PM Modi, during his Independence Day speech, highlighted that India witnessed the fastest rollout of 5G in the world with availability in around 700 districts. He went on announce that India is now preparing for 6G. Earlier this year, PM Modi also released the Bharat 6G vision document which aims to kick start R&D in the field of 6G and will help in faster adoption of the new technology.
What is 6G? The very first generation of cell phones across the world were built and sold in the 1980s. They were running on analog technology that we now refer to as 1G. Since then, every 10 years a new generation of cellular technology has arrived, each one bringing with it faster speeds and more advanced capabilities.
2G expanded the capability of digital voice transmission and text messaging. 3G brought us mobile internet and video calling. 4G delivered even faster data speeds and enabling the rise of mobile apps and streaming media. And finally, 5G, which offers much higher data speeds that offer low latency and is crucial to build an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. 6G is the next step in the same direction.
How is 6G better than 5G?
Both 5G and 6G represent significant leaps forward in terms of speed, frequency bands, and use cases, there are some key differences to note.
In terms of speed, 5G already offers a massive improvement over 4G LTE-Advanced, with theoretical speeds of up to 10,000 mbps. That’s more than 30 times faster than 4G. But 6G is set to take things much further. According to the 6G vision document released by the Department of Telecom (DoT) 6G will offer ultra-low latency with speeds up to 1 terabit per second. This is almost 1,000 times more than the top speed of 5G.
When it comes to frequency bands, 5G operates in the millimeter-wave spectrum, from 24 GHz up to 66 GHz. This allows for faster data transfer and greater bandwidth capacity. But 6G will push the boundaries even further, using frequency bands from 30 to 300 GHz and even up to the terahertz range of 300 to 3000 GHz. This will provide even better coverage and improved reliability.
But what is the real-world use of 6G?
The most exciting difference between 5G and 6G is in their potential use cases. While 5G has already opened up a world of possibilities, from autonomous vehicles to smart cities and remote healthcare, 6G is set to revolutionize our world even further. With its unprecedented speeds and low latency, it will enable smart societies with a focus on automation. Smart homes, autonomous transportation systems, and advanced healthcare are some of the use cases.
6G will also help in connecting a lot more devices all at once. This is important because we have more and more gadgets that need the internet, like smart cars, smart homes, and even tiny sensors for different things. 6G will make sure they all work together smoothly.
In short, while 5G has already changed the game, 6G is set to take us into an entirely new era of connectivity and innovation.
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