6G, the next generation standard for mobile communication, is expected to be here by 2030, according to telecom experts at the Mobile World Congress

While 5G adoption remains low, 6G was a hot topic among telecom insiders at the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Euronews reports. While experts did not reveal the workings of the upcoming mobile internet, they did predict its availability, saying it would be up and running by 2030.

Data transfer capacity and speed

Promoted as an even higher speed standard than 5G technology, 6G will boost network capacity by around 500 times according to Nicolas Kourtellis, Principal Research Scientist and Co-Director at Telefónica Research. During a debate with other experts at the forefront of 6G research, Kourtellis claimed that 6G will provide a huge boost with respect to the amount of data that can be transferred, and in speed with what he called “virtually zero latency.”

Due to the massive amounts of data being transferred and the scale of connected devices, experts say we will need this added horsepower. “Mobile GPU capability is not keeping pace with new service requirements,” said Yue Wang, head of 6G research at Samsung Research UK. According to Wang, mobile and internet traffic is already growing by 55% annually and by 2030 there will be over 500 billion connected machines across the world.

5G adoption still low

Yet with 5G adoption still low, consumers may be asking why we need a new standard. Mobile operators were also calling 5G the next-generation of mobile internet and promising it would be much faster than 4G when they began rolling it out in 2019.  By 2021, the global consumer uptake of 5G was just 236 million. However, 5G is still a relatively new standard and by 2026 is expected to reach five billion 5G subscriptions worldwide.

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