Page 93 - SAMENA Trends - February-March 2021

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

EU Group Looks to Scratch the Surface Of 6G

European institute CEA-Leti announced the launch of a EU 6G reflectors or transceivers “for massive access when equipped
research project with involvement from 13 parties including with active radio frequency elements”. Ultimately, RISE-6G
Orange, Telecom Italia and vendor NEC Europe. In a statement, aims to address the design of key hardware building blocks
CEA-Leti said the RISE-6G project was a “visionary” initiative and their integration in future 6G networks. CEA-Leti followed
based on designing, prototyping and testing smart and energy- other industry players in stating it expects 6G to be deployed by
sustainable technology advances, on reconfigurable intelligent the end of the decade, creating the “basis for human-centered
surfaces that will enable programmable control. The research smart societies and vertical industries”. To achieve this, the
institute explained these surfaces may be diode-based antennas group believes advances will be expected to support the long-
or metamaterials in the environment, such as mirrors, ceilings, term, sustainable transformation of networks into a distributed
walls and applications, and they will operate as reconfigurable smart-connectivity infrastructure, where terminal types such
as mirrors, signs and walls are embedded into the environment.
“Our mission is to enable this disruptive new concept as a service
for the wireless environment by dynamically controlling wireless
communication for local, brief and energy-efficient, high-capacity
communications,” said Emilio Calvanese Strinati, RISE-6G project
coordinator. In addition to the two operators and NEC, academic,
research and vertical players are involved in the initiative. Industry
noise around 6G continues to gather pace. In 2020 the Next G
Alliance research group launched, tasked with developing and
defining the technology, which has had backing from US operators,
vendors Ericsson and Nokia and LG, Apple and Google.

China to Accelerate 6G Push Over Next 5 Years

China’s government reportedly plans to R&D of 6G technologies, construction of a murmurings around the next-generation
prioritize the development of 6G up to large-scale 5G network and a push around of mobile has grown over the last year.
2025, stepping-up its ambitions for the IPv6. He reportedly explained more effort Last month, a new 6G research project
technology following recent research would be made to build up systems and was unveiled involving major European
advancements in Europe and the US. standards “to accommodate data flow, operators, while in 2020 US operators
State-owned newspaper China Daily stated cross-border data transmission and data committed to the Next G Alliance, a group
government and industry experts have security protection”, as China looks to reap tasked with developing and defining the
outlined a plan to advance 6G between 2021 the benefits of the digital economy. Details technology. China has also already been
and 2025, as part of a wider “digital China” of what exactly the country plans to do active, launching what it claimed was
standalone objective to ensure technology to accelerate 6G or when it expects the the first 6G experimental satellite to test
provides fresh economic impetus. Yang technology to launch were not revealed, communications for space using high-
Xiaowei, deputy head of the Cyberspace however industry players have widely frequency terahertz spectrum in November
Administration of China said at a news indicated the technology will not see the 2020.
briefing the country would accelerate light of day until 2030 at least. Industry

Two Slovak Cellcos To Debut Commercial 5G in April

Slovak operators Orange Slovensko and the commercial networks, with 4ka also 5G service in eight districts of Bratislava in
4ka have confirmed that they plan to expected to utilize 1800MHz frequencies, December, while O2 Slovakia is deploying
launch 5G services in Bratislava in April as it has been doing for its trial in the its own 5G infrastructure under a recently-
this year. A report from Zive.sk says both Banska Bystrica area. Slovak Telekom announced contract with Ericsson.
firms will be using 3.5GHz spectrum for introduced the country’s first commercial

93 FEB-MAR 2021