Abstract:
The fifth generation (5G) network promises to deliver enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliability low-latency communications (URLLC) for mission-critical internet of things (IoT), and massive machine type communications (m-MTC) for massive IoT, aiming to drive the digital transformation in all industry sectors. Since the third generation partnership project (3GPP) published Release 15 in 2019, the first release of 5G new radio (NR) standard, 5G networks have started being deployed in many places in the world. Meanwhile, academia, industry, national and international regulators have started developing visions, identifying use cases, and specifying enabling technologies for 6G communications. Many white papers have been published, research programs started, forums and workshops organized, providing good references for the 6G standard development by 2030.
In this chapter, we will summarize the 6G vision, enabling technologies, and vertical use cases that are being discussed in the white papers, forums, and workshops. We will then provide an overview on the 6G standardization. The chapter is organized as follows. In Section 5.1, we summarize the 6G vision. In Section 5.2, the candidate enabling technologies are described. Section 5.3 presents the research initiatives, and Section 5.4 presents the 6G standardization process, including the regulation, the standard development organizations (SDOs), and industry forums. Finally Section 5.5 concludes the Chapter.