Futureinternet 14 00117

future internet
Review
From 5G to 6G—Challenges, Technologies, and Applications
Ahmed I. Salameh * and Mohamed El Tarhuni *
Department of Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates
* Correspondence: u16200735@sharjah.ac.ae (A.I.S.); mtarhuni@aus.edu (M.E.T.)
Abstract: As the deployment of 5G mobile radio networks gains momentum across the globe, the
wireless research community is already planning the successor of 5G. In this paper, we highlight
the shortcomings of 5G in meeting the needs of more data-intensive, low-latency, and ultra-high-
reliability applications. We then discuss the salient characteristics of the 6G network following a
hierarchical approach including the social, economic, and technological aspects. We also discuss
some of the key technologies expected to support the move towards 6G. Finally, we quantify and
summarize the research work related to beyond 5G and 6G networks through an extensive search of
publications and research groups and present a possible timeline for 6G activities.
Keywords: 3GPP; 6G; artificial intelligence; beyond 5G; edge computing; next-gen; THz
1. Introduction
The world’s global communication network has come a long way since the second-
generation (2G) mobile radio network systems were deployed in the early 1990s. The
second-generation network, undoubtedly, has been internationally recognized as the start

of a new era in digital communications. The aforesaid comes as no surprise based on the
Citation: Salameh, A.I.; El Tarhuni, exploding rate of communication between users in the form of SMS texts and phone calls
M. From 5G to 6G—Challenges,
towards the end of the last century [1]. The world at that time experienced a paradigm
Technologies, and Applications.
shift on all levels, from individual users to large corporations, which created room for
Future Internet 2022, 14, 117. https://
new business models. Since then, the focus has been concentrated on offering faster
doi.org/10.3390/fi14040117
communication speeds and supporting more users. To alleviate the connectivity issues that
Academic Editors: Chan Hwang See, occur when many users try to access the network at the same time and to offer a better
Kelvin Anoh, Yousef Dama, Simeon experience, third-generation (3G) systems were introduced in the early 2000s with new
Keates and Raed A. Abd-Alhameed innovations, the most notable being the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Received: 12 March 2022
(UMTS), which has wideband code division multiple access at its essence [2]. However,
Accepted: 23 March 2022
3G was short-lived for a variety of reasons. Many analysts suggested that 3G faced
Published: 12 April 2022
regulatory and technical issues, leading to many operators phasing it out of their networks.
Conversely, the global, widespread media praise of 3G’s successor, i.e., 4G, introduced
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
around 2010, demonstrated that it was so far the most successful generation since 2G. The
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
fourth-generation network is based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)
published maps and institutional affil-
and multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems [3], offering theoretical speeds of
iations.
1 Gb/s and beyond, which until very recently was considered sufficient for almost all
existing network services and applications. Figure 1 provides an overview of the timeline
of the development of wireless networks.
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
Currently, many emerging services and network needs require speeds and network
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. infrastructures well beyond the capabilities of 4G. The recently inaugurated 5G system
This article is an open access article is often presented as an integrated system that fills the gap between 4G and the current
distributed under the terms and network demands, such as ultra-high communication speeds and very-low-link latency [4].
conditions of the Creative Commons Nonetheless, a new research direction has recently commenced, investigating alternatives
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// to 5G and looking beyond it. The drivers for this new direction are explored in depth
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ in the next section. In essence, 5G is expected to be inadequate for the future network
4.0/). requirements. Furthermore, some challenges remain unresolved or overlooked in current
Future Internet 2022, 14, 117. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi14040117 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/futureinternet

Future Internet 2022, 14, 117 2 of 35
5G standards, such as dealing with signal propagation loss, which will inevitably increase
with the use of higher frequencies (beyond 20 GHz), or maintaining efficient network
management under increasingly complicated networks [5,6].
Although research in the beyond 5G area has picked up momentum in recent years
with many surveys and discussions in the literature, we differentiate ourselves by consider-
ing a hierarchical approach, providing a comprehensive review of the different aspects of
6G-enabling technologies and the current major research initiatives and publications related
to 6G. Moreover, we discuss many of the deep learning methods to be used in 6G, provide
an accurate count of papers discussing next-gen networks between 2015 and 2020, and
show how the depth of the discussions on 6G have changed over the years. Additionally,
we divided the published 6G surveys into seven categories: waveform, antennas, artificial
intelligence (AI), security, blockchain, management, and architecture, and provide an up-
to-date listing of 6G surveys at the time of writing of this paper. In this paper, we discuss
the challenges facing 5G and how they are expected to stimulate the research towards 6G.
In particular, the main contributions of this work are as follows:
• We highlight the main limitations of 5G and its key technologies;
• We present a holistic view of 6G that includes the social, technical, and economic
aspects;
• We provide a comprehensive review of recent research activities and projects related
to 6G;
• We summarize the literature work on 6G’s vision and its potential technologies, as
well as the timeline for 6G’s roll out on the market;
• We discuss 6G’s downsides, from the physical and mental health implications for
individuals, to the impact on the Earth’s ecosystems, and speculate about its existence
in the future.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 discusses the main shortcomings
of 5G, while Section 3 discusses the aspects, requirements, and enabling technologies of 6G.
Section 4 presents a summary of the current research related to 6G, and finally, Section 5
provides the conclusion. We show in Figure 2 the outline of our paper.
Figure 1. A brief overview of the history of wireless communication networks (TD: time division, FD:
frequency division, CD: code division).
Figure 2. Paper outline.

2. Fifth-Generation Network’s Shortcomings

This section looks at how well 5G is expected to perform as it is being rolled out in more
and more global markets recently. It is appropriate first to examine the key technologies
of 5G that are quickly becoming outdated. Network densification is a key player in 5G
through the very wide deployment of small cells. However, the benefits of this deployment,
i.e., enhanced coverage and higher data transfer rates, represent diminishing returns as
more and more small cells are deployed due to the significant increase in infrastructure cost.
Another technology is carrier aggregation, which allows users to be served by more than a
single-component carrier to offer a higher bandwidth [7]. However, this has implications for
hardware on the end users’ side to support different frequency bands. It is worth looking
at the cloud radio access network (C-RAN) as being a primary component of 5G to mitigate
the hardware limitations of end devices. However, as networks grow exponentially in size,
it becomes evident that the cloud alone is not enough, and fog and edge node computations
are needed. Moreover, security in the main 5G technologies is not advanced enough to
be deployed on very large scales, such as in software-defined networks (SDNs), where
it lacks the mechanisms to verify trust between the management apps and the controller.
Another example is network function virtualization (NFV), where attackers can target
software-level components, such as the virtual infrastructure manager, and generate fake
logs that hinder the operation of NFV [8]. Furthermore, 5G offers ultra-reliable and low-
latency communication (URLLC) as one of its key drivers. However, it is limited to the
edge of the network without real integration across the entire network (including the
core) [9]. Moreover, the concept of heterogeneous networks (HetNets) is at the core of 5G
technologies, but currently, such network integration is limited to terrestrial networks. This
has to be further expanded to be three-dimensional by including aerial and space mesh
networks in the main network. It is also important to note that 5G is not immune to denial
of service (DoS) attacks or threats that compromise its availability [10]. It is crucial that this
be improved in future networks to adjust for the size of ever-growing networks of billions
of nodes. Next, we present the global communication network requirements and demands
that are expected to surpass 5G’s capabilities.
2.1. A. Communication Speed and Scalability

It is projected that by 2030, global mobile traffic will be 670-times what it was in
2010, mainly due to machine-to-machine (M2M) communications [11]. This is an unprece-
dented exponential growth that motivates researchers worldwide to achieve technological
breakthroughs in many network aspects, especially in spectral and energy efficiency tech-
niques. The fifth-generation network is portrayed to bring to the network enhanced mobile
broadband (eMBB), i.e., offer speeds up to 20 Gbps [12], and massive machine-type com-
munication (mMTC) support, as shown in Figure 3. However, this will not be able to keep
up with the near future demands, as it is expected by 2030 that 5G will reach it is limits [13].
The demand-driven nature of communication speeds dictates that in less that 10 years from
now, the data transfer rates will have to experience substantial improvements to be well
beyond 1 Tbps (up to 10 Tbps) [14]. Thus, looking beyond 5G incorporates researching tech-
niques that can offer such speeds. Moreover, 5G is designed to utilize the millimeter wave
range of 20–100 GHz [15]. However, it is not possible in this range to achieve such high
speeds due to current transceiver designs and digital modulation techniques’ limitations,
such as non-linear power amplifiers, phase noise, and poor analog-to-digital converter
(ADC) resolution [16]. Consequently, the next leap in communication will consider look-
ing at frequencies beyond 100 GHz, possibly up to a few THz [17], as this spectrum is
available in abundance to achieve high data rates. It was shown in a comparison [18] that
beyond 100 Gbps speeds can be achieved in the 300 GHz range compared to 4 Gbps in the
60 GHz range.
The extremely high data rates are justified by the kind of services that are emerging
or expected to be widely adopted in the near future. Services such as augmented reality
(AR), human nano-chip implants, connected robotics, autonomous systems, and tele-
medicine [19] are currently being under development and enhancement to be deployed
on a wide scale in the near future. Additionally, with the envisioned growth in M2M
communications, it is expected that there will be hundreds of billions of devices connected
to the Internet [20]. However, 5G is expected to offer the best performance tradeoffs only up
to the scale of a billion devices [21]. Therefore, the next major mobile network upgrade will
be scaled to accommodate such a huge number of device connections and a more-than-ever
condensed network.
Web surfing Automation
Vehicular
Cloud Computing
Communications
Augmented Reality Robotics
Internet of Things Smart Cities Industry 4.0
Figure 3. The fifth-generation network’s pillars with examples of each of them.
2.2. B. Link Latency

