A consortium of Japanese tech giants, including NTT DOCOMO, NTT, NEC and Fujitsu, have revealed the results of their real-world 6G speed tests.
This groundbreaking achievement demonstrates the group’s ability to achieve ultra-fast data transmission of 100 Gb/s, marking a pivotal moment in the advent of the era of 6G wireless communications.
The four companies, which have been working together on the project since 2021, jointly developed a sub-terahertz 6G device and demonstrated its proficiency in 100Gb/s transmissions in the 100GHz and 300GHz bands over distances of up to 100 meters. This performance is exceptionally notable as it is approximately 20 times faster than the current 5G maximum data rate of 4.9 Gb/s.
Setting the 6G standard
Each of the four companies brings specific expertise to the project: DOCOMO developed the wireless equipment that can handle these enormous data rates, NTT developed a device that can transmit 100 Gb/s per channel, NEC contributed a multi-element active phased array antenna , and Fujitsu showed industry-leading efficiency in a high-power power amplifier.
Despite the hurdles associated with the higher frequencies of the sub-terahertz band, the companies believe that high-capacity wireless communications are feasible. Leveraging each company’s strengths, they pledge to continue their joint R&D efforts to set the standard for 6G telecommunications.
When 6G eventually becomes mainstream, it is predicted to support various applications such as ultra-HD video streaming and real-time control in autonomous vehicles. Such 6G technology could potentially make transmission speeds of 100 Gb/s the new standard.
The key assumption for these findings is the undisputed performance of 100 Gbps transmission over a distance of 100 meters in the 100 GHz and 300 GHz bands, and achieving an equivalent isotropic radiated power of 50 dBm. It is important to note that actual data speeds may vary depending on the communication environment and network congestion.