Implementation challenges and opportunities in beyond-5G and 6G communication

Journal article, 2021

As 5G New Radio (NR) is being rolled out, research effort is being focused on the evolution of what is to come in the post-5G era. In order to meet the diverse requirements of future wireless communication in terms of increased capacity and reduced latency, technologies such as distributed
massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), sub-millimeter wave and Tera-hertz spectrum become
technology components of interest. Furthermore, to meet the demands on connectivity anywhere at anytime,
non-terrestrial satellite networks will be needed, which brings about challenges both in terms of implementation as well as deployment. Finally, scaling up massive Internet-of-Things (IoT), energy harvesting and
Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer (SWIPT) is foreseen to become important enablers
when deploying a large amount of small, low-power radios. In this paper, we will discuss some of the
important opportunities these technologies bring, and the challenges faced by the microwave and wireless
communication communities.