A vision towards integrated 6G communication networks: Promising technologies, architecture, and use-cases

Abstract

The evolution of the previous mobile communication generations has led to innovative goals of the Internet of Everything (IoE) in the 5G. However, addressing all IoE-associated problems in 5G is difficult and a long-term process. As the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the 5G services are highly diverse, it is an intimidating task to develop a single platform enabling all KPIs. The vision of next-generation 6G wireless communications lies not only in enhancing these targets but also in providing new services. Numerous extensively envisaged future services, including life-critical services and wireless brain–computer interactions, will be critically dependent on an instant, virtually unlimited wireless connectivity. In this direction, the 6G is envisioned to have primely five service objectives; further-enhanced mobile broadband (FeMBB), ultra-massive machine type communication (umMTC), extremely reliable low latency communication (ERLLC), long-distance and high-mobility communications (LDHMC), and extremely low-power communications (ELPC). The 3D global integration of the wireless communication networks is lacking in the 5G, which is targeted by the future 6G. In this paper, we present an exhaustive review of the 6G wireless communication network. We explore the various existing mobile communication generations concerning data rate, frequency band, bandwidth allotted, latency, and applications. We also highlight various current trends and issues in the 5G communication network, which drives research for the 6G communication network. Our focus is to provide a comprehensive survey on the future 6G. So, we explored the objectives and design principles for 6G. This paper highlights the key 6G technology drivers. This paper also proposes an architectural design for 6G. Moreover, we carry out a case-study of 6G architecture operational design and compare the result with previous generation architecture designs. Further, 6G envisioned open research challenges, research directions, and recent advancements are also highlighted in this paper. Furthermore, we discuss possible use-cases in terms of real-time interactions of the biological, physical, and digital world, and also how these use-cases are going to serve in 6G.