Russia develops Chip for 6G network

Russia has developed a chip that could accelerate the development of the 6G network says presidential representative on digital and technological development, Dmitry Peskov.

“I can’t tell you where exactly, but one Russian lab has made a breakthrough in 6G just recently, creating a new type of chip that did not exist in the world before. What I’m saying is that the 6G is already in sight,” Peskov told Russian news agency Tass.

Peskov did not name the agency which developed the chip but he said it was a ‘civilian lab’.

Introducing sixth-generation communication networks requires solving such technological tasks as the deployment of relatively more base stations closer to the subscriber, added Peskov.

Only a few countries and companies are in the exploratory R&D phase on sixth-generation (6G) network technologies. 5G is still in its infancy and only South Korea, China and the US have seen any meaningful rollout.

A 6G capable chip has been already launched by Nanyang Technology University (NTU, Singapore) which is capable of transmitting data at 11 Gb/s (Gigabits per second) speed. The University of California, Irvine’s Nanoscale Communication Integrated Circuits Labs too has created a tiny radio chip capable of sending and receiving data in the 100GHz frequency range which is considered beyond 5G.

In India, Bharti Airtel has demonstrated 5G with gear from the Chinese company Huawei and the Indian government is looking at ways to ban the Chinese telecom companies from India. India’s newest telecom operator Reliance Jio has announced the availability of in house developed 5G technologies but is yet to demonstrate it.

5G and 6G refer to the fifth and sixth generation of mobile wireless networks. 5G may not be enough for the new-age Internet-of-Things, cyber-physical continuum like extended reality, virtual reality and mixed reality, gadgets, autonomous vehicles and systems, and connected robots. Even though the 6th Generation network is not strictly defined, it will likely be significantly faster, at speeds of ~95 Gb/s and expected to be available by 2030.