Connecting the future: 2025 trends driving the next wireless frontier

Between 2025 and 2030, the wireless industry will continue advancing towards ubiquitous connectivity thanks to three technological advancements: non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), the evolution of 5G towards 6G, and AI-native systems.

NTNs will improve connectivity in remote regions, 6G-enabling technologies will enhance data speeds and user experiences, and AI-native networks will optimise capacity and coverage. These trends will reinvent wireless communications by leveraging new technologies and adaptive AI algorithms, promising a new era of unparalleled connectivity.

Non-terrestrial networks: from lifesavers to essential communication enablers

Significant connectivity gaps exist, especially in disaster-stricken areas, because traditional wireless infrastructure is becoming more costly and challenging to implement and maintain. The solution is NTNs, which rely on space-based components unaffected by extreme weather conditions, such as satellites and high-altitude balloons (HABs). NTNs are practical and cost-effective because they remain operational even when terrestrial networks (TNs) are damaged or destroyed, providing reliable emergency communication for large geographical areas.

A global effort is underway to launch NTN constellations, leading to networks of tens of thousands of satellites to connect rural and remote oceanic areas. Canada, France and the United States have launched several thousand satellites over the past few years. Launching many satellites offers redundancy, ensuring network robustness and continued connectivity when a few satellites fail. HABs complement satellites in creating comprehensive NTNs, especially when timing and cost are of concern. Engineers can use HABs as communication relays where satellite communications are unavailable. They can be deployed quickly and more cheaply than satellites and cover an area of over 960 km in diameter. HABs can also hover at lower altitudes, between 18 and 37 km, which enables lower latencies than satellites. Integrating NTNs with satellites and HABs will effectively address gaps in remote and disaster-prone areas and make reliable communication networks more accessible.

ISAC and RIS shape the future of intelligent 6G networks

Integrating reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) will be essential to the success of 6G wireless communications systems. Combining these two technologies enables engineers to optimise the communication environment while sensing and adapting to real-time conditions, achieving efficiency and flexibility beyond what either technology can accomplish alone. Specifically, ISAC and RIS complement each other to offer environmental awareness and intelligent signal management.

ISAC can help RIS systems by providing real-time environmental data, which adjusts the RIS configuration to achieve optimal signal paths. In return, RIS can focus beams to improve sensing accuracy, enabling ISAC to achieve higher resolution in sensing tasks. Using ISAC and RIS in tandem also promotes wireless communications systems’ long-term health and viability by minimising power waste and optimising overall network sustainability. RIS reduces energy use by manipulating electromagnetic waves to avoid signal transmission in unnecessary directions. RIS also reflects signals into areas that would otherwise need additional infrastructure, which reduces a network’s energy requirements. ISAC’s joint communication and sensing eliminate the need to power multiple systems while offering cost-saving benefits.

AI-native network applications gain traction

Engineers applying AI principles to wireless system design are discovering many applications that can enhance network capabilities far beyond those of traditional infrastructures.

Engineers designing wireless wide area networks (WWANs) can use AI for superior environmental positioning, advanced beam management and precise channel state information (CSI) feedback. Environmental positioning ensures uninterrupted connectivity in high-interference, densely populated settings such as cities. As user numbers grow, advanced beam management will support more simultaneous connections without performance loss. After establishing a stable, large-scale network, CSI feedback fine-tunes it to minimise dropped calls and maximise data rates.

AI’s benefits for wireless networks also extend to implementing next-generation local area networks (LANs) and personal area networks (PANs). For LANs and PANs, AI’s breakthroughs include contextual awareness and user behaviour analysis. Integrating AI with sensors and IoT devices creates smart environments with contextual awareness, adapting the user’s environment to their behaviour and delivering personalised, location-based content. As a user’s behaviour shifts, user behaviour analysis will determine their network usage patterns, facilitating capacity planning and resource allocation.

The path forward

The future of wireless communication necessitates that engineers integrate non-terrestrial networks, 6G technologies and AI-native systems to achieve global connectivity. With only five years left until 6G arrives, engineers must take an interdisciplinary approach when designing next-generation wireless systems. When these and other disciplines collaborate to overcome the wireless challenges ahead, the majority of the globe, regardless of geography or weather conditions, could have reliable access to next-generation wireless connectivity.

Image credit: iStock.com/EvgeniyShkolenko