Keynote Panel: Global view on 6G
Abstract: In 2030 and beyond, the world will face challenges and opportunities with growth and sustainability while proactively tackling the issues of green deal efficiency, digital inclusion, and assurances of health and safety in a post-pandemic world. Wireless technologies are critical for our society and economy today; their importance for growth will continue to increase steadily, enabling new ecosystems and services motivated by strong traffic growth from trillions of devices. This panel will look at the next generation, 6G –the vision, the challenges and expected use cases, as well as the potential enabling technologies.
The following leaders of 6G technology and architecture have confirmed attendance:
Mikko Uusitalo, Head of Research Department, Nokia Bell Labs Finland – Moderator
Peiying Zhu, Senior VP of Wireless Research, Huawei
David Gesbert, Head of the Communications Systems Dept., EURECOM
Matti Latva-aho, Director, 6G Flagship, University of Oulu
Stefan Parkvall, Senior Expert, Ericsson Research
You may view pictures and bios on the Speakers page.
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Keynote Panel: Connecting the Unconnected
Abstract: One of the main reasons attributed to the digital divide is the business cost and return on investment (RoI). In poorer or lower population density regions, the cost of deployment of optical fiber in the backbone network and related infrastructure, in particular a reliable electrical power grid, becomes prohibitively large, whereas the RoI remains marginal at best. In this scenario, a viable solution to cut down on the cost factor is to deploy satellites in the backbone network in order to provide connectivity to far-flung or less populated areas, to passengers in airplanes, ships, and trains, or to disconnected people in areas affected by natural disasters. More specifically, a constellation of satellites can provide worldwide coverage if a sufficient number of those are utilized. For instance, in recent years, different constellations of satellites have been proposed to provide global broadband access to Internet which includes the Starlink supported by SpaceX with 12000 LEO satellites, Amazon’s Project Kuiper with 3236 LEO satellites , and Telesat LEO with 300 to 500 satellites. Such a large number of satellites has allowed mass production of components, thereby resulting in a significant reduction in satellite manufacturing costs. Alternatively, if a large footprint on the remote location is not required, a high altitude platform (HAP) or a swarm/cascade of HAP’s can be used in the backbone network at a height of about 18–28 kilometers in the sky. The service model envisaged in this regard comprises of two configurations. In the first arrangement, a single HAP functions in a “tower-in-the-air” configuration whereby it relays data obtained from the ground station (uplink) to various service delivery stations (such as base stations) in the downlink. In the second configuration, a swarm/cascade of HAP’s is used as both relay nodes and service delivery devices for the local users. The same configuration can also be used in conjunction with LEO or MEO satellites if the area to be covered is significantly large. In this context, this panel aims to go over the recently proposed integrated space-air-terrestrial network solutions to provide high-speed connectivity not only in under-covered/remote/rural areas but also to moving cells in the air (airplanes) and the sea (cruises/ships).
The following leaders of 6G technology and architecture have confirmed attendance:
Mohamed-Slim Alouini, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) – Moderator
Michel Masselin, VP of Sales, Stratobus
Ben Glass, CEO/CTO and Founder, Altaeros
Tyghe Speidel, Co-founder and Senior VP, Technology & Strategy, Lynk
Satya N. Gupta, Chairman, BLUETOWN, India & BIMSTEC S. Asia
You may view pictures and bios on the Speakers page.