LG previously said that 6G is expected to be commercialized in 2029
Korean tech firm LG Electronics has showcased future 6G technologies at the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC) 2022.
At the conference, which took place in South Korea’s capital Seoul last week, LG displayed its 6G communications technologies, including Full Duplex Radio transmission and reception tech that maximizes frequency efficiency, and a power amplifier device, jointly developed with the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), for the wireless transmission and reception of 6G THz data.
“Based on its advanced 6G and AI tech, LG will continue to strengthen its capabilities in various fields such as 6G communications, smart mobility, metaverse and robotics to take the customer experience to new heights,” said Kim Byoung-hoon, CTO at LG Electronics.
LG Electronics had previously showcased as-yet-unstandardized 6G technology during the 2021 Korea Science and Technology Exhibition, recently held at KINTEX in Ilsan, South Korea.
During the event, LG unveiled a power amplifier for 6G for the first time.
This is the same amplifier that was used by LG during its 6G demo in Berlin in August 2021. At that time, LG Electronics said it has successfully demonstrated the transmission and reception of wireless 6G terahertz (THz) data over 100 meters in an outdoor setting.
6G systems do not technically exist because they have not yet been standardized, but terahertz frequencies — beyond millimeter wave — are being researched to be part of future systems.
LG noted that because terahertz frequencies have a short range and experiences power loss during transmission and reception between antennas, one of the biggest challenges for the future of wireless 6G is the need for power amplification to generate a stable signal across ultra-wideband frequencies. The power amplifier developed by LG, Fraunhofer HHI and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics (IAF) was crucial to the success of this latest test, the Korean company added.
The power amplifier is capable of generating stable signal output up to 15 dBm in the frequency range between 155 to 175 GHz. LG noted that it was also successful in demonstrating adaptive beamforming technology, which alters the signal’s direction in accordance with changes to the channel and receiver position; as well as high-gain antenna switching, which combines output signals of multiple power amplifiers and transmits them to specific antennas.
In 2019, LG established the LG-KAIST 6G Research Center in partnership with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
LG and KAIST had previously partnered with U.S.-based test and measurement firm Keysight Technologies with the aim of carrying out research on future 6G technologies.
Under the terms of the agreement, the three partners will cooperate in developing technologies related to terahertz frequencies, widely seen a key frequency band for 6G communications, which have not yet been standardized. The partners aim to complete 6G research by 2024.
LG previously said that 6G is expected to be commercialized in 2029. LG also noted that future 6G technologies will provide faster data speed, lower latency and higher reliability than 5G, and will be able to bring the concept of Ambient Internet of Everything (AIoE), which provides enhanced connected experience to users.
In January, the Korean government announced that it was working on next-generation network development strategies together with local carriers and tech firms SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
The new government of South Korea expects to come up with a 6G communications prototype in 2026, according to recent press reports.