Currently, many real-time services have emerged to be an integrated part of the
network for many years to come. The services can range from helping in the creation of
smart cities, such as autonomous vehicles and factories, to identifying new ways to interact
with the environment, such as virtual reality (VR) and exoskeletons or prosthetic limbs [22].
Most real-time services are time sensitive and have stringent latency requirements (10 ms
and below) in order to ensure an effective operation mode. Moreover, some technology-
related factors can cause latency degradation, such as the length of the cyclic prefix (CP) in
OFDM systems or using dedicated channels for machine communications, which require
constant dynamic scheduling due to their sporadic nature of transmission [23].
In the latest industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, many applications require simultaneous
support for URLLC (Figure 3) to achieve fully autonomous operation without human su-
pervision or intervention. This has been considered in the latest release of the 5G standards;
however, this support is limited for basic motion control at 1 ms latency at best [24]. In
many applications, such as aircraft or vehicle control and intra-vehicle communication for
suspension and engine control, the required latency is sub-ms (0.1–1 ms) [25].
Many of the previous applications have multiple rigorous requirements simultane-
ously for optimal operation. An example of this can be found in autonomous systems,
where simultaneous support for super-URLLC is needed combined with high data rates
for some scenarios. For instance, this can be translated to latencies down to a 250 µs (some
papers even suggest 100 µs) round-trip time combined with a link reliability of 10−9 at
10 Gbps for applications such as operating factories using virtual presence [26,27]. This
requires 10-fold and 50-fold improvements in latency and reliability, respectively, over
current 5G standards [25]. Furthermore, 5G promises to offer low latency for short packets
only. Customizing the data rate, latency, and link reliability for the different applications is
not fully considered in 5G and has not yet been achieved efficiently. Thus, it is debatable if
5G holds the full prerequisites to construct smart cities with the support of the different
machine communication requirements [19]. This leaves room for improvements in the
next generation, such as securing better random access (RA) methods for machine com-
munications, efficiently managing the more sophisticated industrial control schemes, and
achieving sub-ms link latency.
2.3. C. Link Reliability

It is equally important to talk about the connection’s reliability, which is usually
measured by the bit error rate (BER) or by the frame error rate. Many mission-critical
applications are in need of ultra-reliable connections to ensure low incident rates in places
such as factory automation, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, or railway system
control. Specifically, for Industry 4.0, it is stated that some applications can require a link
reliability of up to 10−9 in terms of the frame error rate; however, 5G only promises to
support up to 10−5 [28]. Thus, to fully implement the concept of smart cities and fully
dependable machine operations, such as remote surgery, the connection’s reliability has to
be improved by several orders of magnitude. Offering higher reliability at different levels
in B5G systems will be needed for efficient resource allocation. Synonymous with link
reliability, link availability in 5G networks is expected to be five-nines or 99.999% of the time;
however, in a given factory setup, control and automation will require service availability
to be six-nines or 99.9999% [29]. Moreover, some works went to the extreme by indicating
that 6G networks will require service availability to be seven-nines or 99.99999% [19].
3. Sixth-Generation Network’s Aspects

The future generation of wireless systems, i.e., 6G, is anticipated to possess multiple
new specifications, requirements, and potential uses. We looked at 6G from multiple
angles based on the following hierarchy: the highest level includes a general discussion
of the aspects of communications, from the social, technical, and economic points of view.
The medium level presents the main points about the network requirements, such as
services, technologies, and research problems. Lastly, we take a look at the network’s
technical operational improvements, such as modified radio frame structures and altered
RA methods, at the lowest level of our approach. This approach we took to describe 6G is
further clarified in Figure 4.
Figure 4. A hierarchical approach for the discussion of 6G’s aspects.
3.1. Sixth-Generation Network’s Footprint

3.1.1. Social Impact
Currently, there are multiple subjects receiving little attention when it comes to com-
munication networks. Some of these topics include: users’ personal data accessing rights,
operators’ subscription plans, and social awareness about sharing data between users on
the community and individual level. These points hold important social value as they
can heavily influence the public’s opinion about sensitive topics. One famous example of
such an issue was the case of Cambridge Analytica, the infamous British political consulting
firm, which was able to access users’ data through the Facebook Open API and link them
to other available data, such as other social media platforms and online purchases, to
collect over 5000 data points on 230 million U.S. citizens [30]. The data were claimed to
have been used to impact the U.S.’s presidential race. Another example is with respect to
the conventional spectrum allocation scheme, where regulators auction off the license to
use certain frequency bands to the highest payer. This has negative consequences such
as hiking up the data plan and telecommunication service prices for the end users, as
well as the device costs. Therefore, it is important to propose novel spectrum regulation
policies and reconsider the available data accessing options. Furthermore, as reported in
the Digital 2020 July Global Statshot Report [31], 4.57 billion people are connected to the
Internet; this is only a little over half the planet’s population. This raises another challenge
for 6G networks, i.e., bringing the world together and focusing on installing network
infrastructure in third-world countries that have the least Internet access. This became
clearer than ever before in 2020, as COVID-19 forced the entire world to almost operate
entirely digitally. More importantly, the expansion of the Internet should consider the living
inequalities among people worldwide by offering substantially less-expensive Internet
access options to realize the aspiration of considering connectivity as a basic human right.
This is achievable by offering near-free data plans and popularizing device leasing options.
Due to the global language and cultural barriers, the emerging Internet services should
consider the differences between people and work to integrate them under one umbrella.
In other words, the offered network services should be tweaked to suit the demographics
of the geographical area in which they are being provided. One famous example of this
can be found with Google Maps, where disputed territories are displayed as belonging to
different countries based on the geographical location of the map viewer.
3.1.2. Technical Impact

The future of the digital world looks brighter than ever, thanks to the technical ad-
vancements that have increased exponentially over the last 30 years and are not showing
any signs of slowing down. The sixth-generation network is expected to offer the most
sophisticated technologies up to date. We highlight the most prominent emerging technolo-
gies in the subsequent parts of the paper. However, we demonstrate here a few examples
of fundamental changes in the digital world. The introduction of the first binary-based
computer in 1938 [32] started a line of technology that continues to this day with integrated
circuits (ICs) able to perform billions of tasks in less than a second. In the near future, a
new concept of computer computations will emerge, i.e., the Q-bit, based on quantum
mechanics. In very simple terms, this concept suggests looking into the electron’s state in
wires to determine the encoded data by the transmitter [33]. This type of computation is
expected to revolutionize the digital world and open the door to achieving unprecedented
performance metrics, which can enable new services on the network. Another example
worth looking at is integrating AI into the global network. AI is changing how end de-
vices perceive communication networks by introducing many concepts, such as network
self-sustainability/management and autonomous systems in factories, vehicles, and many
other setups. AI is expected to be at the heart of many 6G services and technologies, which
are expected to be so advanced that humans will not have to intervene with the work of
the network at all. AI, at the highest levels, will be able to analyze human sentiments
for various purposes, such as better selection of online content and advertisements to be
delivered to the individual users based on their facial feedback [34] and offer a better user
experience during human–bot chats, which are becoming more common. Similar to the
impact of AI on future networks, VR is the cornerstone of many current and future network
services that is foreseen to change in principle how humans perceive their surroundings
and interact with each other. For instance, VR has been used in medical staff training and
treatment of patients remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as by performing
VR-based physical or cognitive rehabilitation and telehealth services [35,36].
3.1.3. Economic and Environmental Impact

