From 5G to 6G: Next-Generation Connectivity, Network Slicing & More
Mobile connectivity has come a long way in the past few decades.
From basic cellular calling to today's enhanced 5G networks, each generation of mobile technology brings new capabilities and opportunities for people, businesses, and machines.
5G has opened the door to vastly more than faster phones, though.
It enables applications that span connected devices, industrial automation, low-latency communication, private networks, edge computing, and a much broader approach to the use of the IoT.
The next generation of mobile technology is already in development, however.
6G is the proposed next-generation mobile connectivity platform, being investigated to enable even more advanced use cases with enhanced sensing, automation, and intelligence.
In this guide, you'll learn about:
• The transition from 5G to 6G
• Network slicing, network virtualization, and related technologies
• Foreseen applications and benefits of next-generation connectivity
• Challenges associated with the adoption of 5G and 6G
• And more
What Is 5G?
Fifth-generation mobile networks (5G) refer to the current state-of-the-art in cellular connectivity.
It builds on previous generations of mobile networks to enhance broadband capacity, increase speeds, lower latencies, and enable a much broader set of cellular-connected applications and devices.
5G is no longer focused exclusively on mobile broadband for smartphones; rather, it enables a wide range of applications, including smartphones, IoT, industrial automation, private enterprise networks, smart infrastructure, connected vehicles, augmented and virtual reality, and more.
The actual performance of a 5G network depends on a variety of different factors.
5G vs 4G: Difference Between 5G and 4G
5G networks are more than just "faster than 4G networks."
For starters, a 5G network is not strictly focused on mobile broadband but rather represents a broad ecosystem of connected systems and services.
This includes industrial automation, smart infrastructure, private network capabilities, and more.
Below is a small comparison table that summarizes some of the main differences between 4G and 5G.
| Characteristic | 4G Description | 5G Description |
|---|---|---|
| Focus of Use | Mobile Broadband | Mobile Broadband + Other Connected Services |
| Latency | Higher | Designed for Lower Latency |
| Scale of Devices | Smaller Device Footprint | Higher Device Density |
| Programmability | Less Programmable | More Flexible and Programmable |
| IoT Support | IoT Support Available | Designed for IoT Connectivity |
| Industrial Connectivity | Limited Support | Enhanced Industrial Connectivity |
| Network Slicing | Limited Slicing Support | Slicing as a Core Network Capability |
These are general observations, as network performance will always vary based on the actual network infrastructure and conditions.
What Is Network Slicing?
The word "slicing" can refer to a process by which something solid (like a loaf of bread) is broken into smaller connected parts (slices of bread).
"Network slicing" could refer to a similar process by which a single connected network infrastructure supports multiple separate logical network environments.
In other words, a network slice could potentially be thought of as a virtual network that uses the physical network infrastructure as a common transport medium.
Network Slicing Explained With a Highway Analogy
A mobile network environment is like a highway.
All network traffic (data packets) travels across this highway.
Slices allow this road to be subdivided in various ways to best meet the needs of the different traffic types (applications) that use it.
For example, there could be a few different slices, each of which might be customized for:
• Device density and footprint
• Data rate capability
• Latency and jitter constraints
• Security and physical isolation
• Edge capabilities
• Network flexibility and extensibility
• Cost structure
Technologies Related to Network Slicing
There are a variety of different technical processes and components that can enable network slicing.
Software, virtualization elements, and other programmable tools and technologies can be used to configure and manage multiple simultaneously active network slices within a common infrastructure.
A few terms related to network slicing are listed below:
• Network virtualization
• Software-defined networking
• Cloud-native
• Network orchestration
• Virtual network functions
• 5G core networks
Simplified Network Slicing Process
A very simplified version of the network slicing process looks something like this:
Physical Network Infrastructure
V
Virtualized Network Functions
V
Network Orchestration
V
Logical Network Slices
V
Applications and Customers
The actual process is much more complicated, but this should give you a rough conceptual overview of how network slicing works in general.
Why Is Network Slicing Important?
There are a number of different applications that have widely varying requirements in terms of bandwidth, latency, reliability, security, and device density.
A single uniform network environment will not be optimal for all applications at once.
Network slicing enables the creation of multiple different logical network environments (slices), each of which can be individually optimized for the needs of the particular set of applications and devices that utilize that slice.
