Is 6G’s fate to repeat the failings of 5G wireless?

Will the telecom industry embark on another costly wireless upgrade? Telecom consultant and author William Webb thinks so and warns that it risks repeating what happened with 5G. 

William Webb

William Webb published the book The 5G Myth in 2016. In it, he warned that the then-emerging 5G standard would prove costly and fail to deliver on the bold promises made for the emerging wireless technology.

Webb sees history repeating itself with 6G, the next wireless standard generation. In his latest book, The 6G Manifesto, he reflects on the emerging standard and outlines what the industry and its most significant stakeholder - the telecom operators - could do instead.

Developing a new generation wireless standard every decade has proved beneficial, says Webb. However, the underlying benefits with each generation has diminished to the degree that, with 5G, it is questionable whether the latest generation was needed.

Click to read more ...

Is network traffic growth dwindling to a trickle?

“Network capacities are sufficient, and with data usage expected to plateau in the coming years, further capacity expansion is not needed. We have reached the end of history for communications.”  

Willian Webb, The End of Telecoms History

William Webb has pedigree when it comes to foreseeing telecoms trends.  

William Webb

Webb wrote The 5G Myth in 2016, warning that 5G would be a flop.

In the book, he argued that the wireless standard's features would create limited interest and fail to grow revenues for mobile operators. 

The next seven years saw the telcos promoting 5G and its capabilities. Now, they admit their considerable investments in 5G have delivered underwhelming returns.

His latest book, The End of Telecoms History, argues that telecoms has reached a maturity that satisfies the link speeds needed and that traffic growth is slowing. 

"There will be no end of new applications," says Webb. "But they won't result in material growth in data requirements or in data speeds."  

Click to read more ...