Proposed 6G Cellular Standard Announced

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April 1, 2015     7:21 AM UTC     Geneva, Switzerland

Proposed 6G Cellular Standard Announced

In a move reminiscent of Microsoft announcing skipping from Windows 8.1 directly to Windows 10 in order to emphasize the significant step in functionality, the NexGen Mobile Network Alliance circulated a press release detailing plans to skip past the in-process 5G standard (originally slated for a 2020 release date) and proceed forthwith to 6G (see proposed logo). Unanticipated advances in breakthrough quantum computing algorithms, terabit data rates over dilithium optical cables, and transmutational hypercubic encoding schemes has prompted regulators to abandon work on 5G after hardware manufacturers including both phone and tower equipment companies petitioned the standards body to save them the engineering and production costs that would be involved in supporting what would certainly be a very short term compliance requirement.

Departing from its historic role of stipulating only strictly communications-related requirements and allowing hardware makers to decide what types of devices would be developed and marketed, the NexGen Mobile Network Alliance has expanded its purview as a specification and enforcement body to include dictating certain features and configurations that compliant systems must incorporate. The verb 'shall' has been significantly expanded in use throughout the preliminary proposal document in order to stress an expectation of mandatory adherence to the body's dictates. Examples include the need for all connected devices to interface seamlessly with 3-D printer protocols, medical monitoring and drug administration standards, holographic device displays, user intention prediction and motive assessment, pervasive contactless charging stations, geographic location and isolation capability, law enforcement disabling and apprehension initiatives, modular compartmentalization of functional blocks, and real-time software and firmware updating that includes blocking of hardware functions that do not comport with 6G requirements.

Recent Feral Communications Commission (FCC) and Orifice of Communications (Ofcom) enactment of 'Net Neutrality' regulations are another motivation for in-process 5G specifications to be laid aside while awaiting solidification of these new laws and allowing challenges to be resolved in the nations' court systems. Lawyers on both sides of the issue work as this is being written to craft unassailable arguments both for and against a more heavy-handed approach to Internet access, licensing, and a new form of taxation never before imposed on society at large. In the present age of ubiquitous communications abetted by multiple forms of intermediary devices, there is according to both sides a disappearing distinction between the Internet and cellular communications, therefore necessitating clear guidelines on implementation, regulation, conformance, levying of fines, and criminal prosecution.

Because of the Herculean effort needed to craft such a momentous standard, the NexGen Mobile Network Alliance has filed for reorganization and incorporation as a for-profit conglomerate that encompasses itself and all companies desiring to conduct business activities within the legal realms of its responsibilities. Doing so provides protection against frivolous lawsuits expected to be filed by litigants lacking the financial resources deemed necessary by the governing body to fund research, development, and marketing of compliant systems and devices. Most notably immediately excluded are crowd-funded endeavors that have become a popular and important venue of creativity and a source of affordable cutting-edge technologies. Speaking on conditions of anonymity, founders of many start-up groups and angel fund managers voiced grave concern over the chilling effect such draconian laws would have on traditional garage- and basement-based entrepreneurs who will suddenly find themselves facing a judge in a courtroom to justify their activities. Legal representation costs will quash any hope of a successful challenge on a right to pursue development outside the realm of a sanctioned corporation. Product liability issues, according to lawyers opposed to the 6G regulations, place non-compliant companies directly in the crosshairs of megacorporation legal team scopes.

The good news in all of this is that the cellphones and any other 'connected' devices can be expected to remain 'current' for many years while technical and legal details of the 6G system are hashed out among regulators, bureaucrats, and courts. For a while, at least, you can confidently buy a new phone without worrying that it will be obsolete in six months.

6G's trademarked slogan of "A New Dimension in Communications™" promises to be a multi-faceted undertaking.

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Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Written by Kirt Blattenberger for April Fool's Day, 2015. A search of Science News Services, Lyon Legal Justice Partners, and International Brotherhood of Electronics Assemblers turned up no for-real entities by those names.

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• Proposed 6G Cellular Standard Announced
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Posted April 1, 2015