Japan's NTT to build 6G test network for 2025 Osaka World Expo

According to Nikkei Asia, Japanese telecom operator NTT plans to build a 6G trial network to provide services for the 2025 Osaka World Expo (2025 World Expo) venue. According to the report, NTT plans to commercialize 6G technology by 2030.

The 6G service will be supported by NTT's fiber optic network and wireless network. The infrastructure, called IOWN, will serve Osaka's artificial island Yumeshima (the site of the 2025 World Expo), the report said.

The Japan Expo 2025 Association, the organizer of the event, plans to launch next-generation mobile services and hold a virtual Expo in the metaverse where people can participate through avatars. NTT's 6G trial network is expected to support these services.

According to Nikkei Asia, IOWN does not need to convert optical signals when processing data, thus reducing losses. The report said that the data transmission capacity of this technology is 125 times that of traditional technology, while reducing power consumption to 1%.

As technical standards for 6G have not yet been established, NTT is promoting IOWN as a core technology for wireless communications. The group is developing next-generation technologies for IOWN, such as operating systems and semiconductors for processing optical signals.

An international team of researchers from Japan and Finland recently announced that they will work to develop technologies and set standards for future 6G technology as part of a joint research agreement between the two countries.

Japan and Finland have established a bilateral partnership through a collaboration between the University of Tokyo and the University of Oulu in Finland. Over the next few years, the two sides will work together to develop a roadmap for 6G standards and conduct research on technology components.

6G Flagship is a research, development and innovation program funded by the Academy of Finland and the University of Oulu for the period 2018-2026.

According to the University of Tokyo, 6G could benefit a number of areas of life, including healthcare – where low-power embedded sensors could relay health data to doctors in real time, and even disaster response – as integration with satellite platforms means that if ground infrastructure is damaged, basic communications can still be maintained. This is particularly important in countries like Japan, where earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and even volcanoes are real disasters that affect people's lives.

In June 2021, the Finnish 6G Flagship program coordinated by the University of Oulu signed an agreement with the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium led by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan to jointly cooperate in the field of "6G" technology.

Furthermore, the collaboration aims to make a significant contribution to the global standardization and regulatory development of 6G technologies.

Members of the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium include the University of Tokyo, NTT Docomo, KDDI, SoftBank Group and Rakuten Mobile.