While 5G is still very much in its infancy, the race to 6G has undoubtedly already begun.
The different companies, industry groups, and universities from Finland and Japan have agreed to collaborate on the development of 6G technology, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries, as per reports.
According to reports, industry groups from both countries will conduct 6G research and development, aiming to build an early lead in setting 6G standards.
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Japan and Finland attempts for greater wireless technologies
Japan and Finland make their best attempts to raise their international position regarding wireless technologies.
The agreement comes as the two countries are trying to elevate their international position when it comes to wireless technologies.
In particular, Japan is keen to achieve a more dominant position in 6G than it currently enjoys with 5G; all Japanese companies combined hold just 6% of the total 5G patents.
In contrast, Samsung and Qualcomm each own around 10% of the total patents.
Also, the notable thing in this agreement is Japan’s Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium and Finland’s 6G Flagship, both of whom represent significant stakeholders in the world of 6G.
The Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium includes NTT, NTT DOCOMO, KDDI, SoftBank, Rakuten Mobile, and the University of Tokyo, while Finland’s 6G Flagship is led by the University of Oulu, one of the first institutions to begin 6G research back in 2018 formally.
Matti Latva-aho remarks on collaboration of two countries
As the Director of 6G Flagship, Matti Latva-aho said:
“Japan is a major global player in the development of wireless mobile technologies and it is in Finland’s interest to expand the cooperation to themes where mutual competitive advantage can be achieved for 6G development”.
He further added, “The importance of the collaboration is underlined by Japan’s decision earlier this spring to invest $2 billion in the development of 6G technologies.
Not only Japan and Finland, but the countries of Europe at large, have been making steady commitments to 6G development since the start of the year.
Moreover, Nokia will also reportedly take part in collaborating on 6G technology, with the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium also involved in separate discussions with Cisco and Intel to bring them into a potential partnership.
And, driven by political tensions, defining 6G standards is sure to be a key feather in the caps of various governments and organizations in the years to come.