Network slicing is one of the key enabling technologies for 5G. Below is a small selection of some of the many different applications that 5G networks can support:
• Smartphones
• Industrial Applications
• Industrial IoT
• Smart Infrastructure
• Smart Cities
• In-Vehicle Systems and Telematics
• Connected Vehicles
• Connected Navigation Applications & Parking Management
• Video Streaming Applications
• Augmented and Virtual Reality
• Private Enterprise Network Capabilities
These 5G network slices can be created in various ways depending on the network infrastructure and physical network conditions.
Real-World Applications of 5G
The list of potential 5G use cases is broad, although the realization of these applications will be uneven around the globe and will occur at different times in different industries and regions.
Below are some of the major 5G network applications that are currently being pursued or utilized today.
1. Connected Vehicles
5G networks can support an enormous range of different vehicle-related applications.
Some of the potential use cases for connected vehicle technologies include:
• Enhanced roadside and vehicular safety applications
• Roadside information and fleet management capabilities
• Connected automobiles, navigation applications, and parking assistance
• In-car information and entertainment systems
• Advanced diagnostics, automation, and telematics applications
• Connected transportation and connected vehicle infotainment
• Inter-vehicle communication
• Connected drones, sensors, and smart infrastructure
Future in-vehicle systems will likely be even more integrated with other forms of cellular infrastructure and edge-based processing technologies, such as sensors, AI/ML, and the cloud.
In future autonomous intelligent transportation systems, 5G networks will likely provide an essential, albeit relatively narrow, part of the solution.
2. Smart Cities
One of the main implications of increased mobile connectivity is an explosion in the amount of data generated by various forms of infrastructure.
5G networks can be used to monitor and manage this data, enabling smart lighting, smart traffic systems, environmental monitors, smart parking applications, and more.
3. Industrial Applications
Industrial facilities can use connected sensory devices and networked infrastructure for predictive maintenance and a variety of other process improvements.
Connected applications in this space involve robotics, machine monitoring, quality control, worker safety systems, asset tracking, and more.
Private 5G networks have considerable value in industrial settings to ensure secure and reliable machine-to-machine communication.
4. Healthcare
Network connectivity technologies can support a range of healthcare applications, from patient monitoring and connected medical devices through to telemedicine and remote diagnostics.
Many healthcare applications can benefit from 5G connectivity technologies, including remote data processing and networked patient monitoring systems.
Higher levels of reliability, security, and latency control will be required depending on the use case.
Healthcare applications typically have particularly strict requirements in terms of both safety and regulatory compliance.
5. Augmented and Virtual Reality
Applications involving augmented and virtual reality often require significant bandwidth and benefit from lower-latency networks.
As edge computing becomes integrated with next-generation mobile technologies, many of these applications can become more immersive and even potentially democratized.
VR applications can become more accessible to a wider audience due to the combination of these enabling technologies.
As with healthcare applications, the network is only part of the equation in terms of application quality and functionality.
What Is 6G?
Sixth-generation mobile networks (6G) are currently being investigated as the next major step in mobile connectivity.
Unlike 5G, which is already available commercially, 6G is still several years away in terms of practical availability.
Research into 6G includes advanced wireless communications, AI and communications, sensing and communications, and a variety of different wireless innovations that will become more prevalent over the coming decade.
The list of potential technologies and methods associated with sixth-generation mobile connectivity is long and varied, and the practical applications are difficult to estimate at the present time.
Direct 6G Research Areas
Some of the research areas that will directly contribute to the eventual realization of 6G include:
Advanced Telecommunications Standards and Methods
6G-Related Networking Technologies and Architectures
AI Technologies and Applications for Future Networks
IoT-Related Innovations and Use Cases
Indirect 6G Research Areas
Some of the research topics that will indirectly contribute to the realization of 6G include:
Semiconductor Technologies
Sensor Technologies
Robotics Technologies
Autonomous Systems Technologies
Networked System Technologies
Security Technologies
Cloud Technologies
Environmental Technologies
Biological Technologies
Industrial Technologies
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does give you an idea of the sheer breadth of technical and scientific innovation that will contribute to the eventual realization of 6G.
The details of 6G network deployment specifications are still being determined, however: there is still quite a bit of research left to be done in a number of technical fields before practical 6G networks can be established.
When Will 6G Arrive?
As you'd expect, most of the current conversation around 6G involves speculation.
Estimates for the arrival of 6G vary considerably, but most sources point to a 2030 arrival window for commercial 6G network environments.
Bear in mind there is a large difference between early research availability dates and actual commercial availability.
There are also numerous practical, technical, and scientific factors that need to be taken into account before a truly commercial mobile communications network can be deployed.
