The race to 6G is space

Former US President Trump was not taken seriously when, just two years ago, he urged via Twitter to run to finish first. We had just started talking about 5G then, and his seemed like a hollow proclamation, pulling in non-existent technology just to make opponents believe they were a step ahead. But Beijing was already ahead: it started working on the development of 6G in 2019, and in recent days it published its white paper in which it sets the arrival of the new technology to the general public by 2030. Now that 5G is starting to show its potential, it is time to launch into the new competition, where it is essential to put your own flag first in order to dictate the rules of the game. A game that has as its field the low Earth Orbit, in the acronym LEO, between 200 and 1600 km of altitude. An area already overcrowded, which according to a recent ESA report now contains more debris than active satellites. But others continue to arrive, only Starlink, the SpaceX division for broadband satellite internet connections, has sent 1000, and in the meantime China is planning the creation and launch of a fleet of almost 13 thousand satellites precisely to counteract the hegemony of Starlink. While NASA is asking for more funds from Congress to finance the new space race, Beijing’s real opponent seems to be Elon Musk, with an advantage of time and also of autonomy of operations, managing his entire supply chain privately. It is the first step in grabbing the launch pad to operate with 6G as soon as the technology is available, and also one of the facets of the new space race that wants to bring man back to the moon and lay the foundations to get to Mars. And again: making orbital tourism possible and accessible, and using space stations for cutting-edge surgery or as mines to collect stray asteroids and extract precious and rare minerals, but these remain niche targets, while 6G promises an impact on our immediate and real lives, in a new technological revolution. China claims that, with an integration between satellites and the terrestrial network, data transmission of up to 1 Terabyte per second can be achieved. If with the fastest connection available now you download a movie in 10 seconds, with the 6G it will only take 1 second to download a thousand. But this is not the field in which ultra-speed internet will have applications: 4G is enough for streaming, or at least 5G. 6G promises exponential improvements in usable technologies, both in speed and accuracy. The sectors covered are vast, from 3D printing to self-driving cars, making real science fiction scenarios possible in 10-15 years. There is no risk of being left behind. Europe also has its own plans, led by Nokia. Peter Vetter, one of the Finnish company’s research directors, compared this challenge to a new arms race. Strategic alliances are becoming more and more evident, with Finland as European flag bearer looking to Japan and South Korea with the support of Washington, while the great giant of the first space race, Russia, cannot help but lean on China. trying not to get left out.