6G White Paper

Version : 1.
0
Release date : 2022-01-07
Copyright 2022 © MediaTek Inc. All rights reserved.

Unauthorized reproduction or disclosure of this document, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.
MediaTek 6G Vision
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................. 01

1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 05
2 Timeline – 2030 and beyond ...................................................................................................................... 07
3 Trends and Practical Technology Principles ..................................................................................... 08
3.1 Trend overview ........................................................................................................................................... 08
3.2 S.O.C. – The Practical Technology Principles ...................................................................................... 09
4 Wireless Access Convergence ................................................................................................................... 12

5 Distributed Network Architecture ........................................................................................................... 14
6 MIMO evolution towards True Edge-less Experience ......................................................... 17
6.1 (Super-)Massive MIMO scaled to higher carrier frequency ............................................................... 17
6.2 Distributed and heterogeneous MIMO architecture .......................................................................... 17
6.3 Main KPIs ...................................................................................................................................................... 19
7 Towards Extreme and Predictable QOS – Lean User Plane Protocol Stack ................... 20
7.1 Enabling extreme-throughput real-time immersive services ......................................................... 20
7.2 New approach: congestion management/recovery instead of in-order delivery ....................... 20
7.3 Cross-layer API for Dynamic Radio/Application Mutual Awareness .............................................. 21
7.4 Lean User Plane protocol stack .............................................................................................................. 22
8 System Energy Footprint and Power Efficiency .............................................................................. 23
8.1 Extremely power-efficient devices ........................................................................................................ 23
8.2 Network power saving ............................................................................................................................... 24
8.3 Energy efficiency for extreme performance – a fundamental KPI ................................................. 25
9 Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Convergence .................................................................................. 26
9.1 Native TN/NTN integration ...................................................................................................................... 26
9.2 Spectrum re-use across TN/NTN ........................................................................................................... 27
9.3 Single, affordable TN/NTN device ......................................................................................................... 28
10 Native AI-integrated System – Communication and Computing Convergence .......... 29
11 Spectrum – More Spectrum, Better Spectrum usage ................................................................. 31
11.1 Beyond 7 GHz (7-24 GHz) .......................................................................................................................... 31
11.2 Sub-TeraHertz ............................................................................................................................................ 31
11.3 Smart spectrum access with flexible duplex ...................................................................................... 32
11.4 Optimal spectrum sharing ....................................................................................................................... 33
12 End-to-end Security Architecture – Across Cloud, Network and Device ......................... 34
13 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................................... 36

Unauthorized reproduction or disclosure of this document, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited
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MediaTek 6G Vision
Lists of Figures and Tables
Figure 1. 6G Timeline ....................................................................................................................................................... 07

Figure 2. Observed 6G trends relative to previous cellular generations ......................................... 08
Figure 3. Hybrid Node ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 4. Flexible model of data consumption ............................................................................................... 14
Figure 5. Key functionalities for application-driven architecture ....................................................... 15
Figure 6. Example 6G Heterogeneous MIMO topology (with Centralized RAN) .......................... 18
Figure 7. Retransmission delays across the 5G communication stack ............................................ 20
Figure 8. Cross-layer API concept ........................................................................................................................... 21
Figure 9. Big-Little device modem concept ...................................................................................................... 24
Figure 10. Dynamic network node on/off with device-assisted wake-up ....................................... 25
Figure 11. Native TN/NTN integration and convergence ........................................................................... 26
Figure 12. Spectrum re-use across TN/NTN ..................................................................................................... 27
Figure 13. Opportunities for AI integration in 6G era ................................................................................... 30
Table 1. S.O.C. design principles: Simplexity, Optimization, Convergence .................................... 09

Table 2. Illustrative examples for the Simplexity principle .................................................................... 10
Table 3. Illustrative examples for the Optimization principle ............................................................. 10
Table 4. Illustrative examples for the Convergence principle .............................................................. 11
Table 5. KPIs essential to MIMO design in 6G .................................................................................................. 19
Table 6. Disruption factors for extreme 6G user experiences. ............................................................. 21
Table 7. Critical mutual awareness factors between radio layers and applications ............... 21
Table 8. Performance criteria for Lean Protocol Stack ............................................................................. 22
Table 9. Device-power saving directions ............................................................................................................ 23
Table 10. Potential research directions to overcome network energy footprint ....................... 24
Table 11. Specific challenges related to power consumption. ............................................................... 25
Table 12. Challenges and research directions for Terrestrial and Satellite convergence ..... 26
Table 13. Sub-THz spectrum opportunities ...................................................................................................... 31

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MediaTek 6G Vision
Definitions, acronyms and abbreviations
Definitions
Sub-GHz Frequency bands below 1GHz
Sub-THz The research community is currently in discussion regarding the exact
definition of this term. For the purposes of this document it refers to
frequency ranges between 100GHz and 300GHz
Acronyms and abbreviations

3GPP Third generation partnership project
Adv. Advanced
AF Amplify and forward
AI Artificial intelligence
API Application programming interface
APP/App Application
AR Augmented Reality
CP-OFDM Cyclic prefix OFDM
C-RAN Centralized RAN
DF Decode and forward
DFT-s-OFDM Direct Fourier transform spread OFDM
ECC Electronic communications committee (Europe)
eMBB Enhanced mobile broadband
FCC Federal communications commission (USA)
FDD Frequency division duplex
FR Frequency Range
GEO Geosynchronous equatorial orbit
IoT Internet of things
KPI Key performance indicator
LEO Low Earth orbit
LOS Line-of-sight
LTE Long-term evolution
MAC Medium access control (protocol)
MDT Minimizing drive tests
MIMO Multiple input multiple output
ML Machine learning
mMTC Massive MTC
mmW Millimeter wave
MTC Machine-type communications
NR New radio
NTN Non-terrestrial network
OFDM Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
OPEX Operational expenditures
ORAN Open RAN

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MediaTek 6G Vision
PA Power amplifier
PAPR Peak-to-average-power ratio
PDCP Packet data convergence protocol
Ph1, Ph2 Phase 1, Phase 2
PHY Physical layer
QoE Quality of experience
QoS Quality of service
RAN Radio access network
Rel-18 3GPP Release 18
Req Requirement
RF Radio frequency
RIC RAN intelligent controller
RLC Radio link control (protocol)
RRH Remote Radio Head
Rx Receiver
SESSy Sustainable environmental sensing systems
SON Self-optimizing network
TDD Time division duplex
TN Terrestrial network
Tx Transmitter
UHD Ultra-high definition
URLLC Ultra-reliable and low-latency communications
V2X Vehicle-to-everything
WRC World radiocommunications conference (Year)
XR Extended reality

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MediaTek 6G Vision
1 Introduction
With 5G availability fast expanding worldwide and a “mid-generation” evolution cycle

anticipated in 3GPP Release-18, now is the right time to lay down the foundations for the next
generation, global 6G standard. MediaTek has played a leading role in the design,
standardization and ongoing evolution of 5G. It has led the way in bringing to the market mature
5G devices that can operate in new groundbreaking 5G systems (i.e. both Radio and Core). As the
world’s leading smartphone chip supplier1 and an undisputed 5G commercial product leader,
MediaTek is in a prime position to define and drive the vision and realization of next generation
mobile technologies for 6G.
5G was engineered and has evolved around three core sets of use cases: enhanced mobile
broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable & low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive
machine-type communications (mMTC). It has been purpose-built not only to embrace the
mobile broadband revolution unleashed by 4G in the consumer space, but also to enable new
growth opportunities beyond this market. Capitalizing on the foundations laid by 4G evolution
into the cellular IoT market, 5G took a further, more significant leap to address the stringent
requirements of industrial IoT. 5G has been conceived to bring the transformative power of
mobile communications into every sector of our society; for the first time ever, a single
communication system was designed not only to cater for a very diverse range of consumer and
professional use cases in licensed and unlicensed spectrum, across sub-6 GHz and mmW bands,
but also to provide connectivity beyond the traditional reach of terrestrial networks through
airborne and satellite infrastructure that altogether integrates seamlessly. However, this
ambitious design has translated into significant complexity for both networks and devices,
leading to higher deployment costs and power consumption. As a result, the 5G rollout has been
incremental, focusing mostly on eMBB consumer applications, in sub-6 GHz. Achieving
ubiquitous mmW coverage has been a challenge, especially from network economic
perspectives. Further, while it is encouraging to see the rise of open RAN architecture coming
together for 5G deployments to bring more flexibility and intelligence, the fundamental network
design is still based on traditional mobile networks and layering. Significant enhancement will
be expected to drive the architecture into the age of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
While industry continues to evolve current 5G technology to address the aforementioned

challenges, 6G technology is on the horizon to not only address these issues but also to bring
fundamental transformation to mobile networks. Our 6G vision is of one global standardized
technology to significantly outclass 5G and its evolution from the outset. 6G will deliver extreme
performance using native adaptive radio and networking technologies that can support
consumer and professional markets with diverse data consumption models, in a fully secure and
sustainable manner. The 6G architecture will bring much better network economics and energy
efficiency through a heterogeneous architecture that natively blurs the boundary between
dedicated network infrastructure and devices. With 6G targeting to enable ubiquitous mmW
coverage and going further to exploit even higher spectrum (~THz), there comes an inherent
need for compact network densification to build coverage, and with this, a vital need to contain
1
Counterpoint Handset Model-Level Chipset Tracker: Q1 2020 - Q2 2021

