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China is honing its technical skills in sixth-generation communication networks, which are expected to be rolled out commercially as soon as 2030.
China's 6G development had been expected to slow due to sanctions against Huawei Technologies imposed by the U.S. government under former President Donald Trump in 2019, but China has maintained its competitiveness by mobilizing state-run companies and universities.
Nikkei worked with Tokyo-based research company Cyber Creative Institute to survey around 20,000 patent applications for nine core 6G technologies, including communications, quantum technology, base stations and artificial intelligence.
China topped the list with 40.3% of 6G patent filings, followed by the U.S. with 35.2%. Japan ranked third with 9.9%, followed by Europe with 8.9% and South Korea with 4.2%. Countries with more patent filings tend to lead in terms of advanced technology and have a bigger say on industry standards.
The upcoming generation of mobile communications technology, which is said to be more than 10 times faster than 5G, is expected to enable fully autonomous driving, high-definition virtual reality and worldwide internet connections, even in remote deserts.
China's patent applications are mostly related to mobile infrastructure technology. In the 6G era, aerial coverage, such as satellites, as well as ground base stations for broader radio bands, will be needed. Many of the latest patents have been filed by Huawei, which controlled 30% of the world's base stations in 2020. Other big Chinese patent holders include state-run companies such as State Grid Corporation of China and China Aerospace Science and Technology.
Huawei held the largest number of 5G patents with a nearly 12% share. The Chinese mobile communications giant is likely to have a strong presence in 6G as well.
The company said that it will begin 6G development on its own notwithstanding its U.S. ban and published a 5G-advanced white paper in August.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @04:05PM
Americans can apply for benefits, subsidies, grants, tax breaks, tax exemptions, and other government handouts faster than the Chinese can dream of!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Friday September 17 2021, @04:23PM (8 children)
Wait, wasn't that already said about 5G?
Well, I guess 7G then really will enable fully autonomous driving …
… or maybe fully autonomous driving doesn't need any nG, according to the meaning of the word “autonomous”?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @04:58PM (1 child)
I'm waiting for 11G.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Saturday September 18 2021, @07:16AM
Exactly. I want my G to go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and... Most Gs only go up to ten. These Gs go to eleven.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @05:09PM (3 children)
They keep kicking the can down the road.
I'm not really sure why new cellular data standards would be relevant here, as most of the data swapping that the cars are doing should be over a much smaller area. These cars need to be able to effectively think for themselves, and it's mostly the cars right next to them that need to be in contact. Sure, if there's a hazard in the road or the road is out a few miles down the road, that's handy to share, but let's be honest, that doesn't need that much data to communicate. The car should be able to handle that whether or not there's a warning ahead of time. The data swap should be augmenting what the sensor array is telling the cars, I mean these are vehicles that are expected to play well with vehicles that don't have the technology.
Despite what Elon seems to think, Christine was not a suggestion about how self-driving cars are supposed to act in the future. They're not supposed to be murderous killing machine, they should know roughly what's going on and avoid the hazards.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 17 2021, @05:46PM (2 children)
That, exactly. Humans have been driving for over a century, and only communicate with each other over very limited distances. Turn signals, brake lights, hand signals (including the infamous middle finger) and that's about it. Can't forget flashing headlights. Your car doesn't need to know simultaneously that there are traffic jams on the south side of Chicago, the Long Island Expressway, and northbound traffic out of Los Angeles. If the car only knows what's happening within 5 miles, that's more than most humans have ever accomplished, with or without CB radio, with or without Smartphone apps. But, most importantly, if every car knows what every other car within 1 mile is planning to do, you've pretty much whipped highway safety. At that point, it's pretty much up to pedestrians to stay out of the travel lanes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @06:00PM
Out here in the (away from the city); we signal with our headlights that there is a "problem" up the road. Whether it be a tractor (or other slow moving machine) or a tree blocking the road or an accident; It's all the same. It means; pay attention your my friend and I don't want to get hurt down the road.
In the city it means: I'm trying to get you to flash me back so i can come shoot at you. Or so I heard on the smart city news a few years back.
Hat Tipped
Living it up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 18 2021, @12:44PM
I think you can remove the first one in most of the world, especially America.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by driverless on Saturday September 18 2021, @07:22AM
Thing is, 4G is good enough for most things. 3G was still pretty limited, but once 4G came along it solved 95% of people's needs 95% of the time. It's the Windows 7 of OSes, good enough. So the vendors have had to invent reasons for selling the next generation of shiny stuff to the rubes, whether there's any real justification for it or not (anyone remember the UMTS hype when it came out? Sounded suspiciously like the 5G hype didn't it?). For Windows, every step since 7 has been backwards since Microsoft ran out of things to do with Windows about 15 years ago. For cellular tech we're not going backwards but just staying in the same place - give almost anyone a 5G phone and they'll have no way to tell the difference from a 4G phone (with the same UI). Or a 6G. Or an 11G.
Which is why cellular tech vendors have to keep promising us fantasies in order to sell the next lot of expensive tech.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 18 2021, @12:31PM
Haven't looked at any stats on what has been rolled out but all that I had read said how limited the range of 5G was and it is easily blocked by walls, etc. Has that changed? Would 6+ G be any different?
(Score: 3, Informative) by canopic jug on Friday September 17 2021, @05:01PM
The link seems to be missing from the summary: China accounts for 40% of 6G patent applications: survey [nikkei.com]
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday September 17 2021, @05:40PM (3 children)
Maybe China will use our own stupid and broken patent laws against us.
Patent trolling is easy to do. Expensive to defend against. An asymmetric weapon.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @06:10PM (1 child)
As they say, can may beat the rap but you can't beat the ride.
Even if the patents are bogus and the courts will eventually overturn them (as is usually the case) the litigation costs will bury you if you tried regardless.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @06:10PM
Err ... you can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride *
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @06:12PM
Just like the 6G nanobots in China's COVID-24 vaccine.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 17 2021, @10:39PM (1 child)
You have to be good at math to get a 6G patent, and Chinamen are good at math.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 18 2021, @10:05PM
Plus they invented paper - and we haven't paid the royalties on that for thousands of years.
(Score: 1) by melyan on Saturday September 18 2021, @03:10AM (1 child)
Please plug my analog hole. Denver/6'3"/can host. But...piracy is bad. Do not illegally copy Brokeback Mountain.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 18 2021, @10:09PM
Ha ha anallog. Here's a digit.