The US Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) has set out plans designed to ensure the US gains, and retains, leadership in 6G cellular technology.
ATIS describes it document Promoting US Leadership on the Path to 6G as “A call to action from the leading companies in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry to join with government in a shared commitment that will put the US at the forefront of technology leadership for the next decade.
It says that, by leveraging the knowledge gained from the development and early deployments of 5G, the US can establish itself as a global leader in ideas, development, adoption and rapid commercialisation of 6G.
The move comes at a time when, according to some commentators, US Government moves against China, and Huawei in particular, are threatening to undermine the global standardisation of 5G. However the ATIS document says its plan is not aimed at creating a US version of 6G
US tipped to diverge on 6G
In a blog post, UK commentator Dean Bubley wrote: “For the later stages of 5G (from Release 17 onwards), and then beyond that with the evolution of 6G, I think the US might be about to diverge from the last decade’s [standards] consensus.”
Bubley also referenced an article in the Economist, saying: “Apparently, the US tech industry is now being pushed/advised to avoid working with China, even on standards development.”
ATIS says a US leadership role “would complement — not abandon or usurp — global standards in the ICT sector, allowing the US to take full advantage of the scale and interoperability of products and networks based on globally developed standards.”
However it adds, somewhat contrarily, that: “An aligned regional set of objectives and technology foundations can enable the US and the rest of the North American market to take full advantage of global standards and commercial products, while not being beholden to them.”
ATIS identified a number of core technologies that will “drive S. ingenuity and rapid development in the ICT sector.”
It lists these as
- AI-Enabled Advanced Networks and Services
- Multi-Access Network Services
- Healthcare
- Agriculture
It also calls on the federal government to “make available additional R&D funding focused on a core set of technological breakthrough areas where the US can lead,” and that would “leverage US industry’s key competency areas and promote both early consumer adoption and opportunities to sell US developed and produced products and services into the global market.”
Trump wants 6G
ATIS’s move follows earlier calls for the US to take an early lead in 6G. In a blog post Martijn Rasser, a senior fellow in the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and a former CIA analyst, said the time was ripe “to focus on what comes next [after 5G]: 6G.”
He said the US government had waited too long to tackle the difficult issues surrounding 5G, must learn from this experience and make sure such a delay was not repeated with 6G.
Even president Trump has championed 6G, tweeting in February 2019: “I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on………”
5G: a stepping stone to 6G
Interest in 6G was already ramping up in the US. What might well have been the first conference focussed on 6G was due to take place in Chicago in June, before Covid-19 hit. Co-organiser Mind Commerce had produced a 6G Technology Market Report in which it predicted that 5G and its apps and services would be largely a stepping stone to the 6G technology market, saying: “5G will pave the way for expansion of immersive technologies (AR, VR, and haptic Internet), but a truly rich user experience will not come until the 6G technology market is fully developed.”
ATIS’s move comes as other nations are moving to establish their 6G credentials. In January Japanese telco NTT Docomo released a white paper 5G Evolution and 6G, a move seen as signalling Docomo, and Japan, making an early run for 6G leadership.
Telecom TV reported the paper’s release under the headline “Japan eyes 6G as a way of making up lost ground”, and quoted the Ministry for Internal Affairs and Communications saying Japan intended to be deeply involved in international 6G standards work.
