Flexibility is key when navigating the future of 6G

The differences between 5G and 6G are not just about what collection of bandwidths will make up 6G in the future and how users will connect to the network, but also about the intelligence built into the network and devices. "The collection of networks that will create the fabric of 6G must work differently for an augmented reality (AR) headset than for an e-mail client on a mobile device," says Shahriar Shahramian, a research lead with Nokia Bell Laboratories. "Communications providers need to solve a plethora of technical challenges to make a variety of networks based on different technologies work seamlessly," he says. Devices will have to jump between different frequencies, adjust data rates, and adapt to the needs of the specific application, which could be running locally, on the edge of the cloud, or on a public service. "One of the complexities of 6G will be, how do we bring the different wireless technologies together so they can hand off to each other, and work together really well, without the end user even knowing about it," Shahramian says.