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MediaTek 6G Vision
deployment costs. In such context, we foresee that 6G devices will not only be communication
end-points; 6G devices will be able to act as active network nodes in a data path and, ultimately,
form standalone networks. Our 6G vision is of an adaptive, integrated and super-heterogeneous
wireless communication system, delivering pervasive mobile connectivity in a truly ubiquitous
manner: for anything and everything between short-range to satellite communications. The 6G
systems will be highly scalable, addressing any deployment scenario in the leanest possible way.
The revolutionary advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a central role
in making this 6G vision a reality; setting up, operating and managing such a system will require
novel tools that can automatically and dynamically tailor its overall configuration and operation
to the requirements at hand, without human intervention, while iteratively learning to improve
its performance.
This white paper details our 6G vision along the following themes: timeline, key drivers
and enablers.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
2 Timeline – 2030 and beyond
6G standardization and roll-out will follow the timeline of ITU-R IMT2030 and beyond for
commercialization, starting in 2030 with pre-commercialization likely taking place ca. a year
earlier.
While ITU-R is planning IMT2030+ trends and vision to be available respectively in mid-2022 and
mid-2023, MediaTek anticipates the initial standardization effort in 3GPP to start around
2023/2024 with normative work from the turn of 2026/2027.
The above is illustrated in Figure 1 below, also depicting the anticipated 3GPP releases
(Rel-19~Rel-22).
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
IMT2030+ Vision ITU-R standardization plan TBD
Trends Vision WRC WRC

23 27
Initial submission Final submission
Rel-18- 5G Adv. Rel-19 - 5G Adv +

Rel-19 - 6G Req. Rel-20 – 6G Study Rel-21 – 6G Ph1 Rel-22 – 6G Ph2
Ph1 Commercial
6G
Figure 1. 6G Timeline

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MediaTek 6G Vision
3 Trends and Practical Technology Principles
3.1 Trend overview

A few core trends drive our vision for the definition of a new generation:
• New killer applications will drive the need for more performance, such as extreme
holographic and tactile communications, digital twins, advanced telepresence, etc.
applied to both consumer and non-consumer applications such as industrial,
tele-medical, etc.
• 10x-100x data rate increase with guaranteed low latency, primarily driven by advances in
5G applications and new applications such as those stated above.
• Additional spectrum availability in 7-24GHz and sub-THz frequencies, in the order of

50GHz total addressable bandwidth. This new spectrum opens up a significant
opportunity for service delivery of extreme applications, but also creates significant
challenges to overcome poor propagation at higher frequencies.
• Strong focus on network densification for two major reasons: as a means to increase low
band capacity, and as a means to overcome poor propagation in new frequency ranges.
Known challenges related to indoor base station deployment costs and other
practicalities will need to be solved differently than in 5G.
• Ubiquitous global connectivity, including remote areas currently not covered by cellular
networks.
• Incremental improvement of 5G use cases and applications added for the first time after
the initial 5G release. These will benefit from a design without any legacy constraints
from earlier 5G releases, while minimizing system overheads where 6G share resources
with 5G.
Figure 2 depicts the observed 6G trends relative to previous cellular generations.
3G 4G 5G 6G
Broadband Data Rate 1 – 10Mbps 10Mbps – 1Gbps 100Mbps – 10Gbps 1Gbps – 1Tbps
Device MIMO 1Tx / 1Rx 1Tx / 2+Rx 2Tx / 4+Rx 4Tx / 8+Rx
FDD + new TDD +more TDD (2.5GHz) +3.5-7GHz +7-24GHz

Spectrum (e.g. 2.3GHz) +unlicensed (5GHz) +mmW +Sub-THz
~100MHz more ~600+ MHz more ~3+ GHz more ~50+GHz more
Network densification1 Nominal + + device ++ device
Mobile web Mobile video UHD video N-D holographic comm.

Killer App (e-mail, browsing) Social media Cloud Gaming, XR AI-efficient system
(+LPWA IoT) Other Verticals
Note 1: As spectrum goes higher, the boundary between “infrastructure” and “device” challenges blurs
Figure 2. Observed 6G trends relative to previous cellular generations

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MediaTek 6G Vision
3.2 S.O.C. – The Practical Technology Principles

The successful delivery of 6G trends described in the previous section will rely upon the
combination of three fundamental design principles: Simplexity, Optimization and Convergence,
as outlined in Table 1 and further described in the subsections below.
Table 1. S.O.C. design principles: Simplexity, Optimization, Convergence
Simplexity Optimization Convergence
Sustainable improvement under System optimization driven by Cross-domain convergence for high
simplexity principle practical user experiences cost efficiency and performance
• Enable the necessary • Focus on key future • Wireless access: integrated

complexity for higher dimensions and applications access with front and
performance of importance to end user backhaul across licensed,
experience unlicensed and shared
• Simplify traditional designs to
spectrum
enable higher performance • Optimize radio interface,
spectrum usage and • “Device-ification” of network
• No compromise of energy
network architecture nodes; Hybrid Nodes
efficiency
• Terrestrial and Non-terrestrial
(e.g. satellite) access
• Communication and
computing
• Communication and sensing
3.2.1 Simplexity – The 6G experience enabler

Simplexity is the combination of increased complexity and simplicity.
• Complexity increase is a necessity to deliver a system performance leap e.g. in data rates,
necessary for new 6G applications.
• Simplicity is necessary to achieve 6G goals with significantly lower complexity per bit
delivered to keep the overall design constraints within realistic bounds. While complexity
reduction should remain the responsibility of the designer, 6G standards will need to be
carefully delineated to ensure that devices and base stations are not unduly constrained.
Unnecessary constraints may otherwise preclude achieving best possible power/cost
efficiency to meet sustainability goals. Careful standard delineation is necessary for all
disciplines (e.g. RF, digital, analogue, cloud) and all protocol layers. Some illustrative
examples are described in Table 2.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
Table 2. Illustrative examples for the Simplexity principle
Necessary complexity for high-performance Native lean design for simplicity and
radio interface and technologies high performance
• Data capability expansion with wider component • Radio interface overhead reduction: control,
bandwidth (≥1GHz) signaling, reference signals and headers
• Operation at new frequencies • Spectrum efficiency
• High-mid bands: 7-24GHz • Lean protocol design: fewer protocol layers and
overhead, simplified procedures
• High bands: Sub-THz
• Enable extreme QoS (latency, data rate)
• Higher-order MIMO: network and device
• High power efficiency
• Network: High-density antenna
• Low energy cost per bit
• Device: 8x8 and beyond
3.2.2 Optimization
6G will inevitably be optimized, however, the process of optimization must be led by practical
user experiences, whether the user is providing or consuming 6G. This will articulate around
three optimization pillars, namely:
• An architecture optimized to support any practical deployment and topology scenario,

central to which is a heterogeneous radio access architecture;
• A system optimized to operate and orchestrate itself from access to core, with no human
intervention, thanks to revolutionary advances in artificial intelligence and machine
learning;
• A system optimized to deliver the best end-to-end application performance with highest
desired efficiency, through application-specific cross-layer design.
Some illustrative examples are listed in Table 3.
Table 3. Illustrative examples for the Optimization principle
Heterogeneous radio access AI-integrated system and Application-specific

architecture Machine Learning cross-layer design
• Centralized, distributed, peer • AI-assisted radio access • Optimal support for AI

to peer applications
• AI-enhanced network operation
• Seamless extreme QoS user • Efficient data passing
• Machine-learning for iteratively
experience and model update
increased performance
pipeline
• Super-massive MIMO
• Across network and devices
• Optimal support for
• Distributed MIMO – no cell
fully-immersive and
edge
ultra-low-latency applications
• Cooperative device and
• Energy-aware QoS delivery
network mesh
• Native sidelink and mesh:
address mmW / Sub-THz
shadowing