The economic and environmental impact of communication systems is usually over-
looked, especially the toxic waste from electronics. Batteries for instance contain hazardous
chemicals that are not eco-friendly if left in nature to decompose. Thus, one of the expected
innovations with the arrival of 6G is a wider adoption of energy harvesting via radio waves
or laser beams to realize battery-free devices [12]. Moreover, the exponential increase of
devices connected to the Internet is partially responsible for the annual electronic waste
increase. For instance, it has been reported that the yearly global amount of electronic
waste reached a record high of 65.4 million tons in 2017, rising from 14 and 42 million, in
2005 and 2014, respectively [37–39]. To give some perspective on these figures, the amount
of electronic waste generated in the year 2017 was roughly 11-times heavier than the Great
Pyramid of Giza [40] or enough to stack a pile that can reach the Moon and back seven
times. These numbers are constantly increasing, which is an alarming indicator for the
health of the environment, especially as handheld devices and laptops contain toxic materi-
als such as mercury, arsenic, and chromium [39]. Therefore, it is important to emphasize
electronics’ recycling in the international communication standards of 6G, improve the
efficiency and performance of the disposal process, and spread awareness among con-
sumers to participate in the recycling process. A possible direction for reducing electronic
waste is fabricating chips using green biological materials, such as microbes [41], allowing
for the recycling process to take place with less-toxic materials. Another potential benefit
of considering green biological materials could be the reduction of energy consumption

during the fabrication process.
Moreover, with the trend of using higher and higher carrier frequencies, little attention
is being paid with respect to the health implications. This was demonstrated in [42],
where millimeter waves were said to produce heat as a side effect of radiation, resulting
in thermal hazards to the human body, such as eye and skin damage. Moving from the
millimeter waves’ range to the near − THz range (100–900 GHz) raises even more questions
about health concerns and the safe limits of radiation exposure. For example, the work
in [43] examined in depth the health implications of terahertz frequencies on human tissues
and cells and tried to answer the question about the safe limits of exposure to terahertz
frequencies. Another example was given in [44], where the researchers studied the effect
of high-intensity terahertz radiation on human skin fibroblasts and its long-term effects.
Moreover, the work in [45] characterized the effects of terahertz irradiation on human
morphology and macromolecules and conducted experiments with different terahertz
sources of varying intensities. The work in [46] provided a comprehensive survey of the
relationship between terahertz radiation and the effects on human skin and the potential use
of terahertz radiation as a therapeutic tool in skin tissue. More research should be invested
in this area to create acceptable standards and rigorous regulations for communication
device manufacturers. The health implications do not stop here: although the advancement
in network connectivity has come a long way in bringing individuals closer than ever
before, this has also left many feeling isolated and depressed [47]. The sixth-generation
network promises extended immersion experiences by new means such as nano-chip
implants, and this calls for the need for thorough research to analyze the severity of the
resulting social disorders.
The communication range of terahertz frequencies should also be discussed, as the
use of extremely high frequencies leads to low coverage [48]. This has the implication of
limiting the use of terahertz frequencies to indoor communications only. Furthermore,
terahertz frequencies are vulnerable to blockages from small-sized objects, such as home
furniture or moving humans [49], which further reduces their applicability and usage.
However, this is not the case for all terahertz frequencies; for example, the work in [50]
demonstrated that the spectral windows at 1.0 THz, 4.5 THz, and 9.1 THz are able to
minimize this effect and enhance the coverage, especially when terahertz frequencies are
combined with ultra-dense base stations, beamforming antennas with a small beamwidth,
and a low density of omnidirectional nanosensors.
3.2. Network Requirements

It should be noted that a few of the mentioned network requirements below are simul-
taneously under the scope of research on 5G and beyond 5G, such as network slicing [51]
and edge computing [52]. However, research on these network features is still in its prim-
itive state, and there is much work to do. Consequently, it is highly likely that proper,
efficient, and wide-scale network utilization of these network features will only be available
by the time beyond 5G networks are in use.
3.2.1. Services
It is envisioned that many services will emerge in the near future to meet the demands
of the 21st Century. We mention here a few of the most famous services on the rise. Mixed
reality (XR) is foreseen to be a new way of interacting with the environment around us.
Both of its forms, AR and VR, are very promising for many applications such as filtering
the view ahead of the driver with warning signs and important instructions to help while
driving. Another application of XR is to provide new ways of controlling our surround-
ing environments such as smart houses and work offices. Holographic communication is
expected to reinforce the immersive experience and offer new ways of interaction with
the environment. For instance, holographic communication can be used to add more authen-
ticity to a conversation between humans, and this is manifested in scenarios related to
telepresence or translating spoken words into descriptive virtual objects [53]. Collectively,
XR and holographic communication are anticipated to have a powerful impact on the future
of education, and this is exemplified by establishing educational institutions that are en-
tirely based on virtual real-time remote learning. In Figure 5, we display some of the 6G
system’s applications.
Figure 5. Some of the 6G system’s applications.
Another technology worth looking at is human chip implants. It is projected that micro-
chips will enable a whole new class of immersive experiences such as remote healthcare
and monitoring and sharing human sensory data to allow for more personalized network
experiences. Moreover, autonomous robots and systems are expected to play a huge role in
the near future, some of which involve building smart cities, which will be tightly related
to factory automation and self-sustaining networks. One of the challenges that is expected
to be faced in the near future for communication between brain implants and the global
Internet is establishing secure communication channels against eavesdropping and hacker
attacks [54]. All of these services are expected to be deployed on a large scale, therefore
under massive network deployments, such as 3D heterogeneous networks, multi-tier base
stations, and cyber–physical systems (CPS), and there will be the need for high-precision
communication to offer seamless and integrated connectivity.
3.2.2. Technologies
New, unprecedented, high data rates, low latencies, and high reliability metrics are
expected to be achieved to enable many of the previously stated services. It is anticipated
that optical wireless communication (OWC) will be a key component of 6G networks.
OWC is projected to offer extremely high data rates at short ranges in indoor environments
due to the massive availability of the unlicensed spectrum. Furthermore, OWC has a few
benefits over regular RF communication, such as zero electromagnetic interference and
a high frequency-reuse factor, due to the confinement of light within a room or a closed
space [28]. Stepping beyond the millimeter waves’ range to a new smaller wavelength
range is also expected to unlock a new tier of data rates crossing the 1 Tbps mark, namely
the terahertz-frequency range, as described earlier in the paper. However, this is expected to
come at a price. Mainly, atmospheric absorption increases at higher frequencies due to the
shorter wavelengths of the transmitted signals [17]. This raises concerns about how wireless
channels should be modeled for tasks such as synchronization and channel estimation,
especially when the atmospheric conditions are unstable and variable. Moreover, by looking
at extreme link reliability as a key 6G requirement, OWC use will be limited to indoor
environments due to its vulnerability in outdoor scenarios, especially in dynamic scenarios.
Additionally, the use of extremely high frequencies and massive MIMO constellations
complicates the beam management task, which is essential for many network operations,
such as mobile user handover, not to mention the difficulty of designing transceivers able
to operate at very high frequencies up to a few THz to offer ultra-high data rates, which
are required at the network backbone to process the massive amounts of data generated by
the end devices [55].
Another key technology that is expected to be deeply integrated into 6G systems is
intelligent reflective surfaces (IRSs). The incentive behind using IRSs is that the wireless
channel is de facto the least-controllable part in a given network; thus, it is a priority in
next-gen systems to find a means of enhancing the overall performance of wireless systems
by working on the channel part. We can look at IRSs as passive signal-scattering elements
that are installed between the communicating nodes in a network. There exist variants of
this technology such as the ones that are software-defined and coupled with AI to conform
with the network requirements, as well as the active surfaces that consume power and
perform signal reflections based on a pre-determined angle to enhance the overall received
signal strength. IRSs possess multiple benefits for different use scenarios; for instance,
they can be considered as a complimentary element for ultra-massive MIMO. Moreover,
IRSs can be installed in walls to create smart indoor radio propagation environments
that perform frequency-selective signal energy penetration insulation [56] or implement
passive beamforming, which can significantly enhance the efficiency of wireless power
transfer [57]. However, there are multiple points that need to be addressed under IRSs’
implementation such as accurate channel estimation for interference cancellation and
alignment with the line-of-sight (LoS) path for optimal system performance. Moreover,
how very large numbers of IRSs can work together, especially in heterogeneous and highly
dynamic networks such as smart manufacturing plants and V2V/V2X networks, needs to
be investigated. This also opens the front for research on the optimal number of IRSs to
deploy in each scenario in beyond 5G or 6G networks.
Smart cities and self-sustaining networks are closely related to AI; therefore, AI has
to undergo heavy developments and enhancements for 6G networks [14]. In particular,
the network resources are limited; thus, it is vital to integrate AI within the network to
boost the performance while maintaining high network efficiency and capacity levels. This
means much of the future network is going to be underpinned by AI and deep learning
(DL) algorithms to bring balance and stability among all network nodes. In other words,
AI will be integrated in the underlying fabric of networks and will act as an anchor for
designing, deploying, and optimizing networks. For instance, the chip manufacturer,
Nvidia, very recently announced a cloud-AI video streaming platform called Maxine [58]
to reduce the bandwidth needed for video calls to one-tenth without any reduction in
quality. Moreover, Nvidia’s latest graphical processing unit (GPU) lineup, the 3000 series,
features enhanced AI for constructing a higher number of frames per second with enhanced
details for video games, and this will directly enhance the virtual reality experience, which
will be featured heavily in 6G. Another significant use for AI in networks can be found in
integrating convolutional neural networks for autonomous modulation classification [59].
This gains its importance from the varying end user requirements and applications while
maintaining a high spectrum efficiency. However, there are a few challenges to address
such as implementing secure distributed AI models with reasonable network complexity
for autonomous systems. Network complexity will keep increasing exponentially with
time, and this is arguably the result of many activities such as network densification, multi-
tier heterogeneous base stations’ deployment, AI integration, and softwarization. One
way to deal with high network complexity, especially in smart facilities such as smart
factories [60], is by apportioning a section of the network to Internet of Things (IoT) devices’
communication for coordination, self-organization, and optimization of their operational
methods in, for example, conveyor systems.
We are also interested here in examining a number of DL techniques, as they will be
the power house for a magnitude of services in 6G networks. Two of the main candidates
are supervised DL based on deep neural networks and deep reinforcement learning (DRL),
which can combine theoretical models and real-world data on latency and reliability to fulfill
the stringent network requirements. In detail, they can approximate the optimal resource
allocation policy and predict traffic and mobility using state–decision pairs acquired from
optimization algorithms or recorded data [61]. Additionally, beam selection is an important
measure when operating under high frequencies, such as the ones required by 6G networks.
Thus, deep neural networks can also be used for beam selection with the incorporation of the
power delay profile of the channel into the model [62]. Another pivotal DL technique in 6G
networks can be pinpointed, which is the deep Q-network based on reinforcement learning
(RL). It can be used to optimize multi-layer radio resources in challenging scenarios, such
as unmanned aerial vehicles’ (UAVs) deployment [63]. The discussion can be expanded
further to include the long short-term memory DL method, which can be utilized in
integrated networks (refer to F in Figure 5). This method can be used in predicting energy
harvesting in the network. The importance of this stems from energy harvesting’s role
in reducing the economic and environmental footprint of 6G communication systems, as
discussed earlier [64]. We list a summary of potential promising DL techniques to be used
in 6G networks in Table 1.
Another concept on the rise as a promising key technology in 6G is hybrid network-
ing. Hybrid layering refers to de-constructing the structure of the conventional network
communication protocols and layers to be more modular and versatile based on the service
the network needs to provide [65]. For example, the work in [66] proposed dividing the
physical layer and creating new logical layers to enhance the user experience in massive
multi-player online gaming sessions by enhancing the connection between the server and
the client. The work in [67] proposed creating new hybrid protocols based on combining the
long-range (LoRa) and IEEE 802.11s protocols for the purpose of enhancing data exchange
in UAV groups.
It is also worth discussing an interesting new technology that is expected to play
a main role in 6G networks, i.e., digital twins [68]. These work by creating an identical
version of a physical system with all the real-life constraints, parameters, variables, objects,
conditions, etc., in such a way that the digital version behaves identically to the physical
version. This concept can be applied in multiple scenarios, such as healthcare systems,
manufacturing plants, and smart cities. Through digital twins, we will be able to enhance
the user experience by gathering all the possible data of a system that otherwise would be
extremely difficult or impossible to collect in real life, as well as allow upgrading physical
systems with minimal cost and the greatest efficiency by first implementing the upgrade
on the digital twin. We will also be able to create a digital biological version of all humans
on Earth for Metaverse application [69].
Table 1. An overview of promising deep learning methods in 6G networks.
DL Method Potential Use

