The two “breakthroughs” are topics of interest for the companies, which they are exploring for future 6G networks.

Nokia says the milestones could introduce new metaverse and extended reality experiences and a new generation of mobile applications.

The companies have implemented both technologies as proofs of concept at Nokia Bell Labs in Stuttgart, Germany, and Nokia and Docomo will demonstrate both technologies at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 27 February to 2 March.

By pairing a AI-based learned waveform in a transmitter with a deep-learning receiver, Nokia Bell Labs, Docomo, and NTT researchers designed and implemented a learning air interface that transmits data under many different scenarios.

This AI/ML-based implementation significantly reduces signaling overhead, producing up to a 30% improvement in throughput, claimed to Nokia.

In addition, the AI-native air interface will grant 6G networks the flexibility to adapt to the type of connection demanded by an application, device or user.

Nokia cites two examples. A network in a factory can be optimised for industrial sensors at one moment and then reconfigured for robotic systems or video surveillance.

In the public network, an AI-enhanced network can provide an optimized connection for a pedestrian in an XR session as well as an emergency vehicle traveling at high speed.

The sub-THz bands (100GHz and above) have never been designated for cellular use because of their propagation characteristics, but new techniques such as beamforming could open up those frequencies to future 6G networks.

These higher frequencies are well suited for high-accuracy radio sensing, which will likely be another key feature of 6G.

Nokia, Docomo, and NTT in their proof of concept were able to demonstrate a 25Gbps connection on a single 256QAM stream over a carrier frequency of 144GHz using beamforming.

Accessing the sub-THz bands would inject enormous capacity into 6G networks. The sub-THz bands won’t just improve overall capacity, they will allow 6G networks to support the most bandwidth intensive future use cases requiring multi-gigabit average connections.

The three launched their 6G collaboration in June 2022.

“Through the collaboration, we continue to establish innovative 6G technologies and contribute to the global standardization and commercialization of 6G,” said NTT Docomo chief technology architect Takehiro Nakamura.

“For the 6G era, we are using communication as a starting point. Networks will think, sense and act, and they will become the nexus point that bridges our digital and physical realities. DOCOMO and NTT share our 6G vision, and together we’re doing the fundamental research that will breathe life into that future,” said Nokia president Bell Labs core research Peter Vetter.