330 Feet Between Two Buildings
Back in November of 2020, we brought you news of how China had successfully launched what has been described as “the world’s first 6G satellite” into orbit. The aim of the launch was to test the technology and the cutting-edge satellite was sent into space with 12 other satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi Province.
Yet, we still did not see 6G deployed until last June when Samsung successfully completed another 6G test in laboratories of a 140GHz transmitter and receiver that was first developed back in 2017. Now, LG Electronics has come along and they have deployed 6G from the Fraunhofer HHI building to the Berlin Institute of Technology in Germany across a distance of 100 meters (328 feet).
“The success of this test demonstrates that we are ever closer to the successful application of terahertz radio communication spectrum in the upcoming 6G era,” said in a statement Dr. I.P. Park, president and CTO of LG Electronics. “Our successful partnerships with local and global research institutions and organizations to advance the development of 6G capabilities have been very rewarding.”
LG Electronics has been working with the European research lab Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to produce 6G transmissions. The organizations didn’t give any details about how much data was transmitted in their latest test but we know 6G is going to be ultra-fast since 6G signals reside in the terahertz spectrum.
There is just one problem with the THz frequencies. They currently have a very limited range and lose plenty of power when passing through antennas used for transmission and reception. One solution proposed is to add even more cellular towers across the country but it would be more convenient and effective to find ways to increase the distance of 6G broadcasts — not to mention, way cheaper in terms of infrastructure costs.
LG Electronics conceived of a new power amplifier as well as an adaptive beamforming technology that could make 6G viable. On August 13, the new amplifier was used to successfully transmit a 6G signal between two buildings. It might not seem like much and 6G is still a decade away, but it’s a strong start toward super-fast transmission and reception.