6G Development Process
Research & Development
V
Technology Development
V
Standardization
V
Testing
V
Deployment
V
Commercial Availability
With this in mind, any claims of "6G already available" should be taken with a pinch of salt.
What Could Make 6G Different From 5G?
There is no doubt that next-generation mobile technologies represent a major step forward for the world of wireless communications.
However, 6G is more than just "faster than 5G networks."
The following list contains some of the emerging topics and technologies that will make a difference in the next major iteration of mobile networks.
1. AI-Native Communications
Artificial intelligence could be embedded throughout the entire 6G network ecosystem, with dynamic resource scheduling and management capabilities.
AI could enable autonomous system management, dynamic resource allocation, optimized network architecture, and much more.
Artificial intelligence is much more than just a better algorithm: it has the potential to completely revise the fundamental networking and system design philosophies.
A handful of the capabilities that could be made available through AI-native communications include:
• AI-assisted telecommunications
• AI-assisted sensing and communications
• AI-assisted network orchestration
• AI-native applications
• Autonomous telecommunications systems
• Network security applications
• Predictive maintenance applications
• Optimized telecommunications architectures
• AI-assisted network slice creation and management
These are ambitious claims, and the actual practical applications of 6G AI-native solutions can only really be known with time. However, the mere concept of "intelligent telecommunications networks" warrants a great deal of investigation and innovation.
2. Integrated Sensing and Communications
Traditional radio communication and radio spectrum sensing are two sides of the same coin.
Sensing and communication have always been somewhat intertwined, but 6G research is looking to bring these processes together in novel ways.
Integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) is a current area of major academic and commercial interest, investigating how sensing data can be used alongside, and to enhance, radio communication infrastructure.
Some of the potential applications of ISAC include:
• Enhanced radar applications
• Improved 5G and 6G localization applications
• Advanced 6G network capabilities such as beamforming
• Connected vehicle applications
• Smart city applications
• Industrial applications
• Smart agriculture applications
• Connected health applications
• Extended reality applications
3. Extended Immersive Communications (AIO)
Extended immersive communications is an umbrella term that covers a number of different technologies, applications, and use cases, primarily focused around augmented, virtual, and mixed reality experiences.
There is considerable potential for this space to explode into a whole new world of novel applications, experiences, and technological advancements.
Applications such as telepresence and extended reality can be combined with other technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing to produce entirely new classes of augmented and immersive experiences.
This wide variety of potential applications means that extended immersive communications has the potential to become one of the major next-generation disruptive technologies of the 2020s and beyond.
The concept of extended reality applications (augmented, virtual, and mixed) is broad enough that it would be impossible to accurately predict the exact practical applications of 6G-era immersive realities at this point in time.
Nevertheless, the combination of extended immersive realities and advanced connectivity could become one of the major disruptive forces of the coming decades.
4. Extreme Communications
Extreme communications is a broad label that encompasses a number of different areas of telecommunications technology, from extremely high data rates to extremely low latency.
The 6G research roadmap includes extremely high data rate technologies that will become significantly faster than anything that has come before in the history of radio communications.
Some of the potential applications of extreme communications include:
• Extremely high-bandwidth extended reality applications
• Ultra-low-latency extended reality applications
• High-resolution, high-dynamic-range video applications
• Enhanced telepresence, video conferencing, and entertainment applications
• High-throughput data analytics applications
• Bandwidth-intensive healthcare applications
• Connected vehicle applications
• 5G/6G-connected drones
• Industrial applications
Note again that theoretical peak data rates bear little resemblance to actual everyday practical applications.
6G and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is one of the major next-generation disruptive technologies currently under investigation worldwide.
The integration of artificial intelligence solutions and principles into the field of telecommunications is still in its infancy but is already showing considerable promise.
Artificial intelligence applications can be integrated at a number of different levels of a telecommunications network:
Artificial intelligence solutions could be used at higher protocol layers to dynamically manage data transmission, networking, and device behaviors. They could be used at the application layer, with AI-native applications providing end-user network management and optimization capabilities. They could even be applied at the physical layer, potentially enabling novel solutions that would otherwise not be possible by traditional hard-coded approaches.
Potential Applications of AI-Native Telecommunications
A few of the potential applications of AI-native telecommunication solutions are listed below:
• Dynamic network resource allocation and re-allocation
• AI-assisted slice creation and management
• Dynamic device management and optimization
• Advanced network security applications
• Enhanced video transcoding applications
These are just a few examples; AI-native solutions have the potential to disrupt all levels of the telecommunications ecosystem.
