The ITU Vision and Framework for 6G: Scenarios, Capabilities, and Enablers

With the standardization and commercialization completed at an unforeseen pace for 5G wireless networks, researchers, engineers, and executives from academia and industry have turned their attention to new candidate technologies that can support next-generation wireless networks enabling more advanced capabilities in emerging scenarios. Explicitly, the 6G terrestrial wireless network aims to provide seamless connectivity not only to users but also to machine-type devices for the next decade and beyond. This article describes the progresses in moving toward 6G, which is officially termed “international mobile telecommunications (IMT) for 2030 and beyond” by the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R). Specifically, the usage scenarios, their representative capabilities, the supporting technologies, and spectrum are discussed, and research opportunities and challenges are highlighted.