Post by wornout on Dec 5, 2020 0:17:02 GMT
China launches world’s first 6G satellite into orbit
On November 6, China successfully launched a Long March 6 rocket and sent a payload of 13 satellites into orbit. Among them was what has been described as “the world’s first 6G satellite”
The satellite, called Star Era-12, has frequency bands so high that they have to be tested in space so the signals won’t be lost as easily as in air, the National Science Foundation’s Thyagarajan Nandagopal explained to The Post.
Exactly how fast the bands are isn’t known, but Nandagopal estimates a range of 100 and 500 Gigahertz, or Ghz — 100 times faster than 5G. To understand that speed, compare 5G and 4G cellphones: A 5G model is 100 times faster than a 4G, depending on the carrier.
What 6G will touch covers everything from communications to telemedicine to national security, according to Professor Tommaso Melodia, who heads Northeastern University’s Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things. And along with the technology will come a slew of new products and services that will pour billions of dollars into the global economy, just like 5G brought Uber, Instacart and Netflix.
Exactly how fast the bands are isn’t known, but Nandagopal estimates a range of 100 and 500 Gigahertz, or Ghz — 100 times faster than 5G. To understand that speed, compare 5G and 4G cellphones: A 5G model is 100 times faster than a 4G, depending on the carrier.
What 6G will touch covers everything from communications to telemedicine to national security, according to Professor Tommaso Melodia, who heads Northeastern University’s Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things. And along with the technology will come a slew of new products and services that will pour billions of dollars into the global economy, just like 5G brought Uber, Instacart and Netflix.
China has successfully launched what has been described as "the world's first 6G satellite" into space to test the technology.
It went into orbit along with 12 other satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi Province.
The telecoms industry is still several years away from agreeing on 6G's specifications, so it is not yet certain the tech being trialled will make it into the final standard.
It involves use of high-frequency terahertz waves to achieve data-transmission speeds many times faster than 5G is likely to be capable of.
The satellite also carries technology which will be used for crop disaster monitoring and forest fire prevention.
It went into orbit along with 12 other satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi Province.
The telecoms industry is still several years away from agreeing on 6G's specifications, so it is not yet certain the tech being trialled will make it into the final standard.
It involves use of high-frequency terahertz waves to achieve data-transmission speeds many times faster than 5G is likely to be capable of.
The satellite also carries technology which will be used for crop disaster monitoring and forest fire prevention.