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MediaTek 6G Vision
3.2.3 Convergence
Cross-domain convergence will open up additional dimensions of opportunity to widen the 6G
experience space and to enable additional performance, coverage and cost efficiency. A broad
range of opportunities are anticipated: within wireless access (unified access for front/backhaul,
licensed/unlicensed convergence), integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial (e.g. satellite)
accesses, communication and computing, communication and sensing, and fundamentally,
convergence between devices and network nodes. Additional details can be found in Table 4.
Table 4. Illustrative examples for the Convergence principle
Wireless access Terrestrial and non-terrestrial Communication and computing
• True “all-wireless” mobile • Integration of terrestrial and • Unified network system

networks non-terrestrial networks, architecture
accesses and services from the
• Integrate access, front- outset • Enable resource sharing
and backhaul across mobile and edge
• Same device for TN and NTN compute
• Convergence of licensed,
unlicensed and shared spectrum • Spectrum re-use across TN and • Integrated security across
NTN cloud, network and device
• Thin protocol for low
overhead • Address overlap between
3GPP and IETF for advanced
• Flexible RF and fast access
immersive applications
• Communication and sensing
• Shared or separate radio
resource for
communication and
sensing
• “Device-ification” of network
nodes
• Compact network
densification with Hybrid
Nodes

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MediaTek 6G Vision
4 Wireless Access Convergence
Our 6G vision is one of a truly universal system based on a common technology design platform
that supports virtually any deployment scenario, using terrestrial, airborne or satellite radio
access, to offer connectivity whenever and wherever needed. We envision a system that can tap
into an unprecedented set of spectrum assets (from Sub-GHz to Sub-THz) and associated
regimes in a smart and flexible manner (see §11) to provide the most efficient wireless access for
any given communication need. Such a vision poses a great engineering challenge especially at
the radio interface. With respect to the notion of technology fragmentation resulting from
different radio interfaces (e.g. Uu vs. Sidelink), spectrum ownerships, spectrum regimes and
deployment scenarios, we oppose such fragmentation and propose instead the notion of a
unified radio access technology through wireless access convergence. Not only will such
convergence enable high economies of scale, it will also deliver a compellingly affordable and
reliable alternative to e.g. point-to-point, wired or fibered communication links, thus facilitating
deployments.
Building coverage and capacity at high frequencies (~mmW and above) will require a higher level
of densification of radio nodes to overcome far more significant shadowing effects specific to
these frequency bands, and hence their unsuitability for Non Line-of-Sight operation. Radio node
densification is economically viable only provided the radio nodes providing coverage are
themselves economically viable, that is: easy to install, maintain and replace and with little or
no real-estate costs to deploy. In other words, this is made possible if these radio nodes not only
feature very high synergies with devices but can also be actual devices; these radio nodes result
from the convergence between devices and network nodes. We call such radio nodes ‘Hybrid
Nodes’ as illustrated in Figure 3. A Hybrid Node can communicate with any other Hybrid Node,
device or base station. Hybrid Nodes can also adapt their relaying capability, e.g., in the
possibility of configuring them to make trade-offs between latency and throughput. A
heterogeneous network architecture containing both analog (e.g. AF2 repeater) and digital (e.g.
DF3 relay) Hybrid Nodes allows intelligent routing of traffic through the system as a function of
service requirements. 6G Hybrid Nodes will transform the way radio coverage is built and
networks are planned and operated in the 6G era. They will play a key role in efficiently
harnessing high frequency short-range spectrum assets.
Hybrid Node
1 2
1 Uniﬁed waveform:
access, fronthaul, backhaul
2 Uniﬁed waveform:
Converged Uu and Sidelink
e.g. RRH, Repeater, Relay (BS or Device)
Analog Digital (L1/L2/L3)
Figure 3. Hybrid Node
2
AF: Amplify and forward
3
DF: Decode and forward
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MediaTek 6G Vision
At the core of wireless access convergence and a primary enabler of Hybrid Nodes is also the
need for a unified waveform principle that in accordance with the above must be designed from
the outset:
1) to fulfill access, fronthaul and backhaul communication links requirements (at least in
terms of throughput, communication range and reliability), and
2) to enable Uu network to end-device radio communication, and Sidelink end-device to
end-device direct radio communications under a single converged design.
It is important of course that the definition of a unified waveform for both 1) and 2) above, takes
into account the differing characteristics4 from Sub-GHz to Sub-THz. While the unified waveform
design will be natively scalable using different numerologies (e.g. cyclic prefix, sub-carrier
spacing), different-yet-complementary unified waveforms may be needed to accommodate the
full spectrum range from Sub-GHz to Sub-THz depending on these characteristics. For instance,
while OFDM5 waveforms, namely CP-OFDM6 and DFT-s-OFDM7 , are used in 4G LTE and 5G NR,
they do suffer from large PAPR and high sensitivity to frequency offsets. These issues are
especially relevant in Sub-THz. Other candidates such as single carrier waveform should
therefore be investigated. It will of course also be necessary to investigate suitable modulation
schemes to complement the above, taking into account aspects such as e.g. demodulation
complexity in conditions of extreme data rates, and abrupt phase change between (consecutive)
modulated symbols. Last, common protocol layers ought to be defined to further eliminate
dependencies between service and transport (see §7).
Following the above principles, wireless access convergence will enable 6G to scale into
different deployment and usage scenarios from its inception while reducing the implementation
effort needed to do so.
4
Channel characteristics (e.g. propagation loss, Doppler frequency shift), device characteristics
(e.g. phase noise, PA power efficiency, PA non-linearity), system characteristics
(e.g. signal bandwidth, beamforming)
5
orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
6
cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
7
direct Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

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MediaTek 6G Vision
5 Distributed Network Architecture
Historically, cellular systems have been centralized, with the user device as a client at the edge
of an operator-controlled network that offers services from the core. Increasingly, there are
reasons to decentralize services and offer them from a variety of points in the network e.g.
closer to the point of consumption to minimize latency or risk of congestion, within a private
network only, or directly between devices without the involvement of network nodes (e.g. for
V2X). These trends call for a flexible model of data consumption, in which the system offers an
optimal data path from the point where the service is offered to the point where it is consumed.
This may involve paths through various network nodes, using various access technologies,
and/or directly between devices, as illustrated in Figure 4.
SL
SL
Uu/ SL
SL
Uu
Uu
SL SL
SL
SL
Figure 4. Flexible model of data consumption
From this flexible data consumption model originates our vision of the 6G architecture, which is
tailored for applications: an application-driven distributed architecture supporting flexible
topology. This vision will allow handling data generated by applications with optimal resource
usage efficiency in terms of computing, storage, transport and energy, while at the same time
fulfilling all associated QoS and security requirements.
While the 4G architecture was defined primarily for delivering mobile broadband data, the 5G
architecture added means to enable better data management in the network, namely by
allowing the isolation of resources as a function of data types and/or ownership (network
slicing, private networks) and the localization of applications closer to end users through
access/core convergence (edge computing)8. Building on 5G, the 6G architecture will offer native
support of functionality to best serve applications. Central to this vision are:
8
Note: with the exception of network slicing that is natively supported in 5G, other
functionalities are add-ons.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
a) The advent of AI/machine-learning especially for consumer applications (e.g.

environment detection for AR applications, real-time voice translation) and the
related need for computing resources;
b) The anticipated explosion of XR consumer applications and the need for
localization of servers closer to the end-users (e.g. due to latency demands);
c) The related need for low-latency, high-rate data exchange between devices in
close proximity such as a smartphone and AR glasses.
These three use cases epitomize key native functionalities of the 6G architecture:
• To enable Compute resources at the network edge and/or at the device, including
potential compute sharing between device and network edge;
• To enable Server functionality divided between multiple nodes, which may be
distributed in the network;
• To enable Device-to-device operations.
Compute (+sharing) Server localization Device-to-device

and distribution operation
XR SL
Figure 5. Key functionalities for application-driven architecture
Another defining characteristic of the 6G architecture originating from a flexible model of data
consumption is flexible topology. The definitions of “network” and “topology” have diversified
significantly since the advent of cellular communications. With 5G, a major leap has occurred in
diversification of network types:
• In addition to public terrestrial networks controlled by a commercial operator,

non-terrestrial networks and private networks have been introduced;
• Device-to-device communication is supported via sidelink communications, with

steps towards supporting device-to-device ad-hoc networking being taken in the
form of sidelink relaying;
• Access to a network through another network has also been defined, whether
using cellular or non-cellular wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
This diverse environment offers an opportunity for convergence in 6G, with support for all
deployment models under a common architecture framework, including seamless interworking
between these models.
Key to achieving flexible topology is the support of Hybrid Nodes (see §4) and mesh networking
they enable. As explained in section 3, 6G Hybrid Nodes will transform the way radio coverage is
built and networks are planned in the 6G era e.g. multi-hop transmissions will enable devices to
connect to a network with high efficiency. Crucially, Hybrid Nodes will cooperate with one
another in order to dynamically determine (and adjust)9, with or without network involvement,
the most efficient topology and associated data path(s) to provide coverage of any given service
9
This includes the ability to swiftly and dynamically join or leave an existing topology, in a
secure manner.
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MediaTek 6G Vision
to end devices, taking into account parameters such as resource usage efficiency, QoS and
security requirements, as well as any variable conditions (such as fading, load, battery level)
possibly experienced by Hybrid Nodes and end devices. In addition, Hybrid Nodes will be able to
isolate a sub-network topology from the parent network topology to which they belong, thus
enabling the secure operation of sub-networks within a parent network.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
6 MIMO evolution towards True Edge-less Experience
MIMO and multi-antenna technology has been a key technology component in increasing the
spectrum efficiency of the system in both 4G and 5G, with beamforming techniques a key
enabler in facilitating the expansion to operation into the 3GHz range, and beyond into the 24-71
GHz frequency range. For 6G we expect MIMO to evolve along that same path, but we also
expect it to be the foundation of a more collaborative, seamless and heterogeneous approach to
the 6G radio access network architecture design.
6.1 (Super-)Massive MIMO scaled to higher carrier frequency

