ETSI launches Industry Specification Group on Terahertz 

ETSI has established an Industry Specification Group focused on Terahertz technology, vital for 6G networks. This group aims to define key scenarios and frequency bands for Terahertz communications, fostering collaboration on research efforts and setting the stage for future standardization. Initially, the group will concentrate on high-data rate mobile applications like AR/VR and satellite communication, as well as applications that blend communication and sensing capabilities such as holographic telepresence and interactive robotics.

A new Industry Specification Group (ISG) on Terahertz was launched in the framework of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to define the target scenarios and the concrete frequency bands of interest on terahertz (THz) communications. THz is a candidate technology for 6G networks.

As explained by Thomas Kürner, Chair of ISG THz, the group ‘provides an opportunity for ETSI members to coordinate their pre-standards research efforts on THz technology across various European collaborative projects, extended with relevant global initiatives, a move towards paving the way for future standardisation of the technology’.

The ISG will initially focus on two major categories of use cases for THz: (a) mobile applications with high data rate requirements, such as augmented and virtual reality, in-flight and in-train entertainment applications, as well as vehicular and satellite communications; and (b) applications requiring both communication and sensing capabilities, such as holographic telepresence and interactive and cooperative robotics.