National 6G Roadmap Working Group: North American 6G Roadmap Priorities
Over the last three years, Next G Alliance (NGA) has been studying the needs for the forthcoming 6G network and evaluating the readiness of potential technologies to be brought to standards and implementations. Ambitions have been high — carried by the momentum of an industry that has seen tremendous growth generation over generation. Hundreds of new use cases can easily be listed fueled by the potential of new technologies such as AI and Joint Communications and Sensing (JCAS). A wide range of vertical industries holds the promise for market expansion, particularly for new devices beyond the smartphone. But everything cannot be a priority if the industry is to form a consensus for development. Therefore, it is necessary to identify “Day 1” priorities to provide effective collaboration throughout the roadmap from research to deployments.
In May 2024, the NGA National 6G Roadmap Working Group (RWG) published a report on North American 6G Roadmap Priorities outlining the region’s perspectives and key priorities for the initial phase of 6G system standardization and development. The group identified nine representative use cases (highlighted in the graphic below) that capture the key North America needs and drivers for the underlying technologies and presented them in the 3GPP SA1 workshop held this May. Following publication of this report, the RWG held a workshop this summer to further discuss 6G priorities and expectations.
The Need for a Versatile Platform
5G and 5G-Advanced mainly focused on Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and to some extent on FWA. Considering the wide range of expected use cases, it is clear that 6G should aim to be a versatile platform capable of supporting a broad spectrum of use cases rather than focusing too narrowly on any single use case or vertical industry. 6G could benefit from a more flexible approach that allows for greater customization based on the needs of different industries. This could involve building in a broader set of foundational technologies that can be adapted to a variety of applications, from consumer entertainment to industrial IoT and public safety. As 3GPP is beginning deliberations over the next year, it is imperative that these industries bring their use cases to early discussions so that the foundation of 6G is built with all stakeholders in mind.
Defense Industries
Defense is one vertical industry that can benefit from increased versatility. While the industry is already well advanced in sensing and XR applications and use cases, an increase in flexibility will allow for custom adaptations to meet defense-specific requirements, such as the integration of alternative waveforms and enhanced security protocols. The flexible architecture that allows the maximum amount of disaggregation is suggested to be the single biggest principle that would benefit defense’s use of 6G technologies.
Future Devices
The 6G era will likely see a proliferation of new types of devices, each serving specific use cases. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are areas in which 6G could make a substantial impact by providing the necessary bandwidth and low latency to support truly immersive experiences. The integration of AI in network management and service delivery could enable more efficient and personalized user experiences. AI-powered handsets, wearables, XR devices, and drones could be dominant devices in the 6G landscape. These new devices would need to be supported by the network infrastructure, requiring advancements in areas such as spectrum management, energy efficiency, and device interoperability. Also, the defense industry can leverage the ecosystem of these new commercial devices.
Critical Technologies
To enable a versatile platform for a broad range of use cases, 6G’s framework must be capable of supporting critical technologies such as Extreme MIMO, JCAS, and end-to-end AI/ML. While these may not be fully deployed initially, it is foreseen that these capabilities are essential for the longer-term uptake of 6G. In addition, security, particularly in the context of post-quantum cryptography, is a critical concern for 6G development. As quantum computing advances, current encryption methods may become vulnerable, necessitating the adoption of new cryptographic techniques that can withstand quantum attacks.
Expectations of 6G Rollout in the 2030 Timeframe
The rollout of 6G will likely be an incremental evolution of 5G rather than a groundbreaking shift. This approach is expected because 6G is projected to build on the existing infrastructure of 5G Advanced, improving on its foundation rather than introducing entirely new technology. This will ensure that basic core services such as emergency calling, voice and basic data connectivity are included, which are the most fundamental use cases often taken for granted. Initial 6G deployment is expected to focus on enhanced capacity, better utilization of available spectrum and new midband spectrum in the 7-15 GHz range and addressing the remaining gaps and unmet promises of 5G. It is also highly desirable to specify only a 6G standalone architecture (SA), allowing for a lean and smooth migration from 5G-SA towards 6G-SA. It will be necessary to improve cost and power efficiencies to motivate the migration from 5G to 6G systems, while enabling support for the NGA’s nine representative use cases listed earlier in this piece.
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