MIMO and enhanced beamforming will be key to compensate for the challenges caused by
signal characteristics in the sub-THz frequency range, enabled by a smaller antenna element
size (see §11). The number of elements in a 2D MIMO antenna array of a given size is expected to
increase by 25 times for antennas operating at 140 GHz versus 28 GHz. The narrower beams that
this enables would maximize achievable spectrum efficiency and range to make the most of the
anticipated larger bandwidth available, although limited primarily to Line Of Sight operation. In
this respect, beam management design would require particular attention to ensure transmitted
beams are able to keep track of the channel status at the receiver, in order to enable optimal
link performance.
If RF complexity challenges can eventually be overcome (after they have been overcome for
existing mmW systems) to justify enabling future hybrid beamforming to become more digital
than analogue, this could offer the ability to more flexibly multiplex data traffic for different
users, and drive further capacity, spectrum efficiency, and latency gains.
Another challenge would be to ensure acceptable power consumption in mobile devices that are
battery limited, due to additional RF branches and MIMO processing operating in the mobile
device to support more optimal beam-tracking.
6.2 Distributed and heterogeneous MIMO architecture

6.2.1 A “Cell-free” design approach
A distributed MIMO deployment, where Tx-Rx signal pairs are not just bound to one node/site
but distributed across multiple sites and nodes, has the ability to improve spectral efficiency and
user experience across an area. Consider the following components:
• Coherent Joint Transmission: Where the system has the ability to allow different radio
sites to contribute actively to a single user’s communication link without those signals
interfering with each other, thus boosting the available user throughputs across a whole
area, rather than being limited by the traditional “cell edge”.
• Interference mitigation between users: Planning multi-user operation across radio sites
to minimize and mitigate interference between users across this multi-site area.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
Based on the above aspects, and supported further by the increased beamforming gain from
higher bands and the increased sensitivity to directionality of the signal, this will drive the 6G
radio access network architecture towards increased centralization of MIMO
processing/scheduling functions. It permits different beams from different radio nodes to
dynamically contribute to the signal as the device moves through an area, or as conditions
around the user change, thus a seamless “Cell-Free” design approach is recommended.
We would like to stress here that the effect of centralizing RAN functions (C-RAN) puts very
stringent requirements on the transport network architecture behind the radio site (in terms of
synchronization, differential latency and front/mid-haul transmission bandwidth). Limitations
on the transport network’s “last mile” to radio sites have been a major obstacle for the practical
adoption of Centralized RAN in both 4G and 5G deployments. However, with 6G, we believe that
the need for a more dynamic environment in dense urban and indoor distributed networking
scenarios will drive the need for network site simplification where, for those specific deployment
scenarios, the above challenges are less of an issue due to the short distances between sites
leading to an opportunity for localized hubs. In suburban and rural deployment environments,
we believe that those practical challenges will remain for some time, and alternative
approaches (see §4, §5 and §9) are more suitable for enabling improved area spectral efficiency
and user experience in those environments.
6.2.2 Incorporation of devices as Hybrid Nodes

In earlier sections we refer to mesh networking and the opportunity for devices to operate as
Hybrid Nodes to reduce the costs of radio site densification, while also extending coverage. In
the context of MIMO operation, we would expect such hybrid nodes to be utilized by any
distributed MIMO network deployment to maximal effect to maximize coverage extension and
user experience ubiquity within a geographical area. An example of this topology is shown in
Figure 6 below.
C-RAN
BBUs
High-efficiency fixed wireless fronthaul

Interference-free Uu
Sidelink with Device as network node
Figure 6. Example of 6G Heterogeneous MIMO topology (with Centralized RAN)

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MediaTek 6G Vision
6.3 Main KPIs

The KPIs in Table 5 below will be essential for MIMO design in 6G networks.
Table 5. KPIs essential to MIMO design in 6G
KPI Why is it important?
MIMO Power As MIMO antenna arrays become more complex in devices and networks as part of the
efficiency extension to sub-THz range, power efficiency becomes more challenging to maintain.
In lieu of any expected battery breakthrough technologies, device power efficiency will
still be important for 6G, and increasingly network energy consumption will also need
to improve, see §8.
High- In FR2, and even more so in Sub-THz, the ability to perform accurate beam tracking and
performance to ensure that those beams can be optimally paired between the optimal
mobility node(s)/antenna(s) will be key to optimal user experience.
Area spectral The aim of moving to a “cell-free” approach is that the traditional cell-edge is no longer
efficiency & a performance limit. The ability to maximize throughput performance for all users
capacity ubiquitously across an area is a key driver for distributed and heterogeneous MIMO.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
7 Towards Extreme and Predictable QoS – Lean User Plane

Protocol Stack
7.1 Enabling extreme throughput for real-time immersive services

6G is envisaged to deliver real-time immersive applications for future applications such as
holographic and tactile user experiences, with content typically rendered in an edge server and
delivered to the user devices though a high-performance wireless link.
New 6G applications require a different and challenging combination of

• Guaranteed high data rates in excess of 1Gbps
• Guaranteed low latency in the range 0.5-5ms
• Limited tolerance to data loss without impacting end user experience
Legacy protocol stack design is focused on lossless data delivery, and this approach is
unsuitable for highly-interactive immersive applications: there is fundamentally no practical
difference between a lost packet and a late packet in audio and video streams for example, as
late packets will be discarded anyway by the codec deadline at the receiving end.
7.2 New approach: congestion management/recovery instead of

in-order delivery
The higher protocol layers in 5G and previous cellular generations (RLC or PDCP) have been
specified with a focus on lossless in-order delivery to overcome a residual MAC PDU loss on the
order of 1%. Lossless and in-order delivery is particularly important to prevent the application
TCP/IP stack from triggering congestion control. Unfortunately TCP congestion control was not
conceived for wireless environments, and subsequently it triggers a drastic data rate reduction
as soon as small packet data loss is detected. Lossless delivery comes at a great cost because
RLC PDU retransmissions have large associated round-trip delays. Worse than this, a redundant
retransmission layer within TCP can cause yet another round of retransmission delays. Figure 7
depicts the retransmission delays across the 5G communication stack.
TCP
50-150ms
RLC
10-50ms
HARQ
2-10ms
Figure 7. Retransmission delays across the 5G communication stack

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MediaTek 6G Vision
A different approach is required to tackle the new user experience disruptors for
highly-interactive immersive applications as summarized in Table 6 below. It is important to
note that all these disruptors are of time-varying nature, and they cannot be overcome by
traditional approaches based on retransmissions and lossless in-order delivery.
Table 6. Disruption factors for extreme 6G user experiences.
Major disruptor Primary Cause
Packet Jitter User mobility and data multiplexing (on-air and in core network).
Packet loss Cell-edge transmission and reception is less robust.
Data rate Cell traffic temporarily exceeding cell capacity. Traffic at source codecs needs to be
fluctuations quickly and reliably adjusted according to available per-user data rate.
7.3 Cross-layer API for Dynamic Radio/Application Mutual Awareness

Dynamic mutual awareness between Radio/Transport and Application layers is a promising and
necessary step forward to overcome the experience disruptors described in the previous section.
The critical mutual awareness factors are listed hereafter in Table 7 while Figure 8 illustrates
our vision of a cross-layer API concept.
Table 7. Critical mutual awareness factors between radio layers and applications
Mutual awareness aspect Impact
Radio/Transport layer awareness Radio layers are notified by application layers of any changes in
of application traffic requirement traffic pattern characteristic in terms of e.g. block size, periodicity
Radio/Transport layer awareness Radio layers are notified by application layers of any changes in
of acceptable QoS acceptable QoS (e.g. acceptable packet loss rate, jitter or delay budget)
Application layers are notified of environment changes in the radio

Application awareness of
layers causing a degradation or an improvement in the QoS that can be
Radio Access QoS
guaranteed by the network to a specific device and a specific application
Dynamic QoS adjustment at Application layers react to a change in radio conditions and select the
the application level best possible strategy (e.g. different codec quality, recovery strategy,
etc.) that maximizes user QoE with available QoS
Dynamic determination of the device vs. edge rendering partitioning as

Dynamic split rendering a function of device/edge processing capability and radio conditions. This
partitioning can jointly optimize user experience and network resource utilization
Cross-layer App
API (Client) Modem
Device Access Core Edge cloud