Focuses on designing an intelligent situation-aware resource allocation technique for multi-dimensional intelligent multiple access (MD-IMA).
MD-IMA [70]
The deep learning (DL) framework is based on long short-term memory (LSTM) and deep reinforcement learning (DRL).
Building a machine learning (ML)-based architecture for the 6G Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and improved learning efficiency by modifying
AOW-DQN [71]
the observation window size to respond to the industrial environment’s dynamics via an novel adaptive observation window for deep Q-network.
Maintaining customized safety services to the end users in 6G intelligent transportation systems to minimize the rate of accidents via developing
Micro-Safe [72]
algorithms based on a deep neural network (DNN) that would enhance the accuracy of the decisions to be presented to the end users.
In the 6G RAN, a slicing control strategy is performed though the DRL framework based on the twin-timescale Markov decision. The developed
DDPG [73]
algorithm is based on the convergence of the double deep-Q-network (Double-DQN) and the deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG).
Developed for massive device detection in 6G networks by using a feature-aided adaptive-tuning deep learning (FAT-DL) network. It is based
FAT-DL [74]
on a layer-by-layer training design that uses the trained data to decide the distribution parameters of the devices in the network.
Developed for connected autonomous vehicles in 6G networks, DL combined with stochastic network calculus is used to train on the data for the
DL [75]
fast calculation of the delay limits in real-time operations, which helps in cooperative driving.
In 6G IoT networks, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used to collect data from sensors. UAV route planning algorithms can be developed
DRLR [76]
using the DRL recruitment (DRLR) scheme. The data collection process is improved by reducing the cost and enhancing the coverage area.
In 6G Internet of Everything (IoE) systems, IScaler, a technique based on DRL, is utilized for resource scaling and service placement, especially
IScaler [77]
for mobile edge computing. It offers improved scaling and placement decisions and overcomes the dynamic environment challenges.
In 6G optical wireless communication (OWC) systems, the handover problem can be resolved efficiently using a DRL-based framework for smooth
DRL [78]
and uninterrupted access point switching for end users. DRL utilizes the Q-target and the Q-evaluation to train and update the neutral network.
In massive 6G space–terrestrial integrated IoT systems, network control and resource allocation can be performed through hierarchical deep actor
H-DAC-RL [79]
–critic RL (H-DAC-RL), where the policy function is considered as the “actor” and the value function is named the “critic”.
Distributed network computations (DNCs) can satisfy the different end devices’ require-
ments and applications. For instance, critical applications that are delay sensitive can be
served via the geographically closest network component (such as an edge node) instead of
the core network, or non-urgent data can be filtered out before network core processing; this
is also known as edge computing [80]. Although most of the currently deployed AI models
are based on a centralized computation approach, i.e., in the cloud or the core network,
a distributed AI and edge computing structure looks promising for consideration in 6G
wireless systems. Moreover, building networks that support AI workflows on multiple
levels can accelerate the use of AI in many ways, such as providing new models and data,
which can help in achieving faster convergence rates with lower errors or prioritize and
manage the connected end devices based on the application and the available resources.
It is worth noting some of the challenges that DNC’s implementation may face, such as
the heterogeneity of the global network, resulting in the problem of integrating multiple
sub-systems to work together efficiently, especially in vertical industries. For example,
the compatibility between the different road vehicles and smart objects along the road is
important in order to fully realize vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), V2X, and smart objects’ com-
munications. Edge computing is usually coupled with network slicing; the latter is considered
to be crucial in 6G networks as different end devices require vastly different network
metrics. Each set of nodes can be grouped into a network slice; for example, V2V/V2X
communication requires extremely low-latency connections compared to smart homes;
thus, each communication type will be grouped into different network slices with different
qualities of service.
Communication links and transceivers are bounded by upper and lower transmission
energy costs. These limits are directly related to the ICs’ rated power, BER constraints, data
rates, and channel interference [81,82]. Sixth-generation networks are expected to bring
record energy cost efficiency. This can be achieved by utilizing AI in data bits’ modulation
and OWC, as mentioned earlier. This can translate into smaller communication nodes, a less
expensive overall communication cost, and giant complex networks. Moreover, integrating
pervasive AI models with 6G networks, especially at the edge networking components’ and
end devices’ levels, can contribute heavily to achieving advanced personalized network
security and better network key performance indicators [83]. However, security in 6G
will still be one of the challenging areas due to increasing threats arising from using new
technologies [84]. For example, quantum communication will require special mechanisms
to protect quantum encryption keys, which are different from the conventional methods
used currently in protecting encryption keys for RF communications. Another example is
related to massive AI deployment in 6G networks, where unauthorized DL sessions can
take place in the network by intruders or eavesdroppers. This calls for developing new
methods of user identification and authorization in the network.
As networks evolved to become what they are today by offering a myriad of emerging
services and applications, such as lightning-fast communication speeds for end users,
support for Industry 4.0, VR/AR, and many more, space–air–ground integrated networks
(SAGINs) have emerged as a focal research area recently. This sheds light on the idea of
vertically unifying the different network components, which are heterogeneous by nature,
to achieve unprecedented network coverage, enhancing the quality of service (QoS), and
granting access to a ubiquitous spectrum of services and application [85]. For example, the
work in [86] gave a comprehensive study and survey of SAGINs and their role in 6G. It laid
out a technical insight into the architecture, requirements, and use cases of SAGINs in 6G.
In parallel, researchers are exploring in depth the edge computing and AI fields to match
the needs of the ever-expanding networks and their roles in SAGINs [87]. Edge nodes
can be incorporated into SAGINs as heterogeneous network controllers to handle network
information collection, monitoring, and control, mobility and radio resources’ management,
and content caching. For example, parts of the aerial network can be transferred to edge
servers; for example, a group of UAVs can be deployed for distributed computing, when
resources are limited in ground terminals, or to mitigate backhaul transmission congestion.
Edge computing UAVs can also support pioneering services, such as vehicular VR/AR
gaming or road sign recognition. It is also possible to deploy satellites as edge nodes;
this is helpful in many scenarios, such as in Earth observation, where image processing
can take place on board for critical real-time applications. Some of these applications are
space junk capturing, infrastructure monitoring, and disaster relief, leading to a reduction
in time and savings on bandwidth. Moving on to AI’s role in SAGINs, it is safe to say
that native edge AI is forecasted to play a major part in SAGINs. One of the main points
that involves edge AI is facilitating learning the network characteristics for traffic pattern
and vehicle movement prediction and efficient packet routing, and this is of great interest,
as many of SAGINs’ components are dynamic by nature, such as UAVs and satellites.
Moreover, edge AI plays a crucial role in content caching by optimizing content placement
and delivery parameters on the different network nodes and links. Additionally, due to
the heterogeneity of SAGINs and the contrasting QoS requirements, it becomes a hard
task to perform resource allocation in the conventional way; thus, edge AI can assist by
performing service load prediction and network slicing optimization based on the QoS
requirements. Edge AI can also help satellites in object recognition tasks, whether space
debris or structures on Earth’s surface. However, there remain some challenges in the
context of this discussion, such as that edge AI requests a considerable amount of data,
which can be arduous to store and access in SAGINs on demand, as well as being costly
to implement. The training of AI models can also incur a noticeable latency or delay that
might not be tolerable in some applications, such as satellites performing real-time space
junk avoidance.
Recent advances in information and communication technology (ICT) and AI have
been stimulating the deployment of more and more devices at the edge of networks.
It is expected that there will be over 75 billion sensors and edge devices by 2025 [88].
Besides, this has motivated the appearance of new applications, which request instant
decision-making with minimal transmission delay. Examples of such applications include
autonomous driving, XR for the Metaverse, facial recognition and sentiment analysis for
digital twin profile construction, sensors’ communication in factories and plants for a
fully automated production process, and UAVs to facilitate SAGINs. To address these
emergent challenges for next-generation networks, edge-native AI, a novel technology that
intrinsically combines edge computing and AI, has been widely regarded as a predominant
research area to provide on-the-spot processing and analysis of data generated at the edge
of the network [89,90]. Its importance stems from the following facts: (i) future networks
will be human-centric, that is to say they will rely heavily on shared human sensory data
to offer personalized services; (ii) due to the immense amount of data generated at the
edge of networks by the new generation of devices and latency-sensitive applications, the
advent of new techniques will improve the efficiency of the networks at the edge; (iii)
shifting data traffic and its processing from the cloud to the edge of the network reduces
the load on backhaul links and potential decision latency; (iv) edge-native AI is expected
to offer unprecedented intelligence in resource sharing by deploying real-time predictive
algorithms. Therefore, it is envisioned that future networks (e.g., 6G) will consolidate edge-
native AI within their core, thereby playing an essential role in optimizing key performance
indicators (KPIs) in terms of energy and spectral efficiency, throughput, and communication
latency and reliability.
Edge-native AI introduces distributed learning at edge nodes, which has been demon-
strated to be capable of offering faster and more reliable decision-making than traditional
centralized learning [91,92]. However, two implied challenges, the cooperation among
network elements and the time cost of training, prevent the deployment of distributed
intelligence and must be well addressed. Edge-native AI promotes human-centric net-
works by encouraging the participation of edge nodes in data sharing, data processing,
and even network management. However, by considering the potential selfishness of edge
nodes, they may not be willing to perform these tasks, as they may need to consume extra
resources, experience possible service quality degradation, and/or face inconvenience,
by changing the living habits and behaviors of their users; this also has to be addressed
through the introduction of incentives with the aid of well-designed mechanisms to encour-
age all edge devices’ participation. Security and user privacy comprise another important
aspect. The focus is on designing efficient, secure, and robust data integrity and privacy
protection mechanisms and developing edge-based threat intelligence frameworks. Inte-
grating federated learning and blockchain technologies is a promising solution. However,
the tradeoff between protection effectiveness and network resource (both communication
and computation) efficiency must be well discussed.
All the mentioned technologies are expected to be implemented and ready for com-
mercial use by the year 2030 [28]. This will give enough time to develop efficient proactive
network management systems in parallel. A brief comparison between 5G and 6G regard-
ing their specifications is displayed in Figure 6.
Figure 6. A comparison between 5G and 6G’s theoretical achievable performances.
3.3. Technical Improvements

