The biggest 6G test yet just took place, bringing commercial use 'one step closer'

LG Electronics has successfully tested transmitting and receiving data using 6G technology at a distance of over 500 meters in an outdoor, urban environment, marking the longest such test to date.

In a press release sent to iMore on Tuesday, the company revealed that the test was conducted at LG Sciencepark in Seoul earlier this month. It builds on the previous leading test conducted at a distance of 320 meters in 2022.

LG says the test is significant not just because of the new distance record set, but because “it verified the usability of 6G in various ‘real world’ communication scenarios, including building-to-building, building-to-ground terminal and ground-to-ground terminals.” LG says it is now “one step closer to commercializing 6G THz communications.”

5G plus one

As you’ve probably guessed, 6G is the successor to 5G, the data standard that powers all of Apple’s best iPhones including the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. 6G is expected to “enable significantly increased data rate as well as ultra-low latency, high-reliability data transmission, and the combination of communications and AI, and communications and sensing.”

With testing in its earlier stages and network standardization discussions not expected to begin until 2025, the jury is very much out on just how fast 6G could be. It’s likely that speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second could be achieved, which would make it around 900-1,000 times faster than 5G. However, some experts, such as the University of Sydney’s Mahyar Shirvanimoghaddam, have touted potential speeds of up to 1TB per second. A gigabyte is worth eight gigabits, so that would constitute an eye-watering 8,000 gigabits per second.

5G has plenty of time, however, as LG notes in today’s release, commercialization is not expected until 2029, and even then a rollout is likely to take years.