University of Oulu's 6G Flagship research program has published a new issue of its 6G Waves magazine. The first four-year phase of 6G Flagship is coming to an end soon, and now it is time, to sum up, what has been going on in 6G research since 2018 and how the coming years seem to be forming.

The magazine offers intriguing news on research and experiments within the program and glimpses of future initiatives and upcoming events. This issue introduces the recently published 6G demo videos, showcasing 6G Flagship’s innovation in four domains -6G radio, 6G optical communication, 6G edge and 6G verticals – and taking us fast towards the world of 6G. The demos together with the proof-of-concept development discussed in the magazine show 6G Flagship’s capabilities and determination in building operational systems early on.

The 6G White Paper series, crafted in collaboration with a large international research community, has served as the first roadmap towards 6G. The White Papers have been incredibly popular as they have been downloaded so far almost one million times. The magazine itself has been downloaded nearly 300 000 times by now.

“The key messages given in the White Papers have been well received, and many of them are found today in other major 6G programmes’ research agendas,” Professor Matti Latva-aho, Director of 6G Flagship, sums up. “Global connectivity, reaching out towards the UN SDGs, renewal of future business ecosystems, communication and sensing at THz frequency bands and many other major research themes are now key parts of leading projects such as the European Hexa-X. In this magazine, we touch upon these themes in several stories.”

The second phase of 6G Flagship starts in May 2022 with an updated, ambitious research agenda that will benefit from the global collaboration with the leading players. As a research program, 6G Flagship will also deepen research efforts within vertical application areas, including health, industry, vehicular, and energy, as wireless connectivity has already become an interlinked part of critical infrastructures in society.

“Collaboration with key players in these sectors enables us to develop 6G technologies in the most beneficial ways for society,” Latva-aho says. “Improving dialogue between various actors will be our priority so that we can all gain the most out of the ongoing digital transition enabled by wireless connectivity solutions.”

6G Waves is a bi-annual magazine that explores the ongoing 6G efforts, introduces the most exciting research and development topics, and, of course, the experts contributing to the 6G Flagship research program.