Use Cases for Terahertz Communications: An Industrial Perspective

TL;DR

This paper explores the industrial use cases, promising frequency bands, and technological challenges of terahertz communications, emphasizing its potential role in future 6G networks with ultra-high data rates and precise sensing.

Contribution

It provides an industrial perspective on THz communication use cases, identifies key frequency bands, and discusses standardization efforts and technological requirements for future networks.

Findings

Identifies promising 100 GHz - 1 THz frequency bands with over 500 GHz spectrum

Highlights use cases demanding multi-Tbps data rates and sub-millisecond latency

Summarizes standardization efforts and future outlook for 6G integration

Abstract

Thanks to the vast amount of available resources and unique propagation properties, terahertz (THz) frequency bands are viewed as a key enabler for achieving ultrahigh communication performance and precise sensing capabilities in future wireless systems. Recently, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) initiated an Industry Specification Group (ISG) on THz which aims at establishing the technical foundation for subsequent standardization of this technology, which is pivotal for its successful integration into future networks. Starting from the work recently finalized within this group, this paper provides an industrial perspective on potential use cases and frequency bands of interest for THz communication systems. We first identify promising frequency bands in the 100 GHz - 1 THz range, offering over 500 GHz of available spectrum that can be exploited to unlock the full potential of THz communications. Then, we present key use cases and application areas for THz communications, emphasizing the role of this technology and its advantages over other frequency bands. We discuss their target requirements and show that some applications demand for multi-Tbps data rates, latency below 0.5 ms, and sensing accuracy down to 0.5 cm. Additionally, we identify the main deployment scenarios and outline other enabling technologies crucial for overcoming the challenges faced by THz system. Finally, we summarize the past and ongoing standardization efforts focusing on THz communications, while also providing an outlook towards the inclusion of this technology as an integral part of the future sixth generation (6G) and beyond communication networks.