3.3.1. Frame Design
The diverse nature of future network requirements and applications stimulates the
pace of innovating new solutions in networking. It is crucial to maintain high spectral
and power efficiencies under massive network deployments. In [23], a new radio frame
design was proposed to add flexibility to the system. The proposed design explores the
idea of different waveforms co-existing in the same radio frame with different parameters,
such as OFDM and filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC) modulation with different numbers of
subcarriers and subcarrier spacing values, respectively. Furthermore, this flexibility can be
taken one step further by giving freedom to adjusting the numerical aspectsof certain parts
of the frame to suit a group of users. For instance, in OFDM, edge subcarriers can cause
an out-of-band leakage, which can be mitigated by assigning a larger time window size to
them compared to inner subcarriers (between consecutive OFDM symbols with shorter
CPs). Moreover, this design is anticipated to offer reduced interference and enhanced
non-orthogonal multiple access schemes (NOMAs).
3.3.2. Radio Access Schemes

One of the key enhancements needed for the network of the future is to develop
ultrafast RA schemes. Their significance arises from the fact that a great part of the
networks of the future will be based on IoE devices, which generate sporadic transmissions
most of the time. Therefore, setting up conventional connections for IoE devices is highly
inefficient in terms of spectrum utilization, which makes RA the most suitable method in
this scenario. For example, the coded-ALOHA and successive interference cancellation
(SIC) RA methods have been proposed in recent works [93,94]. However, for 6G, RA can be
further optimized by integrating key design elements, such as MIMO and OFDM, into the
RA algorithm [95]. RA methods require constant development, because with the increasing
number of devices competing for a transmission slot, the latency and packet dropping
rate will increase. This can lead to a significant drop in the overall network performance,
which can have significant consequences in some scenarios such as V2V communication or
remote healthcare.
3.3.3. Cell-Free Design

Radical network changes are expected to take place in 6G systems to move away from
the conventional operation methods in favor of achieving better network performance. One
possible direction is redefining the concept of network cells to create what is known as cell-
free networks or distributed MIMO. Generally speaking, the architecture of such a network
is made up of a number of access points (APs) equipped with a certain number of antennas
evenly spaced in the coverage area. All the APs are connected to a centralized processing
unit for the coordinated serving of users. This depiction of networks is believed to have
multiple benefits. In its ideal form, it will be able to maintain a uniform level of the quality
of service among all users in the network, especially under massive MIMO systems [96].
Another benefit is combating the unfavorable effects of signal propagation, such as signal
fading and shadowing. In an attempt to elaborate this network architecture, we explored
the recent work of [97], where the scalability aspect of networks was under scrutiny.
The foremost priority in that work was preserving a limited computational complexity
under a huge number of users. In short, restraining each available pilot sequence to
one user during the network’s initial access procedure under dynamic cooperation clusters’
(DCCs) deployment was proposed. This was performed to minimize the unwanted pilot
contamination phenomenon and to fix the signal processing complexity. The backbone of
the DCC’s principle of operation is distributed MIMO systems. The objective of DCCs is to
form a cluster of serving APs around each user with minimum signal interference from other
users. An extension of this work under the name of the radio stripe system was described
by [98]. Such a system considers integrating antennas and their own processing units inside
active cables running on the edges of construction elements (such as fences, staircases,
windows, etc). Some of the forecasted advantages of these systems are inexpensive and
flexible cell-free MIMO network formation and enhanced system longevity.
4. Current Research
We devote this section of the paper to presenting up-to-date information about ongoing
trials to investigate future networks for B5G and/or 6G by, mainly, research groups and
organizations worldwide. We give our findings in two parts: the first looks at the published
works that include an entire or partial discussion of these future networks, and the latter
part sheds light on the efforts committed to bringing 6G networks to life by worldwide
standards organizations, universities, research centers, countries, and more.
4.1. Numerical Discussion

