Just as 5G starts rolling out 6G is in the already in the works
The march of technology never stops, and as users celebrate Gigabit mobile speeds Terabit mobile speeds are already on the drawing board.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2019) 'Just as 5G starts rolling out 6G is in the already in the works', 311 Institute, 14 May. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/just-as-5g-starts-rolling-out-6g-is-in-the-already-in-the-works/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
While countries around the world are just beginning to roll out their first 5G networks that operate at Gigabbit speeds, technologists at Finland's University of Oulu are already starting work on 6G, that will operate at Terabit speeds. And they’re not alone after China recently announced it wants to start rolling out 6G technology in 2030, with the US too taking early steps to release 6G and even 7G spectrum for “tests.”
Recently the Academy of Finland announced the funding of "6Genesis," an eight year research program to “conceptualize 6G” with the University of Oulu's Centre for Wireless Communications.
Even though you might not know it Oulu in northern Finland is a major hub for 5G development, and in a paper proposing 6Genesis, director Matti Latva-aho explains "a new mobile generation appears every 10 years, and thus, 6G will emerge around 2030 to satisfy all the expectations not met with 5G, as well as new ones to be defined at a later stage."
"Vision for 2030: Our society is data-driven, enabled by near-instant, unlimited wireless connectivity," the paper goes on to say. The new network will involve "distributed computing and intelligence, as well as materials and antennas at very high frequencies," he said.
That means "radio oriented research towards the THz range" and "artificial intelligence inspired applications.”
With the 5G standard just recently locked down, and the first 5G networks rolling out we don't know what effect 5G will have on society. As Verizon exec Andrea Caldini pointed out at Mobile World Congress recently 4G enabled a wide range of innovations, from Snapchat to Netflix streaming, thanks to fast mobile data rates.
The initial 6G study groups “will be focused on exploring technologies that aren't yet possible,” but that will evolve what the industry is doing with 5G. Take those terahertz radio frequencies. To enable very high data rates and capacities, 5G pushes cellular radios up into the multi-gigahertz frequencies, also called "millimeter wave." So it isn't too surprising that 6Genesis will look at going even farther.
The group will also look at “making policy recommendations for a high-speed, AI-enabled world.”
"Besides technology advances, there will be a wave of societal changes due to massive digitalisation of services, and this will call for novel incentive and business models in addition to telecom regulation and legislation," said Latva-Aho.
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The march of technology never stops, and as users celebrate Gigabit mobile speeds Terabit mobile speeds are already on the drawing board.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- 6gflagship oulu.fi
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 14 May 2019. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2019). Just as 5G starts rolling out 6G is in the already in the works. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/just-as-5g-starts-rolling-out-6g-is-in-the-already-in-the-works/
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