Application
Cross-layer API
(Server)
Figure 8. Cross-layer API concept

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MediaTek 6G Vision
7.4 Lean User Plane protocol stack

The user plane protocol stack for 6G communications needs to be carefully redesigned to
ensure that the user experience disruptors described in Table 6 are tackled. Lower layers in the
communications stack need to be able to predict performance that can be guaranteed, and pass
this information onto applications to take into account.
Unfortunately, these mutual awareness principles described in the previous section are
necessary but not sufficient. When coupling high data rates and low latency requirements
together whilst ensuring security and privacy of 6G communications, the processing capabilities,
memory and energy footprint of the 6G communication stack can significantly increase. It is
therefore important to carefully design the protocol stack to cater to demanding 6G use-cases
while not increasing the associated cost and energy consumption of data transfer.
While improvements in semiconductor technology will alleviate some of this pressure,

communication and storage demands of proposed new immersive services are expected to far
outstrip the pace of technology evolution and integration. Legacy functionality in the 5G
protocol stack has been introduced for justifiable reasons, and will still be required for
backwards compatibility with legacy services. At the same time, a new operational mode is
necessary where the user plane protocol stack is as ‘lean’ as possible, keeping per-packet
interventions within the data plane to a minimum, therefore reducing its contribution to total
delay for any new, demanding services. In this new operational mode, functionality should only
be introduced where necessary to maintain a good end-user experience. This will ensure that the
6G communication stack can serve evolving services within available processing and storage
limits, while in an energy-efficient manner. Performance criteria for a lean operation mode are
described in Table 8.
Table 8. Performance criteria for Lean Protocol Stack
Performance criteria Justification
Avoid lossless operation Delays associated with higher layer data recovery are not acceptable for
real-time services. Required reliability will need to be guaranteed by lower layers.
Avoid in-order delivery Reordering delays are not acceptable for real-time services. Delays and
storage associated to head-of-line blocking must be avoided at all costs,
with obsolete content dropped as soon as possible.
To reduce uplink processing delays for real-time services, UL grant

Prioritise a-priori grant
information that does not need to change at the same rate as scheduling
information
intervals should be known ahead of time before the grant occasion.
Reduce header overhead It is essential to avoid scale up of control information at the same rate
as data, keeping processing overheads in check for high throughput services.
Tight coordination between MAC and PHY is needed such that only
Tight PHY and MAC information that needs to be recovered should be stored in HARQ
coordination buffers, reducing the memory footprint of both the base station and the device.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
8 System Energy Footprint and Power Efficiency
In previous cellular generations semiconductor technology evolution has delivered substantial

performance increases coupled with significant power consumption reductions. In the past,
these semiconductor power efficiency improvements have compensated for complexity
increases in devices and base stations. While this power efficiency improvement trend is
expected to continue, the anticipated rate of improvement over time is unlikely to be sufficient
to compensate for 6G use case requirements for delivering extreme user experience (10x-100x
data rate, latency reductions, higher MIMO order, low-efficiency Sub-THz RF, etc.).
After Release 15 some signs of exhaustion of this trend already appeared for NR: It became
apparent that acceptable device power consumption could not be achieved without additional
modifications to 3GPP specifications. As a result of this some remedial effort was undertaken by
3GPP in subsequent releases.
8.1 Extremely power-efficient devices

Handheld device design is fundamentally constrained by battery capacity and thermal
dissipation capability. Thermal constraints in a typical fan-less 6-inch smartphone limit the total
average device power consumption below the 3-5W region in order to respect device surface
temperature safety levels. While battery technology is likely to improve its energy density over
the next decade, the thermal power limit is unlikely to increase noticeably in the same period.
Further to this, more compact device form factors are anticipated to become more prevalent in
6G e.g. for advanced telepresence, holographic communications, internet of senses, etc. These
new formats may experience even more stringent limitations than smartphones not only
because of their form factor (limited volume and battery capacity e.g. glasses) but also due to
their being worn and not held/carried (i.e, even tighter heat dissipation requirement because of
long-term skin contact). Some exemplary research directions are listed in Table 9.
Device peak power consumption and cost are generally dominated by the Rx downlink portion,
and both are approximately proportional to peak Rx data rate. All else being the same, a
10x-100x increase in peak data rate results in an approximate 10x-100x increase in device peak
power consumption leading to unacceptable levels. In order to keep device average power
consumption within acceptable limits, power consumption must reduce significantly during
inactivity periods and whenever device data rates are well below the peak device capability. This
can only be achieved if required device housekeeping tasks (e.g. control channel monitoring,
beam management, neighbor cell measurements, idle paging cycle, etc.) do not constrain the
device to remain awake unnecessarily.
Table 9. Device-power saving directions
Solution Description
System specification for Power-efficient device operation specified from day 1 as a fundamental KPI across
power-efficient devices all protocol layers, applicable to all relevant device housekeeping procedures.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
Solution Description
Big-Little modem 6G specifications must enable Big-Little device implementations, allowing for a
architecture lightweight and power-efficient subsystem to take charge of low-activity states.
See Figure 9.
Net-zero idle mode: The combination of energy harvesting and optimised ultra-low-power devices
low-power wake-up, can enable a new device type not requiring any battery power during
energy harvesting low-activity operation.
0% load Full load

idle/monitoring connected, peak rate
Fast
switch
RF DBB Higher RF DBB Higher
Layers Layers
Big-little modem
Low-power core
Figure 9. Big-Little device modem concept
8.2 Network power saving

5G network energy footprint is already a cause for concern not only because of its
environmental impact, but also due to the network operator OPEX impact. At the radio level, two
major, independent drivers will cause large energy consumption increases unless targeted
action is undertaken: expected additional complexity per base station, and anticipated base
station densification. In addition to this, distributed cloudification may also cause further
increases in power consumption.
There is limited scope for compromise on this topic, and it is our view that in some cases
ultimate network performance or flexibility may need to be sacrificed in order to address the
power consumption challenges. A number of illustrative research directions are captured in
Table 10.
Table 10. Potential research directions to overcome network energy footprint
Research direction Description
System specification for Power-efficient network operation specified from day 1 as a fundamental
power-efficient network KPI across all protocol layers.
Hybrid network with The convergence of network- and device-based relay anchors can achieve
Hybrid Nodes (see §4) ambitious 6G performance targets with a significantly lower energy footprint.
Networks to inherit Network design should be able to achieve more ambitious power reductions
established device during inactivity periods and lower activity states. There may be some scope to
power saving techniques transpose and adapt some of these established device power saving techniques
to base stations.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
Research direction Description
Dynamic on/off & device- Network nodes need to be shut down or left in lower capability states whenever
assisted network wake-up possible while minimizing impact to connected devices. However, this cannot be
easily achieved without significant side effects on the network operation. Better
mutual awareness between network and devices may provide better criteria for
joint optimal behaviour.
OFF ON ON ON OFF
ON/OFF node
Figure 10. Dynamic network node on/off with device-assisted wake-up
8.3 Energy efficiency for extreme performance – a fundamental KPI

Table 11 summarizes a number of specific challenges related to device and network power
consumption. Power-efficient device and network operation cannot be an after-thought as has
been the case in previous cellular generations. Strong power-aware research will be required
across all technical disciplines (RF circuit design, digital technology, waveform design, advanced
MIMO, physical layer procedures, etc.) treating power consumption as a fundamental KPI from
day one. This will likely require a change in research culture and in the standardization culture
which have traditionally been performance-oriented. A number of existing system trade-offs
will also need to be evaluated to carefully balance difficult trade-offs such as device vs. network
power, power vs. performance, power vs. latency, etc.
Table 11. Specific challenges related to power consumption.
Challenge Description
Power scaling vs. traffic Device and network power must reduce substantially whenever the data
load load reduces.
Network densification Additional densification is required to deliver additional capacity/Hz and to

without increasing overcome higher propagation loss for higher bands (mmW, Sub-THz), but
energy footprint overall network power consumption must not increase.
Energy-aware end-to-end There is a direct link between additional performance and additional power
service delivery consumption. This must be a primary consideration in the definition of the
technology solutions for adoption in the 6G standard.
Cooperation between Better mutual awareness between device and base station can help
network and device realize additional power saving gains at one or both ends.
Exploit device/network Active alignment of network and device inactivity periods to maximize
OFF time to save power joint energy saving.
in network/device