An extensive and thorough presentation of published works fully (or partially) per-
formed in the context of B5G and/or 6G networks over the course of six years is laid
out in Figure 7. We note that the search was performed on multiple online libraries and
search engines using different keywords and filters, and each individual choice was verified
manually by skim reading. At first glance, it is evident that the last two years, compared to
any other years, have witnessed a significant increase in the amount of research pledged to
exploiting B5G and 6G networks. We can consider 2018 to be the year when research on
B5G networks caught momentum and officially began. Furthermore, this pace of research
is only expected to grow faster in the upcoming years. For instance, there were over
300 works—related to 6G —published in 2020 alone. We anticipate that in a few years, the
standardization process of 6G networks will be complete, and the market place will grow
enough to support their roll out by the late 2020s.
Figure 7. A bar graph of the number of papers published fully (or partially) in the context of B5G
and/or 6G networks over the last few years.
The discussion of our results carries on to characterize the nature of the papers pub-
lished in each individual year. In Table 2, we selected a few papers from each year that
describe generally how the next generation of networks will look and that are popular
among researchers based on the number of citations from Google Scholar at the time of
writing. While it is easy to expand the discussion about papers relating to 6G, the written
discussion in Table 2 suffices for the objectives of our paper. We rather spend time here to
contemplate a trait of the available literature concerning future networks, i.e., the depth of
writing on B5G/6G networks over the years. It is appropriate to infer that the early years
of research on B5G/6G have seen works that have only glimpsed at the characteristics of
such networks. The papers of 2015 and 2016 presented an obscure to no qualitative analysis
of the implementation of B5G/6G networks, with the exception being [99]. Advancing to
more recent times, papers published in 2017 and 2018 expanded the discussion about future
networks and presented a more comprehensive picture with key performance indicators
and numbers compared to older works. Most recent years, 2019 and 2020, contain works
that aimed to scale up the discussion of future networks by conducting empirical analyses
of certain technologies that are thought to be at the core, such as IRS and ultra-massive
MIMO performances [100–105]. We can say with high confidence that the majority of the
available survey papers on future networks in the literature do not discuss many of the
points laid out in this section of the paper, such as the characterization and sorting of
papers in this topic and the global efforts made toward actualizing beyond 5G networks
(Tables 3–6).
Table 2. A short overview of the main papers published in the last 5 years on B5G and/or 6G networks.
Category Paper Summary

Investigated in general the evolution of wireless mobile networks; it dedicated a brief discussion to 6G networks, where it was
[106]
envisioned to integrate 5G with satellite communication networks.
Extremely short and brief, it gave a minimalistic discussion about 6G and even 7G networks. Similar to the previous paper, the
2015 [107]
authors envisaged 6G by added satellite communications to the networks, while 7G would solve data capacity coverage and handoff issues.
This is a highly descriptive white paper with an elaboration of B5G system designs, enabling technologies, and objectives for the
[99]
European Union (EU) research program. It can be considered among the very first works to explore B5G networks intensively.
A short study of 6G networks was presented, and it stated that 6G will focus on the security and data throughput aspects of networks,
[108]
for next-gen users. Moreover, a visualization of 6G with satellites was presented.
It gave numerical and written comparisons of how 6G will compare to older generations. Furthermore, it looked at 6G with a
2016 [109]
more holistic view with the constraints and disadvantages, which are more of the challenges yet to be overcome in the future.
A comprehensive look at wireless network generations was given. It emphasized that 6G will blend in with the existing networks
[110]
rather than replacing them, with a focus on serving rural and developing areas. 7G was portrayed to achieve zero-latency communication.
The B5G vision and challenges for IoT smart homes was under the scope of research in this work. Multiple enabling technologies for
[111]
next-gen networks were described, such as mobile edge computing and self-organizing networks.
The future 6G and 7G networks were described along with the older generations of mobile networks. Most notably, 6G will use 5G as
2017 [112]
its main backbone and will deploy nano antennas, while 7G will add satellite functions and oceanic communication networks.
An extensive list of papers about the different wireless communication systems and generations (including 6G and 7G) was surveyed
[113]
and compared. Multiple descriptions of 6G and 7G were given such as air–fiber technology and satellite functions, respectively.
It offered a comprehensive look at previous, current, and future wireless networks (6G) in terms of regulations, services, and
[12]
innovations. Moreover, it touched on the non-technical aspects of 6G networks such as the impacts on society.
It presented B5G networks’ role and key requirements for the Industry 4.0 era, most importantly achieving extremely low latencies
2018 [25]
and high reliability metrics for specific applications. Furthermore, it proposed general industrial setups for B5G.
It discussed a Finnish alliance program that aims to establish 6G standards, requirements, and implementation, such as wireless
[114]
connectivity solutions, distributed computing, vertical applications, and circuit technologies.
Table 2. Cont.

It demonstrated 6G driving applications, trends, enabling technologies, and much more. Furthermore, this paper distinguished between
[19]
B5G and 6G networks, most remarkably that 6G will offer a 10-fold enhancement in data rates compared to B5G.
Besides describing the 6G architecture and technologies, this work offered a roadmap for 6G up to 2031 and emphasized on role of artificial
2019 [115]
intelligence (AI) and hardware design considerations. It is worth mentioning that 6G is expected to utilize the frequency spectrum up to 3 THz.
Similar to this year’s 6G papers, 6G was characterized by looking at its requirements and enabling technologies. The sixth-generation network
[13]
will heavily depend on AI and intelligent structures. This paper was specialized to underline 6G use cases, challenges, and 5G limitations.
It elaborated on 6G from multiple points of view. Besides sharing many other papers on this topic, this work focused on finding
[116]
potential solutions for the presented 6G challenges and methods to achieve technical integration to support 6G’s requirements.
IT drew attention to current global research progress towards 6G and network evolution with comparisons. It gave a view about 6G from a
2020 [117]
human-centric perspective. It is worth mentioning that 6G is expected to occupy frequencies up to 10 THz.
Alongside mentioning the well-discussed 6G aspects found in other works, this paper had a specialized interest in the 3GPP
[9]
roadmap towards B5G and cloud-native mobile network evolution B5G with remarkable details about the user and data planes.
Table 3. Summary of surveys on some of the B5G/6G technologies.

Waveform [118] Discussed the best waveform design and efficient sensing techniques in 6G cellular joint communication and sensing systems.
[119] Studied terahertz frequencies through extensive ray tracing simulations to generate stochastic and cluster-based channel models.
[120] Investigated receivers’ design for 6G communication beyond 100 GHz with a focus on power consumption and performance tradeoffs.
[121] Analyzed phase noise for B5G systems and proposed a compensation algorithm for it in frequency multiplexing receivers.
Antennas [122] Presented the operating principles and design of the different quasi-optical beamformers in future multi-beam antennas.
[123] Provided the analysis and comparison of different circuit-type multiple beamforming networks for antenna arrays in 6G networks.
[124] Proposed a beyond 5G spatially multiplexed fronthaul network with dynamic beamforming and steering with different technologies.
[125] Studied beam management in B5G systems with the integration of orientation information coming from inertial measurement units.
AI [126] Gave a detailed look at ML techniques and their role at the application and infrastructure levels of 6G networks.
[71] Laid out the architecture for ML-based digital twins for 6G industrial IoT networks and integrated DRL into the design.
[127] Developed an RL-based framework for measuring the channel collision probability to optimize resource allocation in 6G IoT networks.
[75] Proposed a DL neural network for the application of 6G cooperative V2V communications that is based on data sharing and coordination.
Security [128] Designed new key-based physical layer security (PLS) protocols for 6G systems based on the optimum use of time–frequency resources.
[129] Discussed in depth different security technology enablers in 6G networks and proposed a trustworthy secure telecom operation map.
[130] Proposed an edge-computing-enabled framework for unified authentication and trust in heterogeneous B5G networks.
[131] Explored AI-empowered security for 6G networks with an emphasis on energy efficiency and energy-security tradeoffs.
Blockchain [132] Developed two-hop edge caching using blockchain and PLS technologies to maintain data reliability and secure transmissions.
[133] Proposed a blockchain-based mobile data access model for fully decentralized, anonymous, and reliable network access.
[134] Proposed a blockchain-based UAV communications solution for 6G networks for efficient and secure networks.
[135] Integrated blockchain into the spectrum sharing system of ubiquitous IoT 6G networks to support sharing among different operators.
Management [136] Proposed a generalized multi-access bandwidth allocation algorithm for beyond 5G passive optical networks.
[137] Developed a joint allocation scheme with optimization for radio, optical, and mobile edge computing resources in 5G and beyond.
[138] Studied energy consumption reduction and resource allocation in massive IoT 6G networks via deploying distributed neural networks.
[139] Devised a multi-dimensional intelligent multiple access scheme to account for the different quality of service requirements in B5G/6G.
Architecture [140] Discussed the deployment of virtual mobile small cells in 6G based on softwarization, such as network function virtualization (NFV).
[141] Studied a3D structure of 6G networks that integrated UAVs and satellites and proposed a UAV coverage enhancement algorithm.
[142] Described a new framework for network slicing in 6G with a focus on modular design, allowing each slice to be self-manageable.
[143] Deployed edge servers and user plane functions together for 6G networks with a focus on latency minimization.
Table 4. A summary of papers surveying B5G/6G networks in the past year.
Paper Summary Main Contribution

