Will Samsung unveil 6G technology at upcoming event?

Captured from Samsung Newsroom

By Kim Bo-eun

All industry eyes are on whether Samsung Electronics will unveil 6G technology at an upcoming online event on telecom networks. The event, titled "Unleashing the full power of 5G," will take place on June 22.

While the event is set to introduce new 5G technology, Samsung may introduce 6G technology currently under development.

"Samsung Electronics will reveal how it is leading the evolution of next-generation networks at the event," the company stated.

Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong in 2018 chose the 5G network business as one of the company's four engines of future growth and pledged to invest 25 trillion won over the next three years. Samsung has sought to capture a 20 percent share of the global 5G market. As of 2020, Samsung ranked fifth with a global 5G market share of 7.2 percent, according to market tracker Dell'Oro Group. Samsung was a late entrant into the market for network equipment, which is dominated by Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson and ZTE.

At the same time, Samsung has been preparing to develop 6G technology. In May 2019, Samsung set up its Advanced Communications Research Center under Samsung Research, to take on the task. The research center for 5G and 6G services is working with universities and research centers both here and abroad. Last July, Samsung Research issued a 6G white paper detailing the vision: "The Next Hyper-Connected Experience."

In March, principal engineer at Samsung Research, Hyoungjin Choi, was appointed as chair of the International Telecommunication Union - Radiocommunication's 6G Vision Group. The ITU-R is an international decision-making body in charge of radiocommunication regulations with 193 member states. The 6G Vision Group, which defines the key capabilities of 6G, is working on technology development and creating timelines on the standardization and commercialization of 6G.

Rivals are also competing to secure the new technology. LG Electronics partnered with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to develop 6G technology. Telecom firms KT and SK Telecom have each partnered with Seoul National University and Samsung Electronics for R&D.

The next generation service is set to enable up to 1 terabits per second (Tbps) with less than 1 microsecond latency. The 6G network is expected to offer 50 times faster data download speed than 5G and cut latency to a tenth of that of 5G. The network will support applications such as virtual and augmented reality and Internet of Everything (IoE), which expands the Internet of Things (IoT) to encompass people and processes.

Experts expect the new service to be commercialized in 2028, after international standardization in 2025.

Major economies, including the U.S. and China, are competing to grab the title of being the first to commercialize the next generation service. Korea became the first to commercialize 5G services in 2019.