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MediaTek 6G Vision
9 Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Convergence
Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) support is a promising development to complement existing

terrestrial network (TN) deployments and fill existing coverage gaps with eMBB-like data rates.
NTN systems can deliver wide coverage in sparsely populated areas at a much lower cost than
cellular operator networks. However, a necessary condition is that NTN access poses no
additional burden to end users: Re-using existing mainstream mass-market devices, such as
smartphones, and existing cellular subscriptions is a key requirement.
Table 12. Challenges and research directions for Terrestrial and Satellite convergence
NTN service
Increased system High-end mass
experience no
capacity market devices
different than TN
Native NTN/TN Align TN/NTN air interface

integration and network
TN/NTN switching and Seamless user experience,
TN/NTN spectrum re-use single subscription
Consumer-grade handheld
Integrated TN/NTN
TN/NTN devices
device
No additional device RF
Spectrum re-use Operator re-uses TN
front end components in Similar spectrum
across TN/NTN in spectrum for NTN use
handheld devices availability as in TN
low bands (e.g. L/S) when no TN coverage
(PA/duplexers/filters)
Satellite segment Large number of LEO Large number of lower

cost reduction satellites deliver cost LEO satellites enable
higher capacity lower subscription cost
9.1 Native TN/NTN integration

5G NR technology was specified starting in 3GPP Rel-15 and was later expanded to support NTN
during Rel-17. 6G presents an opportunity to jointly define NTN/TN from its inception; that is to
define a highly-integrated network architecture and radio interface technology that are
unconstrained from backwards compatibility with earlier standard releases.
Integration
Convergence
Single device
Figure 11. Native TN/NTN integration and convergence
In order to evolve from a niche service into a mass-market one, the following end-user
objectives need to be achieved:

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MediaTek 6G Vision
• Truly ubiquitous service experience for all relevant applications: broadband, IoT,
SESSy10, where NTN backfills existing TN coverage gaps.
• Seamless TN/NTN mobility for the end user and application, originating from a single
subscription, similar to existing international roaming agreements.
• Affordable NTN subscriptions with acceptable broadband performance and/or indoor

penetration when outside terrestrial coverage.
• Affordable TN/NTN devices available through already established retail channels.
9.2 Spectrum re-use across TN/NTN

Historically satellite and terrestrial frequency bands have been allocated on an exclusive basis
and used completely independently, which prevents optimal spectrum utilization. The most
desirable frequency bands on NTN-capable handheld devices are FDD bands located in the
1.5-2.5GHz range in L/S bands, where currently only a small amount of spectrum is available for
satellite applications.
There is a substantial opportunity for terrestrial operators to extend their cellular coverage
footprint by delivering NTN-based eMBB cellular service in remote areas, currently out of
coverage. This can be achieved by leveraging their own licensed spectrum assets that are
currently sitting unused in these sparsely populated regions. Available NTN spectrum alone is
presently insufficient to deliver an acceptable broadband experience to handheld devices, and
these unused cellular terrestrial spectrum assets can be instrumental to deliver eMBB service in
remote areas.
This specific arrangement also has additional positive implications to enable device economies
of scale. Re-using TN frequency bands for NTN allows full re-use of TN-specific RF front end
components (filters, duplexers, wideband amplifiers, antennas) and fully avoids the need for
additional cost, volume and complexity for NTN-capable devices.
Figure 12. Spectrum re-use across TN/NTN
10
SESSy: Sustainable Environmental Sensing Systems

27
MediaTek 6G Vision
9.3 Single, affordable TN/NTN device

Existing handheld satellite communication terminals are generally bulky, unattractive and
costly when compared to terrestrial cellular devices. As discussed in the previous section, the
combination of a common TN/NTN air interface and TN frequency band re-use can virtually
suppress any device incremental complexity at any level (RF front end, RF transceiver,
baseband, form factor, etc.).
NTN/TN technology alignment can then be combined with a single subscription covering both
TN/NTN, and turn NTN into a mass-market mainstream feature of the existing vast, dynamic and
highly innovative smartphone ecosystem. Crucially, 6G TN/NTN device capability can become
one additional feature widely available by default to all consumers, with the same form factor
and cost structure as before this feature is introduced. 6G TN/NTN capable devices can also be
delivered through already well-established OEM manufacturing and existing retail channels.
Further to this, the combination of NTN technology with 6G device mesh/relay capability can be
used to provide deeper indoor coverage in remote areas.

28
MediaTek 6G Vision
10 Native AI-integrated System – Communication and

Computing Convergence
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are fast being introduced across all industry sectors,
whether for professional or consumer use. AI/ML can perform complex tasks automatically (i.e.
with minimal and ultimately no human intervention) while iteratively learning from its actions to
systematically improve its performance over time. AI/ML is therefore not only a very promising
tool in the 6G era, it will play a key role in the set up, optimization, management, orchestration
and operation of 6G systems.
The target and ability of adding artificial intelligence to automatically and iteratively improve
the performance of mobile networks without human intervention has been around for a long
time. Within existing 4G and 5G systems for instance, SON (Self-Optimizing Networks) and MDT
(Minimization of Drive Tests) functionality allow autonomous optimization of network and
device operation with minimal human intervention. Machine Learning brings new opportunities
for networks and devices to use large data sets to identify and learn by themselves how to
optimize system performance, without a defined set of prescribed outcomes.
While AI/ML will be used to optimize the performance of 6G devices and 6G networks
independently, it will also be used collaboratively between 6G networks and 6G devices to
optimize the performance of the 6G system as a whole. AI/ML will enable performance
optimization in real-time, near-real-time or non-real-time depending on the needs at hand,
including for example:
• Real-time: physical layer operation, link adaption, scheduling, device power consumption.
• Near-real time: load balancing, QoS optimization, interference management.
• Non-real-time: network planning, network configuration.
ML could bring advantages to maximize network performance beyond what is possible today for
essential high-level KPIs such as: area spectrum efficiency, service throughput/ latency/
reliability/ availability, device battery life, network/device energy consumption, connection
setup latency/reliability, device location accuracy; and when breaking these down into the
different functions impacting each KPI, the opportunities for ML to support those aims are
endless, e.g. optimizing cell search, radio link adaptation for MIMO, mobility, interference
mitigation, traffic routing among others.
Then when complementing this with data about the end-to-end application into the radio access
domain, this can allow for further optimization of service provisioning.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
Computing – AI applications
Communication
Device Access Network Core App Servers
AI integration
Figure 13. Opportunities for AI integration in 6G era
Such opportunity also brings a number of challenges including:

• How to perform optimal learning in a network where the “decision-making” is not
centralized and where the data to support decision-making is not generated from a single
node.
• How to ensure collaborative algorithms in a multi-vendor environment where nodes from
different manufacturers inter-connect with each other.
• How to efficiently and securely manage and transfer data sets to the appropriate part of
the system for making such decisions, without degrading relevant KPIs.
• How to validate the performance of ML techniques in networks and devices to ensure the
best decision-making taking all KPIs into account.
The above challenges call for a collaborative standardization framework among all industry
players to identify the key target areas for Machine Learning, to define the related framework(s)
and architecture to facilitate the successful adoption of Machine Learning.
Preparatory discussions are taking place as part of 5G-Advanced in 3GPP. Also, within the O-RAN
Alliance, there has been work to identify architecture and interfaces for data collection, and the
O-RAN RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) has been defined. However, 6G will be the first generation
of mobile communication system where the ML form of AI is natively integrated from the outset,
thus ensuring simplicity in the overall system design, whilst maximizing performance.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
11 Spectrum – More Spectrum, Better Spectrum usage
The number of wirelessly connected devices serving different societal needs is continually
increasing. This is a trend that shows no sign of abating and will consequently require
ever-higher capacity, which in turn will require the availability of more spectrum to satisfy the
traffic demands of those devices and applications. In this section we look at some of the
potentially relevant new spectrum ranges for 6G, the continued need to create a smarter
spectrum access, and how optimal spectrum sharing can create more new opportunities for the
6G platform.
11.1 Beyond 7 GHz (7-24 GHz)

3GPP currently specifies bands within FR1 for 5G NR up to the 7.125 GHz range with a gap before
FR2 begins at 24.25 GHz. In the 7-24 GHz range, there are potentially large blocks of available
spectrum11. The characteristics offered by this frequency range provide a “sweet spot” between
the advantages of FR1 and FR2, and could enable the following advantages for 6G operation:
• Higher-order MIMO (8x8 or more) – due to the feasibility of a larger array of antenna
elements integrated into a smaller physical dimensional area. This is a limiting factor for
existing frequency bands in the FR1 range due to their longer wavelength.
• Improved propagation characteristics vs. bands operating in the FR2 range.
Therefore, the 7-24 GHz frequency range should be given strong consideration as a candidate
frequency range for 6G operation.
11.2 Sub-THz
In the sub-THz frequency range there is the opportunity for large amounts of new spectrum for
6G communications. Table 13 below highlights the potential opportunities across different
regions.
Table 13. Sub-THz spectrum opportunities
Frequency Range Potential available spectrum and timeframe Regions
130–134, 141–148.5, 151.5–164, 167–174.8 GHz with a total of USA (FCC),

100 – 200 GHz
31.8 GHz identified for fixed and/or mobile. Europe (ECC)
≥ 200 GHz 23 GHz of bandwidth from 252–275 GHz designated for Worldwide
land mobile & fixed service on a co-primary basis. (WRC16)
275 – 450 GHz 175 GHz of bandwidth identified for fixed & mobile, of which
Worldwide
137 GHz is unrestrictive, 38 GHz is to be shared with earth
(WRC19)
exploration satellite service.
A number of allocations totaling 21.2 GHz of bandwidth for

