Heather Broughton

Heather Broughton

AVP, Product Marketing

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What is 6G?

6G is the sixth generation of wireless technology. A new generation happens about every 10 years. 6G is increasingly being framed not as another step change in throughput (up to 1Tbsp.), latency (below 1 millisecond), or device density (up to 10 million per square kilometer) but as a fundamental shift in networks’ creation of value.

When Will 6G Be Available?

Current ETA 2030, and it will build on the advances 5G has made in speed and capacity.

What is ISAC and what role does it play in 6G?

Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) technology is a key capability of 6G that enables mobile systems to acquire information about their surrounding environment and/or objects within the environment by analyzing radio frequency (RF) signal reflections. ISAC enables reuse of existing mobile network infrastructure – including towers, fiber backhaul, spectrum, and potentially user equipment (UEs) – to deliver sensing capabilities at scale.

How Will 6G Work? What Will the 6G Network Look Like?

6G will start where the 5G specifications end. 6G is predicted to operate in higher frequencies–the terahertz (THz) spectrum–with lower latency than 5G. Because transmitting in the THz frequencies is best for short ranges only, cellular networks might become mesh networks using multiple base stations and smaller inexpensive antennas to create microcells that can be accessed concurrently by 6G devices, or by relying on smart devices and smart surfaces (internet of everything) as networking elements to create microcells, or some combination, leading to ambient connectivity. Mobile edge computing and core computing will certainly be completely integrated. Another theoretical solution is solving the full duplex transmission problem, which would allow two-way transmission on the same frequency, at the same time, doubling the capacity of current bandwidths

How Fast Is 6G?

Using some or all of this new architecture, 6G networks are expected to support data rates of 1 terabit per second (Tbps), that’s 1,000,000 Mbps.

What is the difference between 5G and 6G?

Industry sources are currently predicting 6G will enable:

  • Holographic-type communications.
    Truly integrated remote learning, geographically dispersed team meetings, telemedicine, museum exhibits, etc.
  • Five sense networks with fully tactile haptics.
    The virtual reality (VR) experiences we’re just now enjoying will be expanded to include all five senses–sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste–good for gaming, game changing for prosthetics. Prosthetic users could have seamless–possibly even neurological–integration with their devices and instantaneous response, perhaps using wi-fi implants.
  • Time-engineered applications.
    With the extremely low latency promised, large scale, real-time, precise synchronization is possible – think super-efficient manufacturing or ports, or traffic flow maintenance that is variable with traffic conditions minute by minute.
  • Information and communication technologies (ICT) improvements to critical infrastructure.
    If an internet of everything is possible, search and rescue could get as granular as each individual in a disaster.
  • The development of user-specific, usecase-specific, and location-specific micro-services.
  • Unmanned vehicles, including planes, are a possibility with the sort of network coverage, data capacity, and low latency being discussed.
  • Additionally, 6G should continue 5G networks’ increasing sustainability, with improvements in automation and CSPs able to reuse network equipment
  • A close to the digital divide.
    As networks become easier and cheaper to deploy, coverage will expand. With networks moving from hardware to software, overall costs for CSPs and end users could drop as well.

Check back with this page, as we update it with more 6G developments.

What are some leading 6G use cases?

6G is projected to create new revenue opportunities for Communication Service Providers (CSPs)  beyond connectivity.  The table below shows top 5 leading and emerging use cases and how CSPs can rely on NETSCOUT to help them operationalize these services with high-fidelity Smart Data, end-to-end observability, and service assurance to protect performance, SLAs, and AI-driven operations.

Use CaseDescriptionExamples Benefits to CSPsAssurance/Observability Requirements
Integrated sensing and communicationTurns 6G networks into sensing platforms.Monetize location aware services for smart cities, ports, public safety, and logistics.Packet-level visibility, RF service correlation, and trusted Smart Data to validate sensing quality and service performance.
Immersive XR and holographic collaborationEnables real-time experience rich services.Launch premium enterprise collaboration, remote training, gaming, and media services with stronger SLAs.Real-time experience assurance across latency, jitter, throughput, packet loss, session quality, and user impacting degradation.
Network digital twinsSimulates network changes before rollout.Accelerate automation, reduce change risk, and optimize capacity for high-value services.High-fidelity, contextualized network evidence to feed AI models, validate twin accuracy, and support closed-loop operations.
Autonomous systems and roboticsConnects mission-critical machines.Support SLA backed services for factories, warehouses, autonomous transport, drones, and emergency response.Deterministic service assurance across reliability, availability, latency, handovers, coverage, and service continuity.
Non-terrestrial and ubiquitous connectivityExtends service across terrestrial and satellite domains.Expand reach into rural, maritime, aviation, defense, disaster recovery, and mobile enterprise markets.Unified observability across hybrid paths, roaming, coverage gaps, service degradations, and security exposure.

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