Do we need 6G?

This is an interesting question, and again quoting from the Financial Times write-up. In a refreshing departure from the fluff they put out, it attempts to answer the question in earnest. We still haven’t decided on the appropriate technology for 5G, and spectrum issues remain unsorted out for most telecom operators across the world. Besides capex, it will require considerable resources to “market” it. Does it make sense for 6G in this scenario?

‘Interacting with the network in a more immersive way — that is what 6G is likely to enable’ — A placeholder “futuristic vibes”

Beyond 5G: what would 6G look like — and do we need it? | Financial Times

The 1980s brought 1G, a voice-only analogue service; 2G in the 1990s offered short message service (SMS) and picture messaging; 3G in the noughties delivered more data, video calling, and a mobile internet; 4G, at the end of that decade, was 500 times faster and enabled mobile television, video conferencing and real-time apps.
Santiago Tenorio, network architecture director at Vodafone, goes further, arguing that “nobody needs 6G”. “The industry should make 6G a no-G,” he says. “There is practically nothing left that we’re missing in a hypothetical new generation. We would be much better off improving services and applications.”
I agree with this assessment

Any incremental “evolution” of technology also brings challenges related to acceptance and early adopters. Pricing structures are determined to recoup marketing expenses (and “investors”). As again, there is no problem to be solved. Do we need spatio-temporal sensory perceptions across distance or “metaverses” as a “virtual-reality” experience? Users being hooked to large unwieldy screens and the broad hoopla around the “web-3”?

A further theme is referred to as a “cyber-physical continuum”, whereby the digital world bleeds into the natural, physical world seamlessly — something that would be possible only with the almost complete eradication of latency, or processing delays.
Again a pipedream and a solution for no problem at all.

Healthcare will require some innovative solutions. I don’t foresee a universal implementation of VR/AR, but I’d keep hearing about the use of these solutions to provide “palliative” care or in pain-control solutions.