On the Road to 6G: Visions, Requirements, Key Technologies and Testbeds

Wang, Cheng-Xiang; You, Xiaohu; Gao, Xiqi; Zhu, Xiuming; Li, Zixin; Zhang, Chuan; Wang, Haiming; Huang, Yongming; Chen, Yunfei; Haas, Harald; Thompson, John S.; Larsson, Erik G.; Renzo, Marco Di; Tong, Wen; Zhu, Peiying; Shen, Xuemin; Poor, H. Vincent; Hanzo, Lajos

Abstract

Fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems have entered the stage of commercial development, providing users with new services and improved user experiences as well as offering a host of novel opportunities to various industries. However, 5G still faces many challenges. To address these challenges, international industrial, academic, and standards organizations have commenced research on sixth generation (6G) wireless communication systems. A series of white papers and survey papers have been published, which aim to define 6G in terms of requirements, application scenarios, key technologies, etc. Although ITU-R has been working on the 6G vision and it is expected to reach a consensus on what 6G will be by mid-2023, the related global discussions are still wide open and the existing literature has identified numerous open issues. This paper first provides a comprehensive portrayal of the 6G vision, technical requirements, and application scenarios, covering the current common understanding of 6G. Then, a critical appraisal of the 6G network architecture and key technologies is presented. Furthermore, existing testbeds and advanced 6G verification platforms are detailed for the first time. In addition, future research directions and open challenges are identified for stimulating the on-going global debate. Finally, lessons learned to date concerning 6G networks are discussed.

Citation

Wang, C.-X., You, X., Gao, X., Zhu, X., Li, Z., Zhang, C., Wang, H., Huang, Y., Chen, Y., Haas, H., Thompson, J. S., Larsson, E. G., Renzo, M. D., Tong, W., Zhu, P., Shen, X., Poor, H. V., & Hanzo, L. (2023). On the Road to 6G: Visions, Requirements, Key Technologies and Testbeds. IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, 25(2), 905 - 974. https://doi.org/10.1109/comst.2023.3249835

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 12, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 27, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Mar 10, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 10, 2023
• Journal: IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
• Electronic ISSN: 1553-877X
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 905 - 974
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/comst.2023.3249835
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1180031