The keynotes, technical presentations, panel discussions and tutorials offered the 280 attendees of the 19th Wireless Congress: Systems & Applications know-how, direct contact with the respective wireless experts from research and industry, and many opportunities to exchange ideas and thoughts. As expected, three current trend topics met with higher interest this year: Localization – including the tutorial on Bluetooth Localization –, Matter and Mioty.

Right at the opening of the 19th Wireless Congress: Systems & Applications, Dr. Volker Ziegler, Senior Technology Advisor, Chief Architect of Nokia, gave an outlook on 6G, on the coming "revolution and evolution" in his keynote speech "A Glimpse of the 6G Future". Compared to 5G, 6G networks must meet an expanded set of requirements. In addition to the familiar three 5G requirements – eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications), and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications) – 6G adds three more: sustainability, digital inclusion, and security and privacy.

But the 19th Wireless Congress: Systems & Applications wasn't just about mobile, 5G and campus networks. The two-day conference program featured 71 technical presentations, in 4 parallel tracks, 4 keynotes, 3 panel discussions and 2 tutorials, providing a wealth of information on key wireless technologies and the latest developments.

Semiconductors are key to 6G and new applications

Andy McLean, corporate vice president of Cloud & Communications at Analog Devices, kicked off the keynote session on the second day of the conference with his keynote presentation, "The Path to Ubiquitous Connectivity." He addressed the challenges faced by the industry developing components and systems for today's and tomorrow's cellular networks, including the high power consumption of radio units in base stations.

The changes wireless technologies can bring to our everyday lives were presented by Philippe Dubois, Vice President & General Manager Secure Edge & Identification at NXP, in his subsequent keynote presentation, "Ultra-Wideband – the Dawn of Human-Activity Recognition". Access control – automatic door opening – and a simplified payment system are just two of the applications he addressed.

However, without significant advances in semiconductor technology, the goals set for 6G cannot be achieved. Eric Mercier, Deputy Head of Telecom & Wireless Department at CEA-Leti, showed in his keynote presentation how 30 GHz bandwidth at 140 GHz can be realized with 45-nm RFSOI CMOS technology – and he presented a concept to compensate for the high path losses at 140 GHz. Using an antenna array for 140 GHz with 1600 antenna elements, CEA-Leti researchers were able to achieve an antenna gain of 33 dBi.