Presented a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by the main 6G technologies, such as Gave an in-depth study of antenna types and their
[144]
distributed massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO), and terahertz communications. operational frequency, and phased array designs.
Gave an overview of the timeline of wireless communication generations and a comprehensive look Compared different surveys of 6G networks from
[145]
at 6G networks in great depth, in addition to different ongoing global 6G projects and standards. depth point of view and 6G technology-related work.
Focused on the discussion of 6G technologies and their architecture in 6G and the associated challenges Laid out 6G’s technical requirements and a detailed
[146]
with different deployment scenarios and the global research groups’ work on 6G. description of virtualized network slicing.
Concentrated on presenting a comprehensive study of 6G radio access network techniques and 6G- Described the architecture of cloud, edge AI, and
[147]
enabling technologies and requirements, as well the roles of AI and energy harvesting in 6G. network slicing in 6G networks.
Gave an in-depth overview of 6G’s usage scenarios, architecture, requirements, key technologies, Gave a summary of the state-of-the-art works on 6G
[148]
challenges, timelines, and activities globally. from the literature and KPIs as 6G enablers.
In addition to reviewing 6G’s requirements and key enablers, this work focused on presenting in-depth Detailed many security threats and the global
[149]
discussions of and architectures for security in 6G technologies and their challenges. teams working on 6G projects related to security.
Discussed key 6G technologies to enable UAV networks and presented the 6G space–air–ground integrated Presented and studied full designs for each network
[150]
networks (SAGINs) architecture and compared different airspace management techniques and designs. layer (ground, air, and space).
Presented a comprehensive study of 6G networks including the challenges, requirements, key drivers, Detailed 6G’s KPIs with values and use cases and
[151]
future trends, architecture, and global research on 6G by various countries. surveyed works on 6G and its technologies.
Gave a vision of 6G networks and focused on massive IoT and SAGIN architectures in 6G and the Focused on the roles of ML and surveyed the
[152]
framework for the main 6G technologies including AI, blockchain, automation, and distribution. literature related to ML in the IoT framework.
Besides drawing 6G’s vision and requirements, it discussed the architecture of IoT networks in 6G and their Surveyed the literature on 6G and IoT integration
[153]
use cases and showed how radio-over-fiber (RoF) systems will operate in 6G. solutions, RoF applications, and IoT–RoF integration.
Described 6G’s requirements and technologies and focused on the role of transfer learning (TL) in 6G by Presented an in-depth classification and description
[154]
displaying possible scenarios and integration techniques and challenges. of TL methods and works on this in the literature.
Presented a comprehensive study of 6G including its vision, requirements, and enablers and discussed Exploited ultra-massive MIMO systems and IRSs for
[155]
network design principles, new PLS techniques, propagation characteristics, and RF transceiver design. 6G and terahertz signal propagation and attenuation.
Presented a comprehensive view of 6G networks and focused on energy and spectral efficiency techniques, Surveyed the literature on 6G papers and focused on
[156]
SAGINs, coverage, privacy, AI, and ultra-reliable and lowlatency communication (URLLC) in 6G. green communication and the smart Internet.
Table 5. A short description of some of the projects dedicated to B5G/6G research globally.
Project Name Project Description

Next-generation (6G) flagship project hosted by the University of Oulu, Finland, that spans 8 years starting from 2018. It aims to lay the
6Genesis [157]
basis of 6G and focuses on key enablers, such as THz radio, the wireless intelligent edge, cyber security, smart sensors, and much more.
Supported by the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework program, from July 2017 and for 30 months. Some of the countries contributing are
TerraNova [158]
Greece, Germany, and Finland. Targets the medium access layer (MAC) and radio resource management, for THz systems for B5G.
Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework program, from September 2017 till late 2020, mainly operating under the French mobile
WORTECS [159]
operator Orange. Its purpose is to enable OWC systems over 90 GHz, and it proposed new architectures for heterogeneous networks.
Financed by the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework program, from September 2017 till mid-2020. It is managed under a coalition of 7
EPIC [160]
European countries, directed towards developing a new generation of forward error correction codes for Tb/s B5G systems.
Subsidized by the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework program, from January 2021 and for 30 months. Supported by 25 entities made up of
Hexa-X [161]
companies, universities, and research centers in Europe. Its main objective is to lay the foundation for an end-to-end system architecture.
Created by the Wireless Networking and Communications Group at the University of Texas, Austin, and has many big partners, such as
6G@UT [162]
Samsung and AT&T. Launched in mid-2021 and focuses on deeply embedded ML, pervasive sensing, and enabling new spectrum.
Funded by the EU’s Research and Innovation action (RIA) from January 2021 till December 2023 and made up of 12 participants from
RISE-6G [163]
companies, universities, and research centers in Europe. Focused at studying and modeling of intelligent reflective surfaces (IRSs).
Supported by the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework program, starting from January 2021 and for 36 months and made up of 14 entities
6G BRAINS [164]
from universities and companies. The main goals are enabling new OWC and terahertz links and AI–6G integration.
Operating under the Fraunhofer Society, a German research organization, starting from January 2021 till December 2023. It focuses on
6G SENTINAL [165]
addressing the main 6G challenges, such as device antennas and front-end modules, and transmission technologies’ optimization.
Financed by the EU’s Horizon 2020 framework program, starting from January 2021 till December 2023. It consists of 13 participants
DEDICAT 6G [166]
from companies and universities. It focuses on developing a smart green platform to support human-centric applications.
Table 6. A brief preview of some of the biggest research group/centers that are interested in B5G/6G networks.
Group/Center Name Summary

Functioning under the University of Oulu, Finland, it is considered among the best in the world for wireless
Center for Wireless Comm. (FIN) [167]
communications. One of their notable projects is testing the operation of autonomous cars in 6G networks.
Operates under Koc University, Turkey, and looks into bio-inspired nanonetworks, molecular communications,
Next-Gen Wireless Comm. Lab [168]
THz femtocells, and many other fields. Famous for developing neuro-treatment techniques for humans.
A center under NYU, USA, that is heavily involved in the development of next-gen technologies, such
New York University Wireless [169]
as quantum nanodevices and circuits, as well as 6G applications and testbeds and communication foundations.
Formed under the University of California, USA, this center is dedicated to researching systems, integrated
Converged THz Comm. and Sensing [170]
circuits (ICs), and devices for THz systems, to achieve high data speeds and high-resolution imaging systems.
This the first government-funded research institute in Korea and has since played a pivotal role in the country’s
Korean Inst. of Adv. Sci. and Tech. [171]
economic growth. Leading Korea’s R&D progress, it has recently created a 6G research center.
Operating under Samsung Electronics, this center focuses on next-gen communications and AI research, such as
Samsung R&D Inst. China-Beijing [172]
THz and RF components, as well as creating intelligent robots, augmented reality (AR) glasses, and more.
Running under the University of Electro-Communications, Japan, this center is concerned with developing
Adv. Wireless Comm. Research Cent. [173]
new technologies that suit next-gen wireless communication demands, such as seamless positioning sys.
Functioning under the University of California, San Diego, USA, this center focuses on enhancing 5G from
Center for Wireless Comm. [174]
different aspects, such as circuits’ networks and apps, wireless AR, and virtual AI-powered healthcare.
Found in Ottawa, Canada, it is one of the main and oldest wireless communications centers in Canada. Mainly,
Comm. Research Centre [175]
the center works closely withspectrum regulators by offering the best spectrum management and use.
A leading European research center that specializes in information and communications technology,
Tyndall National Institute [176]
especially electronics and photonics, such as wireless sensor networks for IoE and energy harvesting.
For the larger picture, there have been other efforts put into future networks and
constituting publications in non-paper formats in the last two years, such as book chapters,
professional articles and newsletters, technical reports, and others. In [177–180], multiple
considerations for the next generation of networks were expressed in book sections. For
example, the authors of [177] were committed to providing the readers a full discussion
of the role of AI in autonomous networks, which will be a monumental part of next-gen
networks. Researchers from the University of Oulu, Finland, released a handbook [178]
thoroughly debating 6G’s key drivers and challenges. Moving to articles and newsletters,
there exists a large number of documents that can be put under our scope of study, and
we note a few, such as [181–185]. In particular, Reference [181] provided insight into
the opportunities for 6G research in terms of re-investigating a large bandwidth in the
context of signal processing models and low-resolution multiple antenna architectures.
The newsletter in [183] presented a review of multiple opinions from academicians about
AI and THz communications for future wireless networks. The technical report in [186]
discussed the role of humans in the communication loop for tactful future networking and
providing a better quality of experience to the users. Another report discussed the use
of smart poles in urban areas for big data collection to enable smart city applications in
Australia [187].
Beside this, the years 2019 and 2020 experienced growth in the number of conferences
and journal issues oriented toward topics relating to future networks, such as IEEE Antennas
and Wireless Propagation Letters Special Cluster 2020 on “5G/6G Enabling Antenna Systems
and Associated Testing Technologies”, IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine Special Issue:
“6G: What Is Next?”, China Communications Journal feature topic on “6G Mobile Networks:
Emerging Technologies and Applications” and “Edge AI in 6G Systems: Theory, Key
Techniques, and Applications”, and Journal of Communications and Networks Special Issue on
“6G Wireless Systems”, to name a few.
4.2. Analytical Summary

