Towards Beyond Communication 6G Networks: Status and Challenges

Wireless communication has profoundly transformed the way we experience the world. For instance, at most events, attendees commonly utilize their smartphones to document and share their experiences. This shift in user behavior largely stems from the cellular network’s capacity for communication. However, as networks become increasingly sophisticated, new opportunities arise to leverage the network for services beyond mere communication, collectively termed Beyond Communication Services (BCS). These services encompass joint communications and sensing, network as a service, and distributed computing. This paper presents examples of BCS and identifies the enablers necessary to facilitate their realization in sixth generation (6 G). These enablers encompass exposing data and network capabilities, optimizing protocols and procedures for BCS, optimizing compute offloading protocols and signalling, and employing application and device-driven optimization strategies.