 6G technology, other emerging strategies are also competing for market share.
