Sci-Tech

6G Unicom Digital Future

2025-12-31   

At the Purple Mountain Laboratory located in Nanjing, Jiangsu, a device continuously moves a table tennis ball at a constant rhythm. The ball can bounce in a regular circular motion for a long time, as if it is precisely controlled by silk threads. This is the world's first "latency bounded deterministic wireless access demonstration system" for 6G. The entire bouncing process relies entirely on real-time wireless control via 6G network, demonstrating extremely high control capabilities for latency and stability. When 5G is changing social production and living patterns with high speed, low latency, and massive connections, the global competition of the new generation of mobile communication has begun. The industry believes that 6G will reconstruct the way information is transmitted, processed, and recognized from the bottom, becoming a key infrastructure supporting the intelligent era, namely the "neural network" of the future digital society. Facing the future global digital landscape competition, China is leveraging its solid foundation laid in the 5G era, vast market application scenarios, and collaborative innovation to move from "parallel running" to "leading", injecting strong Chinese momentum into the global development of 6G. In August of this year, Chinese scientists successfully developed an ultra wideband optoelectronic fusion integrated system for neural networks in the digital future, achieving full frequency band, flexible and tunable high-speed wireless communication for the first time, providing guarantees for more smooth and reliable 6G wireless communication in the future. In the industry, communication technology is often compared to a "courier" - transmitting text in the 2G era, transmitting images in the 3G era, carrying videos in the 4G era, and further achieving efficient transmission of high-definition videos and IoT data in the 5G era. Although the transmission rate continues to increase, its core logic remains unchanged, which is to deliver data from the starting point to the endpoint without loss. From this perspective, the breakthrough of 6G lies in its transformation from a "courier" to a "butler, secretary, and think tank" - based on data transmission, it deeply integrates intelligent processing and global services to achieve high-level management, collaborative scheduling, and decision support of information, moving from information connectivity to intelligent integration. The core of achieving this breakthrough lies in the expansion of the spectrum domain. According to respondents, 6G will explore and utilize the terahertz (THz) frequency band (0.1-10THz), with the potential to increase peak transmission rates to the level of terabits per second (Tbps), which is tens or even hundreds of times higher than 5G. The unique physical properties of terahertz waves enable them to possess both communication and sensing capabilities. This means that 6G networks can not only transmit information, but also perform high-precision imaging, ranging, and feature recognition of the surrounding environment like radar, achieving integrated communication and perception. The unmanned aerial vehicle drug delivery being validated by Purple Mountain Laboratory is precisely the application of this feature. Relying on the 6G network of Zijinshan Laboratory, the drone takes off from Baixin Pharmacy (Cultural Garden Store), crosses 7.4 kilometers of urban airspace, and can accurately reach the Science and Technology City store. The delivery efficiency is 2-3 times that of manual labor, greatly reducing delivery time and solving the pain points of current logistics delivery time dependence on road networks and insufficient informationization in some delivery scenarios. As a new generation of intelligent information infrastructure, 6G is not only a continuation of mobile communication technology, but also a product of the deep integration of artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, cloud computing, big data and other technologies. ”Sun Youhong, an academician of the CAE Member and president of Southeast University, believes that 6G will promote major breakthroughs in the fields of space, space, sea and integrated communication, intelligent perception, and provide new basic support for social digitalization and intelligent change. In addition, 6G can achieve integrated development with AI. On the one hand, AI can help 6G improve communication performance, and on the other hand, 6G can also become the basic platform for AI applications, empowering various industries in distributed computing power, large bandwidth, and low latency connections. At present, major countries and regions around the world have launched 6G research and development, with the United States promoting industry university research cooperation through the "Next Generation G" alliance, the European Union integrating resources through flagship projects such as "Hexa-X", and Japan and South Korea increasing investment to maintain their leading position. 6G has become a battleground for a new round of global technological revolution and industrial transformation. It is crucial to strengthen the layout of 6G systems and grasp the autonomy and leadership of 6G development. In this context, China actively promotes the innovative development of 6G, providing rich soil for the incubation and landing of 6G with its unique industrial ecology and market scale advantages. Promote the upgrading of new infrastructure. In recent years, China has continuously promoted the upgrading of its new information infrastructure system, laying a solid network foundation for the development of 6G. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of July this year, China has built 4.598 million 5G base stations and over 30.53 million ports with gigabit network capabilities, achieving "gigabit connectivity in every county and 5G connectivity in every township". The network coverage and carrying capacity continue to lead the way. It is understood that 5G base stations are the cornerstone of 6G development, and their large-scale construction has laid the foundation for network coverage, technological verification, and industrial ecology for 6G. 6G will achieve performance leaps and new application scenarios expansion on the architecture of 5G. Thick planting application scenarios. China has the world's largest mobile communication user market and a rich application ecosystem, providing vast space for 6G application innovation and business model exploration. It is reported that China's three major telecom operators, Huawei, ZTE and other enterprises, have all laid out their layouts in the 6G industry chain, accumulated profound experience in network construction and operation, and provided a broad technical testing ground for 6G technology verification and iteration. In addition, China's vast manufacturing system, rapidly developing e-commerce and smart city construction, as well as emerging fields such as autonomous driving and metaverse, together constitute the diversified and deep application scenarios of 6G technology. For example, the Purple Mountain Laboratory has built the world's first end-to-end 6G comprehensive testing platform, supporting immersive communication, integrated AI communication and other 6G application scenarios, providing 6G key technology and key device system testing services, and releasing the world's first 6G wide area low altitude coverage non cellular intelligent fusion field test network; Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone relies on the advantages of rich manufacturing scenarios, promotes research and development through demand and iteration through application, and focuses on building a number of benchmark cases such as Xiaomi Intelligent Factory and JD Smart Logistics in the fields of intelligent manufacturing, logistics warehousing, emergency rescue, etc. The interviewees stated that the massive data generated by these scenarios also provide key resources for AI algorithm training and network performance optimization, gradually forming a virtuous cycle and creating a favorable ecological environment for the future industrialization of 6G. Tackle core key technologies. China adheres to both forward-looking research and collaborative innovation in the field of 6G, laying the foundation for technological leadership. On the one hand, carry out systematic technology research and development and reserve. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China has extensively solicited 6G technology and has formed over 300 key 6G technology reserves; The report released at the 2025 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit shows that China's 6G patent applications account for about 40.3% in the world, ranking first in the world. It is reported that China has made a series of progress in the early research of 6G key technologies such as terahertz communication, integrated air space network, and fusion of sensing, computing, and intelligence. Zhang Yunming, Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology, stated in his speech at the 2025 6G Development Conference that China has made positive progress in various aspects of 6G innovation and development, with continuously enhanced innovation capabilities, basic construction of an open ecosystem, and deepening and expanding cooperation space. On the other hand, establish an efficient collaborative innovation mechanism. In June 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology promoted the establishment of the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, which coordinates innovative forces such as operators, manufacturers, universities, and research institutes to form a collaborative effort for research, development, and application. At the 2025 6G Development Conference, Wang Zhiqin, Vice President of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, stated that the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group conducted systematic research on vision requirements, system architecture, wireless technology, network technology, security technology, etc., proposed the design of 6G intelligent native system architecture, and published more than 80 research results. The interviewee stated that this system of concentrating efforts to accomplish great things is conducive to achieving rapid breakthroughs in key core technologies, standard setting, and gathering development forces. The 6G Smart Start All Things Smart Connect the Taihu Lake Lake's ultra long distance fishery resources protection, the super capacity urban and rural comprehensive management of the upper Qinhuai River, and the wireless valley's ultra low delay intelligent networked transportation...... Zijinshan Laboratory's 6G field concept verification center is carrying out a number of 6G scenario technology verifications, docking application needs, and promoting the implementation of 6G technology. According to research by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China is actively promoting the innovative development of 6G. It is expected to launch commercial applications around 2030 and achieve large-scale commercial deployment of 6G by 2035. It is expected to cultivate a trillion yuan 6G industry and application market. The respondents believe that the maturity and commercialization of 6G technology will penetrate into the capillaries of economic and social development, just like the nervous system of the fourth industrial revolution. Enjoy high-speed connectivity with full coverage. The biggest change in 6G is the deep integration of communication satellites with ground networks and low altitude platforms, building a seamless global network covering 'air space ground sea', allowing every corner of the earth to access high-speed networks at any time. ”Sun Shaohui, the head of the 6G Promotion Group Standard Working Group and Chief Scientist of CITIC Science and Technology, said. Under the support of this network, stable and reliable connections can be provided for offshore fishing, aviation, high-speed rail, ships, etc., and "vehicle road cloud integration" collaborative control can be supported to enhance traffic safety and efficiency. The integration of sensory computing and intelligence empowers industrial intelligence. 6G will deeply integrate communication, perception, computing, and intelligence, promoting the evolution of systems towards "smart native". In intelligent manufacturing, integrated sensing can achieve millimeter level positioning and real-time tracking of factory equipment and materials; Digital twin technology enables real-time simulation and optimization of the entire production line, achieving predictive maintenance, flexible manufacturing, and maximizing resource efficiency. Wu Hequan, academician of the CAE Member, believes that the agent industrial module will become one of the key applications in the 6G era, including equipment fault diagnosis, plant wide dispatching and other capabilities, which will be realized through the agent industrial module. Ultra low latency supports precise control. 6G can support ultra large capacity data transmission and extremely low latency communication, providing basic support for urban and rural comprehensive governance, intelligent connected transportation, etc. In autonomous driving, vehicles can perceive obstacles in advance and receive real-time road condition information through "sensory integration", greatly reducing the probability of accidents. In the medical field, remote surgery will be safer and more feasible by combining tactile feedback with highly reliable connections. The interviewee introduced that through an integrated network, it is possible to achieve seamless and continuous monitoring of patients' vital signs, combined with AI analysis, to achieve early disease warning and personalized health management. Digital twin technology can be used to construct "human digital twins", providing a platform for drug development and surgical plan simulation, and promoting the development of medical care towards precision and personalization. Immersive experience shifts from 'watching' to 'being present'. Currently, all mainstream mobile phone manufacturers in China have launched AI mobile phone products. The experience brought by 6G mobile phones will undergo a disruptive change, with the most intuitive feeling being the shift from "watching videos" in the 5G era to "entering videos", and from remote communication to scene coexistence. AI+XR (Extended Reality) is expected to become an important driving force for 6G. ”Wu Hequan said. Despite the broad prospects of 6G applications, it still needs to be noted that the current development of 6G still faces challenges such as the maturity of terahertz devices, extreme network complexity, integration of sensing, computing, and intelligence, security and privacy, high costs, and global standardization. Zhang Yunming said that in the future, we need to continue to strengthen the research and development of key core technologies and the integration of technology solutions, and comprehensively promote technology research and development, standard development, experimental verification, application cultivation and other work, laying a solid foundation for the standardization and industrialization of 6G; Deepen migration

Edit:He Chuanning Responsible editor:Su Suiyue

Source:liaowang

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