6G and Edge Computing
Edge computing is another major disruptive technology that is being integrated with 5G networks.
The cloud computing paradigm fundamentally changes the way that data is processed, with nearly all data processing involving large-scale data centers.
In a traditional server-based or cloud-computing network environment, all data must be aggregated before it can be processed.
This is necessary due to the fundamental limitations of how computers are built. It makes the use of traditional computing paradigms impossible at a reasonable scale in many other computing environments.
An edge-centric architecture could potentially be much more efficient than traditional cloud-centric architectures. Although this statement is very vague, it is not without foundation: in an edge-centric architecture, some of the processing that a traditional centralized server architecture would perform can be offloaded to less powerful edge computing nodes.
Traditional Centralized Cloud Architecture
An oversimplified view of a traditional centralized server-cloud computing architecture looks something like this:
Device
V
Centralized Server
Edge Computing Architecture
A slightly more realistic conceptual view of an edge computing architecture looks something like this:
Device
V
Edge Infrastructure
V
Centralized Server
AI-powered 6G network could become a natural fit with an increasingly AI-native edge infrastructure.
AI-native algorithms and operations can be offloaded to AI-native or AI-assisted edge computing nodes to maximize throughput and efficiency.
AI-native 5G or 6G networks could also potentially utilize a form of dynamic resource allocation, enabling application-specific edge processing resources to be dynamically allocated for optimal efficiency and throughput.
In short, edge computing could make a major contribution to the overall disruption caused by next-generation 5G/6G networks.
6G and the Internet of Things
The number of devices that are capable of wireless communication or that utilize some sort of wireless communication is growing exponentially.
This exponential growth means that networks have to be able to evolve and scale quickly and efficiently. This rapid scaling is extremely demanding across nearly all aspects of the industry ecosystem, with no corner being left untouched.
The applications that can be enabled by these next-generation massive networks is equally as staggering.
Sensing, video, audio, automation, and AI are all being integrated into a growing number of different types of devices.
It is challenging to classify these devices in any meaningful or coherent manner, but it is possible to look at them from one perspective.
These devices can generally be placed into a taxonomy of power, bandwidth, and reliability constraints.
Power, Bandwidth, and Reliability Constraints
The three major axes of this taxonomy are listed as follows:
• Reliability: The degree of reliability that a given device can maintain over a long period of time
• Bandwidth: The degree of bandwidth that a given device can utilize in a reasonable amount of network resource allocation
• Power: The degree of power that a given device can consume on a regular basis
Any given device can exist somewhere in this 3D classification space.
It is also possible to see that some applications will be extremely demanding in terms of a given classification axis, while other applications will not necessarily require extremely demanding capabilities along that same axis.
There are certainly applications in these classifications that can disrupt some of the same industries that 5G would disrupt.
However, 5G networks and their related applications would be relatively more optimized in terms of bandwidth, while 6G would have additional capabilities related to artificial intelligence and low-latency processing.
These additional capabilities would be particularly disruptive in an edge computing context.
In short, while the applications space for 6G is very broad, the capabilities that next-generation networks would bring to the field of the IoT would be far more disruptive in terms of a general-purpose connected devices and sensors space.
6G and Extended Reality
Extended reality (XR) is a generalized term that refers to a wide range of different immersive and augmented applications ranging from virtual reality (VR) to augmented reality (AR) and everything in between.
XR applications can be extremely compelling, as well, as the wide range of applications that can be enabled ranges from telepresence and entertainment through to industrial and business applications.
These applications range from low complexity to extremely complex, meaning that there is considerable potential for disruption in multiple industrial spaces.
Fundamental Requirements of XR Applications
In general, any XR application has similar fundamental requirements:
• High bandwidth capabilities
• Low latency capabilities
• Processing capabilities
Applications that run on a mobile device can potentially utilize these properties of the connected mobile device network.
A 5G network could potentially be sufficient for a number of XR applications, but combining 5G with 6G would dramatically expand the possibilities for extended reality applications.
In short, the applications space for extended reality applications is extremely broad and would cause significant disruption in the immersive applications space.
It is likely that traditional mobile device-based telepresence applications will also begin to integrate more advanced computer vision, AI capabilities, and novel application-specific capabilities as these technologies mature.
While these applications have considerable potential disruption potential, they are somewhat peripheral to the larger topic of next-generation mobile network disruption.
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