Keysight Technologies said it helped Korean company LG Electronics to demonstrate a 6G radio frequency (RF) front-end (RFFE) module at the 2021 Korea Science and Technology Exhibition held at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Ilsan, Korea in December 2021.
6G standards have not yet been set, but research into the next generation of wireless technology has already begun. This demonstration leveraged Keysight’s 6G sub-terahertz (THz) R&D testbed and LG’s 6G radio front-end transceiver to generate terabit data wireless transmissions.
Keysight noted that its 6G testbed supports a scalable number of frequency bands and ultra-wide bandwidths, enabling wireless companies to conduct 6G sub-THz channel sounding research and evaluate candidate 6G waveforms.
“Keysight is pleased to provide LG Electronics with state-of-the-art 6G measurement equipment, critical in evaluating radio components designed to support future ubiquitous wireless intelligence frameworks,” said Sun-Woo Lee, president of Keysight in Korea. “Keysight’s cross-domain expertise and multi-disciplinary capabilities enable early research into 6G, which is expected to be built on terabit communication speeds, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-native IoT applications, non-terrestrial networks, holographic technology and new end-to-end security paradigms.”
The company noted that many 6G applications and use cases depend on short-range connectivity using higher data rates than those transmitted by 5G networks, which is driving the need for wide bandwidths at sub-THz frequencies above 100GHz.
Keysight’s 6G testbed delivers low residual error vector magnitude (EVM) across ultra-wide modulation bandwidths resulting in accurate EVM performance assessments of sub-THz systems, transceivers and components. This enables researchers to create designs that deliver the high performance required to support future 6G use cases.
Keysight’s 6G sub-THz R&D testbed enables LG Electronics to develop high-frequency, high bandwidth RFFEs and transceivers.
“Keysight’s expertise in test, emulation and optimization, coupled with their ability to create essential linkages between supportive 6G technologies, helps LG Electronics to bring innovations to life – from idea to design, development, manufacturing, deployment and operation,” said Yeongho Je, vice president and head of Communication & Media Standard Lab at LG Electronics.
In early 2021, the two parties initiated a collaboration focused on next generation 6G network technology by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at securing leadership in the standardization and commercialization phase of 6G mobile communication.
LG previously said that 6G is expected to be commercialized in 2029. LG also noted that future 6G technologies will provide faster data speed, lower latency and higher reliability than 5G, and will be able to bring the concept of Ambient Internet of Everything (AIoE), which provides enhanced connected experience to users.
The government of South Korea previously said it aims to launch a pilot project for not-yet-standardized 6G mobile services in 2026. The Korean government expects 6G services could be commercially available in Korea between 2028 and 2030.
The Korean government’s strategy for 6G consists of preemptive development of next-generation technologies, securing standard and high value-added patents, and laying R&D and industry foundations. The government selected five major areas for the pilot project: Digital healthcare immersive content, self-driving cars, smart cities and smart factories.
RCR Wireless News published an editorial report about future 6G technology dubbed “Is it really time to start talking about 6G?”, in which key industry leaders and analysts talk about the initial efforts towards the future development of 6G. Click here to access the report.
