World's first 6G satellite launches from China

Pete Flint

Posts: 40   +7
What just happened? A satellite was launched in China this week that will be used to experiment with 6G communications technology. While experts are suggesting extreme, and frankly exciting, speeds for 6G, the industry hasn’t concretely decided on any specifications yet, including the tech that was just shot into orbit.

Technology is always moving forward, and as telecoms companies are still rolling out 5G networks across the world and Apple recently released its first 5G iPhone, China has just sent a 6G satellite into orbit.

This is a commercial satellite, however, but one for test communications and research.

“The world’s first 6G satellite” was one of thirteen satellites sent into orbit on the back of a Long March-6 launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi Province, China.

The next generation of communications would use high-frequency terahertz waves to produce speeds many times faster than current 5G networks.

Experts such as Dr. Mahyar Shirvanimoghaddam from the University of Sydney have suggested that 6G could see eye-watering speeds of up to 1 terabyte per second. That said, the telecoms industry has not hammered out any concrete specifications for the technology yet.

Take it from Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden, who back at MWC 2019 said: "It's a little too early to talk about 6G."

So don’t start saving your pennies for that new iPhone 6G just yet.

Permalink to story.

 
This will probably make your hair stand, and I don't mean from surprise.

Speculations about 6G speed are running wildly on the Internet. You can find articles speculating 100 times increase from 5G, and some even 8000 times. The truth is evident, nobody really knows what they are talking about, including this article's author.

Today's Internet providers are only starting to consider upgrading from 200/400GbE, to the new 800GbE. And while 1.6TbE is in the pipe, no products exist for it yet, AFAIK.

So, 1TB/s (10Tb) internet speeds is somebody's pipe dream, nothing more.
 
Last edited:
The truth is evident, nobody really knows what they are talking about, including this article's author.
The situation is even worse than you point out. There is no 6G standard yet, and thus this isn't the "first 6G satellite". China is billing it as such in a bid to compel the rest of the world to follow their lead in developing the standard, giving them control over it and an edge in manufacturing and selling the eventual 6G infrastructure.
 
The situation is even worse than you point out. There is no 6G standard yet, and thus this isn't the "first 6G satellite". China is billing it as such in a bid to compel the rest of the world to follow their lead in developing the standard, giving them control over it and an edge in manufacturing and selling the eventual 6G infrastructure.
6G is already being worked on. Just like 5G was being worked on when 4G came out. 4G when 3G came out.
 
Huge achievement for China as some countries may want this to jump from 4G to 6G...!
 
6G is already being worked on. Just like 5G was being worked on when 4G came out. 4G when 3G came out.
Yes, of course. That doesn't contradict my statement. This isn't a "6G satellite." It's a satellite testing potential technologies to be incorporated into 6G. When the first 6G networks emerge, this satellite will not be part of them.
 
Back