Various USA (FCC)
experimental unlicensed usage.
11
See 3GPP TR 38.820, “7 - 24 GHz frequency range (Release 16)” V16.1.1, 2021 - 03

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MediaTek 6G Vision
However, wireless channels in this frequency range experience large propagation and reflection
loss, sporadic availability of line-of-sight links due to blockage, and molecular absorption. These
phenomena result in a link performance with shorter range and an intermittent on/off behavior.
The small size of a Sub-THz antenna allows the transceiver to be equipped with a high number
of antenna elements to achieve a narrow beam with high beamforming gain, which can help to
overcome the attenuation loss and molecular absorption. Nevertheless, this also makes
operation more sensitive to beam misalignment, resulting in an increasing challenge to perform
beam tracking of mobile users.
In terms of use cases, these characteristics make sub-THz spectrum more suitable to the
following applications:
• Fixed backhaul or nomadic devices, communicating with e.g. a hub or as part of a network
mesh via LOS point-to-point/multipoint links with narrow stationary beams to maximize
link range.
• Short range hubs providing high data rates/capacity to a potentially large number of
users within localized LOS environments (e.g. indoor, large venues, etc.).
To maximize the opportunity of Sub-THz, an advanced radio access protocol design will be
required that is able to overcome the challenges highlighted while meeting the needs of the
target use cases, with a converged design (see §4) that can operate under different licensing
regimes – licensed, unlicensed or a hybrid of the two approaches.
11.3 Smart spectrum access with flexible duplex

Existing 5G bands in the 0.4 – 3 GHz frequency range will still be important for the 6G
ecosystem, due to their natural coverage benefits, especially for outdoor-to-indoor
communication. The scarcity of spectrum assets make it important for 6G to maximize spectrum
efficiency. Achieving this via higher orders of MIMO will be difficult in this range due to the
physical antenna size constraints and the limitations they bring to networks and devices, so
different approaches will need to be identified. The fact that such “always-on” network
transmissions in 5G NR have been minimized should make re-farming from 5G NR to 6G radio
access a low-effort process for operators, compared to re-farming from across previous
generations (including 4G to 5G).
Better utilization of existing 5G high bands from 3GHz to 71GHz will also be important and we
expect that “heterogeneous MIMO” (see section 6) will have a strong role to play here where
devices collaborate as network nodes to maximize the overall spectrum resource efficiency in
an area.
Whereas existing spectrum has largely been defined statically for “FDD” or “TDD” duplex
operation, we expect that 6G will be revolutionary in driving an unconstrained smart duplex
access across all spectrum types, via either full or partial duplex at the network and device, to
maximize spectrum utilization. It may also allow separate blocks of spectrum to be combined
(e.g. high + low frequency) in more innovative ways to realize a better performance vs.
complexity trade-off.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
11.4 Optimal spectrum sharing

The increased need for spectrum to fulfil the needs of both peak and average traffic capacity in
an area (and associated application requirements) will lead to a requirement for an increased
and more opportunistic access to spectrum to meet those needs at minimum cost to network
providers.
In light of this, the 6G system needs to support optimal spectrum sharing, not just between
operators and users of the same network, but also enabling optimal coexistence of different
deployment topologies. One example is in ensuring that when end devices/Hybrid Nodes are
used as part of a mesh network, then their transmission and reception is able to be coordinated
with both the transmission and reception with other nodes of the same type, and with
traditional network nodes, in order to avoid interference and maximize the experience for all
users within the geographical area. The re-use of spectrum across Terrestrial and
Non-Terrestrial nodes (see section 9.2) will bring new challenges to overcome in order to support
an optimal re-use to enable fully seamless coverage.
Finally, enabling 6G to coexist with incumbent non-mobile technologies will also be key to
ensure that industry verticals can adopt 6G and maximize reuse of any existing designated
spectrum assets.

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MediaTek 6G Vision
12 End-to-end Security Architecture – Across Cloud, Network

and Device
With the 6G ecosystem poised to accelerate the digital transformation of our society (whether for
people, businesses or governments), it must be natively robust against any accidental or
malicious compromise and flexible enough to tackle new unknown threats. Only then can 6G be
fully trusted by people, businesses and governments alike to deliver its promise.
As a condition of its success, trust in 6G will have to be conferred by end users and by the entities
that operate and deliver 6G (“6G operators”). Trust is certainly about the ability of 6G to fulfill or
exceed expectations in terms of user experience, but it is fundamentally about its ability to offer
full security and resilience.
Trust in 6G will be built on:

• the assurance that the 6G system and equipment are fully secure, that is: By design, the 6G
system fully protects all user data and identities it transfers or stores, at all times. By
extension, the 6G equipment fully and verifiably complies with protecting all user data and
identities.
• its high degree of in-built resilience, i.e. its ability to swiftly and automatically recover upon
failure, and on its ability to selectively offer a higher degree of availability in scenarios
where failure is not an option (e.g. some governmental deployments with necessary
redundancy).
The 6G security encompasses not only the protection of user data and identities, but also the
necessary means allowing any equipment (cloud, network and devices) intending to communicate
with one another to authenticate each other and authorize such communication such as to
protect not only against the unauthorized use of the system, but also against the malicious use
thereof.
Three main challenges face 6G in terms of security:
• New architecture models enabled by 6G, combining cloud, network, devices;
• The central role of AI/ML in 6G;
• The advances in computing.
The 6G ecosystem will combine a plurality of technologies involving cloud (and associated
servers), network infrastructure, devices and interfaces between those. It will also feature
decentralized network architecture model s with e.g. the widespread use of edge computing, and
the advent of cellular mesh networks. This will generate potential new vulnerabilities where e.g.
some functions are pushed towards the edge that were previously residing in secure areas of the
core network. Devices will for instance play no longer only the role of a source or destination
endpoint in the architecture, but also a more active role in offering connectivity to other devices
in their vicinity and therefore will bear the responsibility to e.g. measure and log usage
information that historically would have been in the core network. Distributed network
components may also have their own requirements for handling of local data (e.g., network edge
nodes deployed in a secure location may need to keep some data confined locally, rather than

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MediaTek 6G Vision
sharing it with other network nodes outside the edge). Therefore, individually and collectively,
all components of the 6G system must natively deliver a basic yet high level of security and
resilience no matter the architecture model, and importantly all the while ensuring no QoS
degradation (e.g. in terms of latency).
AI/ML will play a central role in the operation of 6G systems, in particular to minimize or avoid
human intervention. With it an unprecedented and sheer amount of data is anticipated to be
generated, transmitted, stored and exploited in and by the 6G system. These data will include
user-related data in part. Protecting the confidentiality, integrity and provenance of these data
will be vital not only for 6G to be trusted, but importantly first for 6G to operate properly (e.g.
any malicious data corruption could have detrimental effects on the operation of 6G). However
it is not only the protection of the data that matters, but also the detection and identification of
any potential corruption thereof such that these data can e.g. be discarded before they can
affect the operation of 6G. While AI/ML must be inherently secure so it can be trusted and
widely used for operating 6G systems, it will also be a critical tool in making these systems that
are necessarily complex, secure. AI/ML will enable the fast detection of and response to
security threats and vulnerabilities that may arise in 6G systems and, importantly, learn from
such events to iteratively boost the security level of these systems.
Advances in computing, in particular quantum computing, pose a major threat to cryptography

and with it the digitization of our society. Means that could protect against cryptanalytic attacks
by quantum computers should be investigated for 6G, not only from a security standpoint, but
also from a practical implementation standpoint, considering both asymmetric cryptography
and symmetric cryptography algorithms.
Finally, a promising avenue i.e. physical layer security, complementary to more traditional
cryptographic solutions, need to be investigated both in terms of security and in terms of
implementation complexity for use in the 6G system. Physical layer security can offer effective
and efficient means against vulnerabilities and threats on the radio medium that is naturally
prone to attacks, whether in terms of eavesdropping or Denial-of-Service (e.g. jamming). For
example, by exploiting the physical layer properties and randomness of the radio channels
and/or of the radio equipment, physical layer authentication can be realized in a more efficient
manner than at higher layer protocols. Physical layer security can also be a particularly
powerful tool against e.g. eavesdropping attacks in communication systems using MIMO and/or
relayed communications (such as using Hybrid Nodes, see §4) both of which being core
components of the 6G System. MIMO beamforming techniques could be exploited to jam
potential eavesdroppers; (trusted) Hybrid Nodes could also cooperate with one another to
interfere with potential eavesdroppers.

