How 6G Is Ushering In a More Sustainable Future

Originally published by CIO Influence

With the first commercial 6G deployments expected around 2030, there is a wave of optimism about the applications and services the technology will support. The IMT-2030 framework has outlined six usage scenarios: ubiquitous connectivity, integrated sensing and communication, AI and communication, immersive communication, massive communication, and hyper-reliable and low-latency communication. Beyond these, 6G aims to connect the unconnected, provide ubiquitous intelligence, embrace security, privacy, and resilience, and be sustainable.

Unlike previous generations, sustainability has been a focus from the start with 6G. It’s a pivotal technology for helping society meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. With 6G, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry is looking to decrease its carbon footprint while helping other sectors reduce their emissions. The wireless technology will provide organizations with connectivity and intelligence about the physical world, enabling them to optimize energy and resource usage.

Let’s explore how the next generation of networks has the potential to support a more sustainable industry and some critical use cases it will enable.

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6G Sustainable by Design

1. More Efficient Networks

One of the most discussed ways to make networks greener is to reduce power consumption. Over the past five years, many energy efficiency improvements have been made by using techniques like deep sleep mode, which turns power amplifiers and transmitters off when they are not in use. AI-powered resource optimization has the potential to make 6G networks more efficient and lower energy consumption. Power usage must decrease, and it will take a combination of architectural innovations and advanced hardware optimization to achieve this.

2. Focus on Circular Economy

6G must incorporate circular economy principles into the design flow to meet its sustainability goals. These are referred to as the nine Rs: reduce by design or rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, and recycle. The industry has focused on “reduction” for many years, such as lowering power consumption in networks. However, the other Rs are vital to ensure 6G is sustainable across all facets, including water, land, and resource usage.

3. Improved KPIs for Sustainability

With today’s 5G networks, many KPIs measure performance; however, there is a lack of agreed-upon indicators to evaluate wireless systems’ sustainability. The idea of observability, or recording and reporting specific metrics, will continue to play a role in environmental KPIs. For example, this requires standardized ways to measure and report the energy consumption of a component, device, and the end-to-end system.

However, beyond defined KPIs that can be observed, 6G will need to implement the concept of choice into its systems. Each design decision comes with a tradeoff. For example, lowering the output power of a base station may significantly degrade signal quality, making it an unrealistic choice. Wireless systems are notoriously complex, and choice is required to make the right decisions for network optimization.

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6G Sustainable Applications

In addition to creating a more sustainable ICT industry, 6G can help other sectors reduce their emissions. Below are a handful of examples.

1. Transportation

The ultra-low latency and high bandwidth of 6G will support more efficient transportation in various ways. Electric vehicles’ energy consumption can be optimized by monitoring usage and more efficiently managing charging stations. Additionally, the global coverage 6G will provide can support innovations like drone delivery, lowering overall energy usage compared to truck fleets.

2. Industry

Consider a typical assembly line in manufacturing, where robots and humans repeatedly perform a task as a product makes its way down the line. In a smart factory, 6G can combine sensing with communications to give robots a better understanding of the environment, enabling them to collaborate on complex tasks and carry out multiple jobs. Next generation networks will help optimize robotic resources and production floor space.

3. Work Smarter

6G networks will enable augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) to become commonplace. The emerging applications will eliminate the need to travel, helping reduce emissions. For example, AR/VR will allow employees to be trained to operate complex equipment without getting on a plane. In education, the technologies will give students life-like experiences without leaving the classroom.

6G a Sustainability Driver

6G will support a more sustainable world by embracing sustainable design practices, the circular economy, and the concept of choice based on measured observations. Evaluating the performance of 6G systems at all levels—from chipset to handset to the end-to-end network—is critical to provide the insights needed to implement choice.

The industry’s focus on sustainability in next-generation networks is vital to meeting environmental goals. Ensuring the successful rollout of 6G is a critical destination on the journey toward net zero.