(Yicai Global) April 14 -- Huawei Technologies is aiming to commercialize sixth-generation wireless network technology in ten years’ time, even though 5G technology is still in its early stages, the Chinese telecoms giant’s rotating chair said.

It is still unknown what 6G is, Xu Zhijun said at the Huawei global analyst summit yesterday. Shenzhen-based Huawei is doing its best to define 6G in order to present it to consumers as an alternative to 4G and 5G networks in 2030.

The advent of 5G has enabled whole new industries, such as connected cars, cloud technology and artificial intelligence, which rely on its superfast data speeds. So the potential of 6G is hard to imagine.

Huawei has also put forward the concept of 5.5G to give core 5G technologies full play, Xu added.

China will speed up 5G network construction and start 6G technology positioning this year, Tian Yulong, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said earlier.

Other companies, such as rival ZTE Corp., have also started research into 6G. Shenzhen-based ZTE formed a 6G research team in 2018 and has set up five 6G innovation centers at different Chinese universities.

Huawei, which has had to quickly diversify its product line and produce more self-developed technology in order to survive a US trade embargo that has cut off its supply of US hardware and software, hiked research and development investment to CNY141.9 billion (USD21.7 billion) last year, accounting for 15.9 percent of its sales revenue.

Editor: Kim Taylor