China Plans to Start Researching 6G Concepts This Year, IT Ministry Says – Yicai Global
What happened: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) plans to begin research into 6G telecommunications technology in 2020, which it claims could potentially increase download speeds to one terabyte per second. A spokesperson at the ministry believes commercialization will begin in 2030. In addition to terrestrial applications, 6G will also enable communication underwater.
Why it’s important: The US, EU, and Russia are already looking at 6G development. China won’t want to delay their research for too long given the country is pushing to be at the forefront of deployment of 5G tech. Pilot programs have been rolled out in cities across the country by the three major telcos—China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom to meet this end. 6G is expected to generate business in large-market sectors including the industrial internet, drones, and gaming.