The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will start research and development in fiscal 2019 for a new telecommunications standard that will succeed the fifth-generation standard known as 5G, ministry sources have said.
The ministry is aiming to commercialize the post-5G standard around 2025, hoping to improve the speed and stability of telecommunications so that services that are expected to use 5G -- such as self-driving vehicles and remote medical treatments -- will become easier to use.
The ministry plans to make a budget request for fiscal 2019 of a little over 1 billion yen to carry out four years of research and development. By carrying out R&D earlier than other economies in the world, it hopes Japan can take the lead in formulating the global post-5G standard.
The 5G standard is expected to be put to commercial use around 2020. The data speed will be faster than the current 4G standard, which started around 2015, and it will allow a large number of terminals to access networks simultaneously. Hence, the internet of things (IoT) is expected to drastically advance with 5G.
However, the radio waves used in 5G technology are susceptible to being obstructed by elements such as rain and walls. They also tend to consume more electricity with the increase in data volume. The ministry aims to resolve such disadvantages and enhance the reliability of post-5G telecommunications.
As 5G advances to its next phase, it is expected to be applied widely, such as in completely unmanned self-driving vehicles and remote control of goods distribution.
For example, if people become able to remotely operate heavy machinery on construction sites from their offices or homes, this would lead to an improvement in the labor shortage problem.
In the span of five to 10 years, the standard for telecommunications -- including mobile phones -- has moved into a new generation. Under the 1G standard in the 1980s, car phones were in full swing. From the 3G standard of the 2000s onward, data transfer speeds have progressed to the point where users can easily watch videos online.
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