Towards 6G: Getting Ready for the Next Decade

As the wireless and mobile world is turning its interest into beyond 5G development, industry and research community are gradually taking up this colossal challenge. This paper discusses the readiness and capacity needed to develop beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G technology and their associated businesses and applications. The wireless landscape is analyzed in different timeframes covering roughly the period between 2020 and 2030, the decade where B5G and 6G are expected to be fully developed. After discussing relevant trends and key requirements needed to develop B5G and 6G in general, the paper will consider, as a particular example, the current development and readiness of Finland. With a strong background in 5G, Finland is one of the first countries to start doing 6G development following a large research project where key industrial and academic players of the country participate. Hopefully, the conceived developing path to 6G presented in this paper will serve a motivational guide to other developers.