As mobile communication moves into the "post-5G era," examining the development history of mobile communications technology shows a pattern where odd-numbered generations like 3G and 5G serve as the foundation, while even-numbered generations like 4G see application development thrive.
With discussions on 6G already underway, the post-5G era acts as a transitional phase. Effectively and swiftly identifying upcoming 6G application scenarios has become a focus.
Industry sources noted the inseparable relationship between AI and 5G, noting that if the wireless network connection quality and speed improve, AI processing speeds will increase. This foundational improvement will help realize more application scenarios, including LLMs and generative AI, and demand will come from the cloud, local, and edge environments.
As mobile communications move from 5G to 6G, the focus will shift towards applications, with 6G expected to achieve the native AI vision. Currently, AI in the 5G era is described as "overlay AI," where both operate independently on the network side. However, as we move into the 5G-Advanced phase, we see the emergence of "Cross-node AI," where base stations and smartphones begin to understand and analyze daily usage behaviors and work environments, forming so-called "AI communication" to optimize network performance.
The next step is "native AI," which is still under development but is pursued vigorously by the industry. Native AI will see the AI ecosystem automatically complete tasks, with different AI models assigned to each network segment. This will also support advanced applications in 6G, such as sensor networks.
In other words, AI and mobile communications, which seemed to develop independently in the tech industry before, are gradually starting to intersect. On one hand, AI requires high-quality networks to achieve various applications. On the other hand, mobile networks, in pursuit of better quality and performance, are evolving from simple AI integration to the anticipation of native AI networks in the 6G era.
For instance, the in-operation Release 18 already features AI applications like beam management, which manages and allocates connections to multiple base stations and efficiently enhances network quality.
With the 3GPP organizations starting to hold 6G-related meetings, finding the "killer application" becomes the focal point. There is much anticipation regarding how the mobile communications boom, characterized by ubiquitous mobile phone usage, will be interpreted in the 6G era. Each communications era is a ten-year cycle, from initial conceptualization to defining study items, establishing working items, setting standards, and commercialization with products.
According to the current progress of communication technology development, standards are expected to be established by 2028, with commercialization by 2030. Although the exact future development remains uncertain due to 6G standards yet to be established, the industry unanimously agrees that AI will be an integral part of next-generation mobile communications.
Article translated by Jack Wu
