Telecom officials in the United Kingdom want to start a conversation about terahertz (THz) spectrum — 100 GHz and 3 THz – and how it may be used for the sixth generation of wireless communications.
Currently, the use of THz spectrum has been limited to scientific applications, according to Ofcom, the UK’s version of the FCC, including delivery of high-sensitivity measurements for weather forecasting and climate change predictions. But with advances in technology, terahertz spectrum could, for example, enable terabit-speed downloads for very short-range, high-speed wireless data transmissions. This could be used to control robots, assist autonomous vehicles and transmit high-definition holographics.
“There are also promising applications likely to evolve in 6G networks,” Ofcom said. “To help realise the full benefits of terahertz, we intend to ensure our approach to managing spectrum is as flexible and efficient as possible – both to enable existing services to grow as well as supporting innovative new ones.”
Ofcom wants to know more about the new technologies that will operate in the THz band, which will require different regulations compared with the rules in place at lower frequencies. “Greater collaboration and cooperation between the different types of emerging spectrum users in these bands will be essential in underpinning an alternative approach,” Ofcom said.
The conversation about 6G has just barely begun. This month’s Global Communications Conference in Madrid will feature five workshops devoted to 6G development, compared with two years ago when 6G only warranted a single tech talk.
But there is prototype THz equipment out there. In June, researchers from Samsung Research, Samsung Research America and the University of California Santa Barbara demonstrated an end-to-end 140 GHz wireless link using a fully digital beamforming solution. And, in August, LG Electronics and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft applied research lab demonstrated the transmission and reception of wireless THz data over 328 feet in an outdoor setting in Germany.
By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor
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