SK Telecom and Dongwoo Fine-Chem Jointly Develop RIS Technology for 6G.

SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) and chemical materials firm Dongwoo Fine-Chem have announced that they have jointly developed reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology for 6G candidate frequencies.

RIS technology adapts the transmission power to the characteristics of the radio waves and allows the signals to be reflected or transmitted.

The two companies have applied the technology to low-E glass, an outdoor material known for its excellent insulation properties and ability to block radio waves.

SK Telecom has developed the world’s first 6G RIS glass that transmits light and radio waves while maintaining its insulating performance.

The company believes that commercialization of the product will improve the quality of wireless communications, including expanding 6G coverage in buildings.

Spectrum under consideration for 6G includes the low-band (1 GHz and below) and lower mid-band (1-7 GHz) used by 5G and LTE, as well as the upper mid-band (7-24 GHz) and sub-terahertz bands (92-300 GHz) in the higher frequencies being discussed as new spectrum bands.

These high-frequency bands are known for their wide bandwidth, but they also have limitations, including significant transmission losses and poor diffraction, which reduces service coverage.

SK Telecom’s RIS technology mirrors these high-frequency bands, allowing it to pass or penetrate obstacles to reach indoor areas.

The study found that propagation losses are 4 to 2,000 times higher than commercial 5G frequencies but improve by 40% when RIS technology is applied.

The company has previously developed and successfully commercialized transparent antennas and RIS technology in the 5G LTE band by applying it to public Wi-Fi modems deployed on city buses in several major cities.

SK Telecom plans to continue developing technologies that overcome the limitations of high-frequency bands to secure critical technologies for 5G Advanced and 6G.