US ‘unlikely’ to leapfrog in 6G race

Huawei confirms early-stage investment in futuristic technology

A US leapfrog from 5G to 6G, the futuristic telecommunication technologies, to deny China's lead in 5G is probably just wishful thinking, Chinese industry experts said on Sunday, after a top executive from Huawei Technologies confirmed the company's early-stage investment in 6G by pointing to the use of millimeter waves.

Discussions of 6G, and American companies' role in it, have been on the rise in the US, after US President Donald Trump's tweet on 6G in February 2019. There is an implicit wish that the US, though slow in the 5G race, could take a lead in 6G development.

However, Chinese experts said reality may unfold differently. Also, 6G is believed to yield a stronger performance than 5G in terms of bandwidth, latency and connections.

Huawei said it has started research on 6G, and relevant applications are expected to emerge around 2030.

“With the judgment that 6G will use millimeter waves, Huawei is now at the stage of exploring use scenarios and technologies,” Yang Tao, vice president of Huawei's China carrier business unit, said in a recent interview with domestic news site tech.sina.cn.

Yang's comments come as a number of other Chinese telecommunication companies have revealed their 6G research and development, while US industry circles have called for boosting competition in the field.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun recently said that his company is making 6G research plans and would conduct research on 6G devices, though Xiaomi is not likely to expand into making commercial 6G equipment.

On May 17, domestic telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE agreed with major carrier China Unicom to jointly review 6G prospects and technology trends, and carry out research on key technology and cooperation on standards.

Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst, said that the repeated attacks by the US on Huawei are clear signs that China could not afford to lose its race in 6G.

“The generational progress of telecommunication technologies is based on advancement of technologies, application of technologies and scales of application,” Ma said. “Given the concept that 6G will morph out of 5G, it would be practically impossible for the US to leapfrog China in 6G.”

“The only scenario under which China is superseded by another country is that the technology roadmap advocated by its manufacturers, operators, service providers and researchers is marginalized and has no market,” Ma said. “This is not likely to happen with the existing Chinese lead in the field.”

China's 5G subscribers stood at 50 million as of March, with 198,000 5G base stations rolled out.