Debabani Choudhury, Upkar Dhaliwal, Peiying Zhu, Ashutosh Datta, and Timothy Lee
Figure 1. A vision of a connected future. LEO: low-Earth orbit; AI: artificial intelligence; ML: machine learning.
The IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society International Microwave Symposium (IMS) Connected Future Summit has been held since its inception at IMS2017 in collaboration with the IEEE Communications Society (COMSOC). It has evolved from a 5G Summit to a Next G Summit. The event is held on the Tuesday of Microwave Week to attract attendees from IMS and IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits symposia as well as IMS exhibitors. The day-long summit provides a platform for academic, government, and industrial communities to interact and exchange technology ideas related to technologies for next-generation connectivity and use cases. The Connected Future Summit Committee is a part of the IMS Technical Program Committee, and in 2023 includes two members from COMSOC. The Committee is responsible for selecting timely topics and inviting speakers to create an agenda. This event has had sponsorships from the industry with an encouraging attendance every year, ranging from approximately 300–400 attendees.
Future Next G 6G networks will need to deliver a quality of experience through a seamless integration of communication, computation, and artificial intelligence. In addition to the technology advancements toward 6G IMT2030, the wireless connectivity landscape is changing rapidly with the evolution of local area network Wi-Fi and broadband wireless nonterrestrial networks (NTNs) satellite networks based on low-Earth orbit satellite constellations (see Figure 1). The Next G technical specifications are transposed into standards by the seven regional Standards Setting Organizations that form the 3rd Generation Partnership Project toward 6G IMT2030 via the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector. These standards for Next G deployment, along with R&D of the cellular technologies, are impacting future directions of connectivity in coordination with next-generation Wi-Fi technologies and broadband satellite networks.
Figure 2. Upkar Dhaliwal (left) introduces keynote speaker Dessa Bokides of NEOM at the IMS2022 Connected Future Summit in Denver, Colorado.
Figure 3. IMS2022 Connected Future Summit attendees listen to the talk “Spectrum and Standards for Mobile Communications for the Next Decade,” by Intel’s Reza Arefi in the Denver Convention Center.
The IMS2022 Connected Future Summit was held on 21 June 2023 in Denver, Colorado. The event featured four sessions: “The Connected Future”; “Spectrum, Standards, and Innovation”; “NextG Next-Generation Technologies,” and “NextG, What Will 6 G Bring?” (see Figure 2).
The agenda included technical talks on timely topics and a keynote on smart cities and our connected future, a fireside chat on NTNs with industry executives, a lunchtime panel on “Race to the Next G—Ride the mmWave or Wave Goodbye!”. The event ended with a panel on “Will Flexibility and Digital Bottlenecks Break 6 G?”, followed by a reception (see Figure 3).
The upcoming IMS2023 Connected Future Summit will be held on 13 June 2023 in San Diego, California. The Summit will review core technologies for future wireless networks along with their human and societal impacts. The day-long program will feature experts from industry, government, and academia sharing technical knowledge and strategies. The topics will include future trends of 6G and beyond; standardization of both cellular and Wi-Fi; broadband wireless with satellite constellations and other high-altitude platforms; vehicle-to-everything technology beyond 5G; semiconductor, packaging, and heterogeneous integration technologies; reconfigurable front ends, system and platform architectures, and test and measurement challenges impacting next-generation connectivity evolution.
Please join the Connected Future Summit during IMS2023 to learn about the future of connectivity!
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2023.3242913