In this section of our work, we layout a summary of some of the main papers working
on B5G/6G technologies that have been published in the last year. Our findings are shown
in Table 3. We discuss here one entry from each category for brevity. For example, the
researchers in [118] presented a qualitative analysis of different waveform designs for joint
communication and sensing (JCAS) in different 6G scenarios. They concluded that for
lower carrier frequency ranges, they can use OFDM for JCAS, as they do not require a strict
low-peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), while single carrier modulation is a better option
for higher frequencies (sub-terahertz). The researchers in [122] presented a timeline of the
best known quasi-optimal techniques deployed in current multi-beam antennas and the
techniques envisioned for 6G networks. It is envisioned that using terahertz frequencies,
very narrow multiple THz beams with low probability of intercept (LPI) can be created
from physically very compact areas, but the signal attenuation will be severe. AI is a
key player in 6G networks, and the literature is rich with 6G–AI implementations. One
example is [126], where the researchers identified AI’s role in 6G networks to be crucial
in novel services, such as auto-encoding, end-to-end modeling, and predictive resource
allocation. Security in 6G has gained the central focus of researchers: in [128], new physical
layer security (PLS) protocols were designed with priority placed on the optimal use of
time–frequency resources, such as PLS security insertion into MIMO precoders. Blockchain
is inevitably the way to go in 6G to maintain easy and secure access to heterogeneous parts
of the network. In [132], the researchers considered a two-hop edge-caching—which is
anticipated to be widely deployed in 6G networks—scheme using blockchain and PLS to
preserve data integrity and security. The design was based on deploying a limited version
of blockchain for all network users, which would allow them to publish transactions, but
not data blocks. Moreover, the two-hop transmission scheme could effectively reduce
backhaul traffic and relieve network congestion. Sixth-generation network management
is also of great concern to researchers: in [136], a new scheme for bandwidth allocation
was proposed and was based on orthogonal and non-orthogonal multi-access resources
to meet 6G’s passive optical networks’ stringent requirements. The results showed that
the proposed scheme was able to handle ultra-high throughout in the order of terabits
per second combined with latencies down to sub-100 µs. Lastly, the architecture of 6G is
expected to be shaped by numerous new technologies, such as virtual mobile small cells,
as proposed in [140]. The small cells are controlled via distributed SDN controllers and
are expected to meet the 6G networks’ requirements, such as extremely low latency and
reliable communications.
We follow this discussion by building on Table 2 and give an overview of the different
works in the literature that have examined future networks beyond 5G over the past year
in Table 4.
4.3. Global Efforts

There are currently many different endeavors by multiple research groups and centers
to make B5G/6G networks a reality. In Table 5, a list of some of the inaugurated (or to-be
inaugurated) projects geared toward the development and implementation of B5G/6G
network elements is given. A clear trend among the projects’ objectives can be observed,
i.e., highlighting that THz bands and edge AI are the drivers of B5G/6G networks. The
description of researchers’ determination to bring the next generation of networks to life
continues in Table 6, where some of the main research groups/centers experimenting on
B5G/6G networks are presented. It is worthwhile emphasizing that many other projects,
research centers, and groups exist that perform B5G research. Many of these groups are
under governmental support, most notably the China, South Korea, Japan, Finland, and
the EU. We expect many other governments to join the 6G race once 5G’s massive global
deployment is complete and proven to be stable.
When it comes to 6G development between governments, a few concerns arise, as
summarized in [185], published in Nature Electronics. The author argued that the technolog-
ical war between China and the rest of the world, especially the U.S., has led to sovereignty
concerns about governing 5G technologies. This is understood in the context of national
security, where China very recently has been accused of infiltrating other governments
using their communication equipment. This has necessitated the fact that other govern-
ments have started developing their own technologies that would create—as the the author
explains—a geographically fragmented 5G that would prevent the creation of a global 6G.
The author suggested three solutions to resolve this issue, one being risk management by
handing over most of the development of the critical network infrastructures to private
sector service providers, where cybersecurity legislation largely exists for such operators
to maintain cyber flexibility. The other two solutions are exemplified by creating strategic
partnerships between entities that have mutual commitments and trust each other and
practicing common-good methods globally. Other unpopular opinions are whether a real
6G network development movement will take place anytime soon or not at all, based
on current technological limitations, how incomplete 5G is, or simply that 6G will be an
enhanced version of 5G networks.
Lastly, in Figure 8, we look at the timeline of some of the 6G research activities in the
last few years and give our insight into 6G’s evolution over the next few years. We include
some of the main standardization organizations, prominent technology companies, and
giant mobile manufacturers.
6G Rollout
Many experts predict an official roll

Scientific publications and discussions International Telecommunication Union (ITU) out date for 6G systems around 2030,
such as executives from Huawei,
This year marked the beginning of a real interest in beyond 5G The ITU-Radio division completed IMT-2020 5-year plan, Keysight Tech., and NTT DoCoMo.
networks among researchers with tens of papers published which released the full standards for 2020 5G and beyond 6G Projects commencing early 2020s
over it and many discussions among scholars about it. networks. are expected to be completed by then.
International Telecommunication The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) IEEE 802.11 6G Commercialization
Union (ITU)
The Focus Group NET-2030 has been Rel-15 TR 21.915 discussed V2X communication, unlicensed The working group for WLAN standards is currently Ericsson’s Nov. 2019 Mobility Report
created to study the potential of networks spectrum use, network slicing, and much more, many of preparing to release a set of standards for communication shows that by 2025, 74% of all mobile
for year 2030 and beyond, to answer key which will play a crucial role in B5G/6G networks. beyond 60 GHz, light communication, next-gen positioning users in North America will be using
questions, such as the requirements and and V2X, extremely high throughput, and much more. 5G with an annual growth of 27% in
enabling technologies. mobile traffic. Thus, 5G is expected to
reach its limits around 2030. This sets
the deadline for 6G commercialization.
2019 2021-2025
2018 2020 2026-2030

Communications and Technology Companies 6G SUMMIT (An event) 6G Development
Huawei and Samsung have announced that 6G research has The first of its kind, was held in Levi, Finland. Organized 6G will start taking its final shape with heavy developments and
officially begun. As well LG has partnered with the Korean multiple keynotes from big names, such as Nokia and investments undertaken by giant technology companies, such as
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to create a 6G Ericsson, as well technical sessions and tutorial, purely for Japan’s 2B$ subsidy in 6G research, and SK Telecom, Ericsson,
research Center. next-gen 6G networks. Nokia, and Samsung recent collaboration. 3GPP is possible to
develop Rel-18 or even Rel-19, foe 6G standards and
infrastructure.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Rel-16 TR 21.916 discussed advanced V2X communication, In their ITU-R M.2370 report, it is expected in 2021-2025 that
enhanced URLLC, Industrial IoT, satellite access support of there will be an accelerated deployment of new IMT technologies,
vertical services, and much more for B5G/6G networks. such as offloading traffic onto unlicensed spectrum, and using
new radio interfaces, to support the growth of M2M applications
and user demands towards IMT-2030 6G vision.
Figure 8. The envisioned timeline for 6G.

5. Conclusions
Although 5G is undergoing initial deployment around the world, promising many
new capabilities, research on 6G has already been initiated to keep pace with the growing
demand for wireless services and applications. In this paper, we highlighted the shortcom-
ings of 5G and how 6G could possibly address those limitations. We provided a discussion
on the social, economic, technological, and operational aspects of 6G. We also quantified
the current interest in 6G research showing that research efforts picked up significantly in
2018, even before the initial deployment of 5G.
Author Contributions: A.I.S. provided the comprehensive literature review, the hierarchical ap-
proach, and the write up of the paper. M.E.T. developed the framework for the work, discussions,
and feedback, and performed the review and editing of the paper. All authors have read and agreed
to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Future Internet 2022, 14, 117. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi14040117 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/futureinternet

Figure 2. Paper outline.

2. Fifth-Generation Network’s Shortcomings

2.1. A. Communication Speed and Scalability

Web surfing Automation

Augmented Reality Robotics

Internet of Things Smart Cities Industry 4.0

Figure 3. The fifth-generation network’s pillars with examples of each of them.

2.2. B. Link Latency

2.3. C. Link Reliability

3. Sixth-Generation Network’s Aspects

Figure 4. A hierarchical approach for the discussion of 6G’s aspects.

3.1. Sixth-Generation Network’s Footprint

3.1.2. Technical Impact

3.1.3. Economic and Environmental Impact

of considering green biological materials could be the reduction of energy consumption

3.2. Network Requirements

Figure 5. Some of the 6G system’s applications.

Table 1. An overview of promising deep learning methods in 6G networks.

DL Method Potential Use

Figure 6. A comparison between 5G and 6G’s theoretical achievable performances.

3.3. Technical Improvements

3.3.2. Radio Access Schemes

3.3.3. Cell-Free Design

4.1. Numerical Discussion

Category Paper Summary

Category Paper Summary

Table 3. Summary of surveys on some of the B5G/6G technologies.

Category Paper Summary

Table 4. A summary of papers surveying B5G/6G networks in the past year.

Paper Summary Main Contribution

Project Name Project Description

Group/Center Name Summary

4.2. Analytical Summary

4.3. Global Efforts

Many experts predict an official roll

2018 2020 2026-2030

Figure 8. The envisioned timeline for 6G.

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