Six Critical Challenges for 6G Wireless Systems: A Summary and Some Solutions

Abstract

Numerous articles are now appearing on 6G wireless systems, covering different aspects, ranging from vision, architecture, and applications to technology breakthroughs. With cellular systems in mind, this article presents six critical, yet fundamental, challenges that must be overcome before the development and deployment of 6G systems. These include opening the subterahertz spectrum for increased bandwidths and the ability to utilize these bandwidths, pushing the limits of semiconductor technologies for operation within these bands, developing transceiver designs and architectures to realize the high peak data rates, and achieving submillisecond latencies at the network level to achieve 6G key performance indicators (KPIs). Additionally, since 6G systems will not be introduced in a greenfield environment, backward compatibility with existing systems is discussed. Where possible, we present practical solutions to realize the identified challenges.