5G is out of date: Donald Trump wants 6G, and we want 7G
On the international scene, 5G is at the heart of all the discussions, but one person seems to be ahead of everyone else: President Donald Trump, who wants 6G. What does he mean by this?
We're all still on 4G and, sometimes, even 3G when things get sticky. But 5G, the latest standards technology for mobile telephony, is once again polarising all the attention. As promised a year ago, Samsung launched its first 5G mobile phone last week. And when it comes to 5G, everyone wants to be first. Qualcomm, Oppo, OnePlus, Huawei, Xiaomi, Nokia and Apple are all promising a revolution.
China and South Korea are currently leading the way in 5G expansion. Obviously, this is not at all to Donald Trump's taste. Good thing he heard about it in time. His reaction via Twitter:
"I want 5G - and even 6G - in the US, as soon as possible". "US companies need to step up their efforts". Because 5G is "much more efficient, faster and smarter than the current standard", he continues. "There's no reason for us to lag behind."
But no one knows what 6G will look like. The fifth-generation standard isn't even ready yet. So a new standard... But Trump is demanding 6G anyway.
My question then: what did the President of the United States of America mean by 6G? I'll try to understand.
IATA Code
To find out what 6G is, I went and looked it up on the web. And of course I quickly found what I was looking for.6G is an IATA code for airlines. IATA assigns codes of 2 symbols - numbers and letters - to airlines for identification purposes. The IATA code 6G belongs to Air Wales, or rather belonged to, the airline having ceased operations in 2006 due to fierce competition. For Trump, it couldn't be that 6G.
Rhodamine 6G
The term Rhodamine 6G comes to us from chemistry. It is a tracer dye used by science to determine the speed of a current in water. In his tweet, I doubt Trump meant something so complex.
Apple has owned 6G for a long time
I'm surprised no one has ever thought of this: Apple has owned 6G for a long time. Did you know that sixth-generation iPods are called 6G? The iPod, also known as the iPod Classic, hit the market in 2007, this 6G isn't so young anymore. Similarly, there is a sixth generation of the little iPod, the Nano version. It was launched in 2010. That's a long time ago, no less.
A Dutch phone operator
The Dutch are ahead of us and Trump because they have a provider called 6G! Their phone company is called 6GMobile. But again, we digress, it can't be this 6G. The company went bankrupt in 2012. Was it due to the name? No idea.
This was the logo of 6GMobile. The company went bust after just six years. As you may have gathered, nobody knows what 6G stands for. Except Trump.
To delve deeper into 7G
Since 6G didn't work and we at digitec are ahead of our time, we're moving straight on to 7G. According to Wikipedia, 7G can be:
- an Indian film called 7G Rainbow Colony;
- another IATA code, but this time for a Japanese airline;
- sector 7G: Homer Simpson's workplace.
I find Sector 7G to be the most plausible explanation out there. What do you think?
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.