China joins the race to 6G

Days after 5G was switched on by the three telecom operators in China, the Chinese government officially launched a 6G R&D programme.

Wei Shi

November 7, 2019

2 Min Read
6G over a digital city

Days after 5G was switched on by the three telecom operators in China, the Chinese government officially launched a 6G R&D programme.

Yes, you read it right. 6G is officially on the card. Reported by the Science and Technology Daily today, the official launch meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on 3 November, two days after the country’s three incumbent telecom operators started offering 5G commercial services. The government department oversees the country’s long-term strategy in science and technology, and also owns the newspaper.

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Two organisations will be set up to drive 6G R&D in China. The 6G R&D Working Group will be composed of government representatives from different departments, and will be responsible for overall promotion and implementation of R&D in 6G. The Experts Group will include 37 scientists and technology experts from academia, research institutes, and businesses, and will be responsible for setting 6G R&D agenda and conducting technology evaluation, as well as advising on important government policies.

The government officials believed this will be a prescient programme, when 6G technology roadmaps and use scenarios are still far from having an industry-wide consensus. Such an early move will help China assume a driving role to define where the technologies are going. Some industry experts have estimated that 6G will start taking a more concrete shape from around 2030.

China is not the first country to officially start research in 6G. The Finnish government endorsed the “6Genesis” programme already last year. The programme, led by the University of Oulu in northern Finland, will run into 2026. The first 6G Wireless Summit was held in March in Levi, a ski resort in Finnish Lapland, and the world’s first 6G whitepaper, “Key drivers and research challenges for 6G ubiquitous wireless intelligence” was published in September.

Shortly before the Finns came onstage at Mobile World Congress to announce their ambitions and plans, the most high-profile advocate for 6G was President Donald Trump, who tweeted at the beginning of the year that he wanted 6G in the United States as soon as possible.

About the Author

Wei Shi

Wei leads the Telecoms.com Intelligence function. His responsibilities include managing and producing premium content for Telecoms.com Intelligence, undertaking special projects, and supporting internal and external partners. Wei’s research and writing have followed the heartbeat of the telecoms industry. His recent long form publications cover topics ranging from 5G and beyond, edge computing, and digital transformation, to artificial intelligence, telco cloud, and 5G devices. Wei also regularly contributes to the Telecoms.com news site and other group titles when he puts on his technology journalist hat. Wei has two decades’ experience in the telecoms ecosystem in Asia and Europe, both on the corporate side and on the professional service side. His former employers include Nokia and Strategy Analytics. Wei is a graduate of The London School of Economics. He speaks English, French, and Chinese, and has a working knowledge of Finnish and German. He is based in Telecom.com’s London office.

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