While Apple has gone full tilt into 5G with their new iPhone 12 line-up, the world is already putting together the building blocks for next-gen 6G networks that will push theoretical speeds of 95 Gb/s. Like its predecessors, 6G networks will be broadband cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas called cells. Several companies such as Nokia, Samsung and LG have shown interest in 6G.

Germany's 'Next Generation Mobile Networks" (NGMN) group, published its first 5G White Paper in 2015, which had substantial impact on 5G’s standardization and paved the way for 5G commercialization, followed by the second 5G White Paper (5GWP2) published just recently in July 2020. Their new "6G Vision and Drivers" project aims to provide early and timely direction for global 6G activities in the same way.

Nokia is a Finish company and so it's not surprising that Finland along with the University of Oulu  have launched 6G Flagship. Although the music is obnoxious, you could view one of their videos below presenting possible future 6G applications.

While there will be a series of new 6G projects popping up over the next few years, today we're learning that Apple has joined the ATIS 'Next G Alliance' that is set to advance North America's leadership in 6G.

The group officially launched on Oct 13, 2020 with it's initial members being AT&T, Bell Canada, Ciena, Ericsson, Facebook, InterDigital, JMA Wireless, Microsoft, Nokia, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., Samsung, TELUS, Telnyx, T-Mobile, UScellular and Verizon. 

Recognizing that now is the time for bold action, the Next G Alliance will initially focus on three strategic actions:

1. Develop a 6G national roadmap that addresses the changing competitive landscape and positions North America as the global leader in R&D, standardization, manufacturing and adoption of Next G technologies.

2. Align the North American technology industry on a core set of priorities that will steer leadership for 6G and beyond to influence government policies and funding.

3. Identify and define the early steps and strategies that will facilitate and lead to rapid commercialization of Next G technologies across new markets and business sectors and promote widescale adoption, both domestically and globally.

Yesterday ATIS officially announced that their new Founding Members, Apple, Charter, Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Keysight Technologies, LG Electronics, Mavenir, MITRE and VMware who join those listed back in October. You could learn more about ATIS here.