Just when you were getting used to the benefits of 5G – at least if you are lucky enough to have 5G coverage in your area – steps are being taken for the development of 6G.

3GPP, the body responsible for setting international standards for mobile technology, recently convened a plenary meeting to discuss future developments. The subjects addressed by participants included the development of enhancements to 5G Advanced services and the preparation for a smooth transition to 6G.

There are two schools of thought as to how big a transition there should be. Some network operators are, perhaps understandably, arguing for an evolutionary approach to avoid expensive hardware changes. Instead, they suggest that upgrading existing mobile sites for 6G services should be possible by just software changes.

Others are calling for the European Union to reserve the upper 6 GHz radio band for just 6G services. Operating at these super high radio frequencies (SHF) offers increased download speeds but over a restricted range. However, this would require investment in new radio equipment.

So, when can we expect access to 6G? In the past a new generation of mobile service has been introduced every ten years. 5G services have been available since 2019. Based on past experience, therefore, we have another four years to wait. It also takes on average 20 years from launch for a new generation to becomes predominate over older services. Meanwhile, we can look forward to enhancements to 5G services and an expansion of coverage.

You can keep abreast of mobile technology development by studying PTT online courses including “4G and 5G radio access networks” and “Advanced mobile systems“.

The UK is to become the first country in Europe to ban SIM farms in a measure to assist in the protection of consumers.
SIM farms are electronic devices that are capable of simultaneously using many SIM cards (subscriber identity modules) to send SMS texts or phone calls in large numbers over the telecommunications network.

The aim of the UK government is to clamp down on the sending of scam calls or texts by fraudsters. So-called phishing messages can be used to lure recipients in giving away personal or financial information. Vodafone UK has reported it has blocked more than 73 million suspicious texts in 2024 alone. The proposed legislation will assist is stemming the flow of these messages.

SIM farms can also be used to fraudulently drive traffic to a premium rate telephony service (PRS) run by the criminal. For example, the fraudster may automate very short calls from the SIM farm to victims which will not be picked up in time. Having noticed the “missed call”, people may make a call to the PRS through the SIM farm without realising it is charged at the premium (very high) rate.

In the past, SIM farms containing fraudulently obtained SIM cards were used by criminals to terminate international calls that bypassed the PTSN (public service telephone network) and so avoided high international call charges. The low cost service was advertised to potential users in other countries primarily through the sale of international calling cards. Of course, the widespread use of free VoIP services such as WhatsApp has now made that fraudulent activity redundant. But as always, criminals have moved on by exploiting advances in technology and services for new ways of defrauding the unwary.

PTT’s online course “Telecommunications systems security” explores ways of reducing the vulnerability of telecommunication systems and databases to security breaches and fraudulent misuse.

We are living in the age of data with the volume of data stored globally doubling approximately every four years. Creating, transferring, utilising, and managing data is necessary for the smooth running of daily life for consumers, governments and businesses alike.

The International telecommunications union (ITU) has estimated that mobile and fixed broadband traffic had an annual average growth of 30% globally between 2019 and 2023. In that same period the UK’s mobile data consumption increased by 300%.

The operators of the networks that provide telecommunications services to residents and businesses are having to respond to these higher traffic loads and the demands for lightning speed communications. Meanwhile, the venerable synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) that operators have relied on for many years has reached retirement age.

The new generation of telecoms networks must cope with the future growth of traffic loads fuelled by cloud services and use of artificial intelligence. Other services with special requirements and increasing relevance, including massive machine type communications (mMTC) and mobile edge computing, must also be catered for.

Specialist services that depended on the SDH also have to be catered for when transitioning to the new generation of networks. These include the utility sector’s SCADA and teleprotection communications .

Optical transport networks (OTNs) that employ very high capacity optical fibre with optical switching offer the capacity, low latency, and operational flexibility required now and in the future. They also provide the characteristics required by a range of different services.

There are several ways in which OTNs can be implemented each with their own advantages. Choosing the appropriate configuration can be challenging especially as advice from equipment suppliers is unsurprisingly often coloured by their own offerings.

PTT’s new online course provides an in-depth, impartial treatment of the operation and possible architectures of, and services provided by, optical transport networks.