35
MediaTek 6G Vision
13 Conclusions
6G, an IMT2030 and beyond technology, will be commercially available around 2030 as the
result of a global standard that will be initiated by 3GPP from ca. 2024. This next generation
wireless communication standard will be defined to expand the digital transformation of our
society, whether for people, businesses or governments across various consumer and
professional markets. Such an ambitious goal necessitates an overall system design that can
cater to the extreme performance demands of these markets while also being adaptive to their
various data consumption models and deployment scenarios in a fully secure and sustainable
manner.
While intuitively highly complex, this exercise requires following from the outset, key practical
technology principles so our vision can become reality i.e. Simplexity, Optimization and
Convergence or “SOC”:
• Simplexity is the balance of necessary additional complexity alongside a focus on
simplicity. This enables a leap in performance, while significantly reducing the processing
requirements per bit delivered in order to keep cost and energy consumption within
realistic bounds.
• Optimization must be guided by practical user experiences, whether the user is offering or
consuming 6G. We expect optimization along three new key directions: heterogeneous
radio access architecture, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and
application-specific cross-layer design.
• Convergence between peer domains is an opportunity to tackle challenges on coverage,
affordability and energy efficiency e.g. between devices and network nodes, between
spectrum regimes, between access/ front/ backhaul links, between device-to-device and
base station to device access, between terrestrial and non-terrestrial access, between
communication and computing, etc.
The 6G system will feature a relative increase in complexity vs. 5G, in terms of e.g. traffic and
device types, spectrum ranges and regimes, and networking topologies. Artificial Intelligence
and Machine learning will allow the simplification of 6G deployment and operation, via
integration into all aspects of network and device operation, iteratively learning to
systematically improve 6G system performance whether in real-time (e.g. link adaptation,
scheduling), near-real-time (e.g. load balancing, interference management) or non-real-time
(e.g. network planning). This intends to support overall goals such as maximizing user
experience, optimizing cost efficiency, and minimizing the energy consumed.
Energy efficiency will represent both a challenge and an opportunity for 6G to make a real
difference. Societal sustainability goals will drive a reduction in overall network energy footprint
whilst still requiring orders of magnitude increases in performance (and likely node
densification). On the device side, thermal and energy storage challenges will need to be
overcome to enable higher practical data rates and new device form factors for advanced,
immersive applications. A substantial shift in research culture will be necessary to meet these
needs – both in terms of wireless research disciplines and semiconductor technology – with
energy efficiency as the fundamental KPI.

36
MediaTek 6G Vision
Spectrum will be another fundamental driver for the 6G system design. To cope with even more
diverse demand in terms of service requirements and use cases, and the need for geographically
ubiquitous and on-demand access to those services, the system will need to cater for both
existing and new frequency ranges and enable optimal spectrum sharing. It will need to
facilitate an improved utilization and ease of re-farming for existing spectrum assets used for
5G and legacy mobile systems (for both terrestrial and non-terrestrial deployments), as well as
an extension into both the sub-THz range and the 7-24GHz range. Catering for different sharing
regimes will allow 6G to facilitate both improved spectrum utilization for its system
deployments, and legacy spectrum reuse by industry vertical markets. Different deployment
scenarios will be required to allow the different frequency ranges to be used optimally.
MIMO will be an increasingly key technology for 6G, with an extended design needed to help to
compensate for the challenges of sub-THz propagation characteristics, and with a substantial
increase in antenna elements permitted by smaller antenna element size. We also expect that
associated network densification due to mmW and sub-THz frequencies will drive demand for a
distributed MIMO operation with a “cell-free” design approach to enable different radio nodes to
seamlessly contribute to the user experience.
Convergence at the wireless access will be critical to support the target 6G architecture, by
avoiding technology fragmentation to maximize technology economies of scale, and hence
minimize network and device costs vs. performance. To this end, a unified radio waveform
principle is recommended, that will be natively scalable via a simple set of waveforms and
numerologies. In addition, convergence between devices and network nodes i.e. the “device
ification” of network nodes, or development of “Hybrid Nodes”, will be necessary, as an
economically viable means to extend terrestrial 6G coverage with spectrum assets located at
higher frequencies (e.g. from C band to mmW and Sub-THz).
The 6G architecture should be fully adaptable to offer the best networking topology to serve
any given data consumption model between communication endpoints, whether directly
between devices in a local mesh, through traditional terrestrial network infrastructure, or
relayed via airborne or satellite equipment. To this end, and from a radio architecture
standpoint, Hybrid Nodes will play a major role and support the networking functionality
necessary to cooperatively determine, with or without network involvement, the best
corresponding radio networking topology. The 6G architecture will also be natively
application-driven, and with configurability to support:
• optimal allocation, distribution and sharing of compute resource at and between the
network edge and devices;
• localization and distribution of server functionality at and between multiple nodes;
• direct device-to-device operation.

37
MediaTek 6G Vision
The legacy user plane protocol stack has been traditionally configured to deliver lossless
in-order data delivery, which is unsuitable for latency-constrained, highly-interactive immersive
applications. A fresh approach is required to address the challenges posed by relevant user
experience disruptors (jitter, packet loss and data rate fluctuations). A Lean User Plane protocol
stack will rely upon stronger mutual awareness between applications and radio layers to
achieve the required performance, while reducing the need for packet-level interventions
causing unacceptable delay and traffic overheads, and also avoiding an otherwise significant
memory footprint burden associated with data buffering.
Terrestrial and non-terrestrial access convergence is a necessary development to

cost-effectively fill existing cellular coverage gaps in sparsely populated areas. Our vision is to
leverage the scale and market footprint of existing device and network cellular terrestrial
ecosystem to avoid any additional burden on users. Low-impact hardware modifications to
consumer-grade devices are fundamental so that users can also access satellite service
through single, affordable mainstream devices, cellular networks and subscriptions. Key
ingredients towards this goal are native integration of terrestrial/non-terrestrial radio interface
and network, and spectrum re-use between terrestrial and non-terrestrial access.
Finally, 6G will need to be intrinsically secure, resilient and thereby trusted in the presence of
new threats. Physical layer security, complementary to traditional cryptographic measures, will
not only improve the security of 6G systems over 5G systems, it will also tackle the latency
issues of traditional security measures e.g. higher layer authentication, thus also fully enabling
latency-sensitive applications. AI/ML will play an important role in allowing the fast detection
and response to threats and vulnerabilities while learning from those to prevent new security
gaps.

38

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Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................. 01

4 Wireless Access Convergence ................................................................................................................... 12

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Lists of Figures and Tables

Figure 1. 6G Timeline ....................................................................................................................................................... 07

Table 1. S.O.C. design principles: Simplexity, Optimization, Convergence .................................... 09

Copyright 2022 © MediaTek Inc. All rights reserved.

Definitions, acronyms and abbreviations

Acronyms and abbreviations

Copyright 2022 © MediaTek Inc. All rights reserved.

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With 5G availability fast expanding worldwide and a “mid-generation” evolution cycle

While industry continues to evolve current 5G technology to address the aforementioned

Copyright 2022 © MediaTek Inc. All rights reserved.

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2 Timeline – 2030 and beyond

IMT2030+ Vision ITU-R standardization plan TBD

Trends Vision WRC WRC

Rel-18- 5G Adv. Rel-19 - 5G Adv +

Copyright 2022 © MediaTek Inc. All rights reserved.

3 Trends and Practical Technology Principles

3.1 Trend overview

• Additional spectrum availability in 7-24GHz and sub-THz frequencies, in the order of

Figure 2 depicts the observed 6G trends relative to previous cellular generations.

FDD + new TDD +more TDD (2.5GHz) +3.5-7GHz +7-24GHz

Mobile web Mobile video UHD video N-D holographic comm.

Figure 2. Observed 6G trends relative to previous cellular generations

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3.2 S.O.C. – The Practical Technology Principles

Table 1. S.O.C. design principles: Simplexity, Optimization, Convergence

Simplexity Optimization Convergence

• Enable the necessary • Focus on key future • Wireless access: integrated

3.2.1 Simplexity – The 6G experience enabler

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Table 2. Illustrative examples for the Simplexity principle

• An architecture optimized to support any practical deployment and topology scenario,

Some illustrative examples are listed in Table 3.

Table 3. Illustrative examples for the Optimization principle

Heterogeneous radio access AI-integrated system and Application-specific

• Centralized, distributed, peer • AI-assisted radio access • Optimal support for AI

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Table 4. Illustrative examples for the Convergence principle

Wireless access Terrestrial and non-terrestrial Communication and computing

• True “all-wireless” mobile • Integration of terrestrial and • Unified network system

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4 Wireless Access Convergence

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5 Distributed Network Architecture

Figure 4. Flexible model of data consumption

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a) The advent of AI/machine-learning especially for consumer applications (e.g.

Compute (+sharing) Server localization Device-to-device

Figure 5. Key functionalities for application-driven architecture

• In addition to public terrestrial networks controlled by a commercial operator,

• Device-to-device communication is supported via sidelink communications, with

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6 MIMO evolution towards True Edge-less Experience

6.1 (Super-)Massive MIMO scaled to higher carrier frequency