New research from University College London has successfully transmitted 938 gigabits per second of wireless data over a 6G network.

This amount of data is equivalent to sending 500 e-mails per second. As far as we know, this is the fastest multiplexed data transmission to date. Multiplexed data is the combination of multiple analog or digital streams into a single signal.

This study, published in the Journal of Lightwave Technology (via New Scientist), is an experiment using a wider frequency bandwidth to improve data transmission.

The experiment appears to be aimed at improving data transmission, especially during crowded events such as concerts and sports. It is generally believed that this is due to the bandwidth limitations of 5G networks, which are capped around 6 GHz for most networks. In the U.S., this is typically between 2.5 and 4.2 GHz.

The UCL study used a mixture of radio and optical to extend the frequency range from 5 GHz to 150 GHz.

According to study author Zhixin Liu, common digital-to-analog converters use radio waves to transmit data but begin to break up at higher frequencies; Liu and his colleagues used a combination of radio waves for the lower frequencies and lasers for the higher frequencies to wider bandwidth. This wider bandwidth can be read by new hardware, which could be in future smartphones, he said.

According to New Scientist, single signals can be “more than once a second,” while multiplexed data can work when the network is congested.

Liu told the site, “It's like traffic, you need wider roads to carry more cars.” In his view, widening the frequency band is like going from a two-lane freeway to a six-lane highway.

According to Liu, thanks to this research, his team is in talks with smartphone manufacturers and network operators in hopes that future 6G networks will take advantage of their work.

In late 2023, Apple reportedly began manufacturing 6G-capable modems, and the first in-house 5G modem will debut in next year's iPhone SE 4, in an effort to break away from Qualcomm.

We have been hearing about 6G since at least 2021, and Samsung predicts that we will not see new network speeds until 2028. Samsung announced in February 2024 that it is partnering with Princeton University to study 6G and create standards for future networks.

Future 6G hardware could include Liu's technology, but 6G-capable smartphones are still at least a few years away from hitting the market.