What Can We Expect from 7G After 2040? (PART II)

4. New Network Architectures and Infrastructure Paradigms 4.1. Cloud–Edge–Quantum Continuum The traditional cloud-edge hierarchy will evolve into a continuum, dynamically balancing workloads across edge, cloud, and quantum layers. 7G networks will utilize AI-driven orchestration to decide where data is processed — locally, regionally, or in quantum cores — optimizing latency, energy, and privacy. 4.2. Holographic and Semantic Transmission

By 2040+, communication will transcend bits and packets. Semantic communication will transmit meaning rather than raw data, compressing traffic by orders of magnitude while enabling real-time holographic telepresence and multi-sensory metaverse experiences. Such communication requires advances in neural encoding, context-aware protocols, and human–machine co-processing, integrating neuroscience into telecom engineering. 4.3. Zero-Trust and Autonomous Security Cybersecurity in 7G will shift from reactive defense to autonomous, predictive protection. Blockchain-like distributed ledgers, AI-powered threat intelligence, and quantum encryption will enable continuous verification in zero-trust architectures. Operators will manage risk not as static compliance, but as self-healing cyber ecosystems embedded into every packet and process. 5. Key Use Cases, Potential Applications, and Industry Transformations 5.1. Immersive and Neural Communication 7G will enable direct brain–computer interfaces (BCI) and neural communications, allowing users to exchange information through cognitive signals, thoughts, and emotions. This innovation will revolutionize human–machine symbiosis, giving rise to emotion-driven communication, mental-control interfaces for devices, and next-generation healthcare tools for neuro-rehabilitation and sensory restoration. BCI-enabled services could also redefine education, defense, and creative industries, blending biological cognition with digital intelligence. 5.2. Metaverse 3.0: The Cognitive Continuum 7G will serve as the foundation for Metaverse 3.0 — a persistent, intelligent, and context-aware virtual continuum that merges the physical and digital worlds. Unlike today’s bandwidth-intensive but isolated metaverse experiences, 7G will provide semantic communication, real-time holography, and neural feedback, creating immersive spaces where human intent, motion, and emotion are transmitted instantly. Telecom operators will become experience providers, delivering large-scale, synchronized metaverse infrastructures for telepresence, industry simulation, and cross-border collaboration. 5.3. Internet of Everything (IoE) and Smart Environments 7G will fully realize the Internet of Everything, connecting not only devices and sensors but also humans, materials, and ecosystems. Billions of intelligent nodes — from smart fabrics and bio-integrated sensors to autonomous vehicles and self-healing buildings — will continuously sense, learn, and act. The result will be hyper-contextual ecosystems where IoE data supports sustainable cities, precision agriculture, predictive healthcare, and global logistics — all powered by AI-driven orchestration and near-zero latency. 5.4. Autonomous Industries and Robotics The industrial sector will evolve into autonomous, self-optimizing networks of machines. Factories will communicate through semantic data exchange, while supply chains adapt in real time using predictive AI models. 7G will enable digital-physical convergence, where every robotic process is mirrored in a virtual twin, monitored and optimized autonomously. This paradigm will create the foundation for Industry 6.0, emphasizing adaptability, zero downtime, and full human–machine collaboration. 5.5. Digital Earth Twins and Planetary Intelligence 7G networks will underpin a continuously synchronized Digital Twin of Earth, integrating environmental, social, and industrial data into a global simulation. This planetary intelligence system will support climate forecasting, resource optimization, energy grid management, and disaster prevention. Telecom networks will transform from communication utilities into the nervous system of Earth, enabling real-time global coordination. 5.6. Deep Connectivity for Space and Ocean Exploration 7G will bridge terrestrial, maritime, and space communication, supporting multi-orbit integration and interplanetary data exchange. From deep-space missions and lunar bases to deep-sea research networks, 7G will rely on quantum-secure, delay-tolerant links that extend the reach of human presence beyond Earth. 6. Economic and Strategic Implications for Telecom Operators 6.1. New Value Chains and Business Models 7G will reshape telecom economics. Operators will move from bandwidth-based revenue to intelligence-as-a-service (IaaS) and contextual data markets, monetizing network cognition, digital twins, and AI models. The telecom of the 2040s will function more like a neural system of the global economy than a utility provider. 6.2. Capital Intensity and Collaborative Models The infrastructure complexity of 7G — spanning quantum cores, optical layers, and deep-space nodes — will make traditional CAPEX models unsustainable. Instead, we can expect multi-stakeholder consortia, public–private R&D ecosystems, and AI-managed shared infrastructure. Operators, hyperscalers, and governments will co-invest in unified 7G grids as global public goods. 6.3. Regulatory and Spectrum Challenges 7G will demand unprecedented international coordination for spectrum allocation, particularly in THz and optical domains. Regulatory frameworks will need to evolve to handle cross-orbit integration, quantum data governance, and ethical AI communication systems. Standardization efforts (ITU, 3GPP, IEEE, TM Forum) will need to integrate multi-domain governance, ensuring safety, interoperability, and equitable access. 7. The Road to 7G: Timeline and Research Milestones Period Focus Area Key Developments 2025–2030 Advanced 6G trials Sub-THz links, integrated sensing, AI-native cores 2030–2035 6G commercialization Large-scale XR, semantic comms, hybrid NTN 2035–2040 Pre-7G R&D Quantum–classical networking, 3D holographic data 2040–2045 Early 7G pilots Terabit optical wireless, cognitive orchestration 2045+ Global rollout Quantum-secure, brain-integrated, intelligent planet networks 8. Conclusion: Toward the Cognitive Network Era 7G will not be a “faster 6G.” It will redefine what communication means — moving from connecting endpoints to connecting cognition and intelligence itself. After 2040, the telecom industry will stand at the intersection of AI, quantum computing, neuroscience, and space technologies. For telecom professionals, this evolution offers both a challenge and an opportunity: The challenge: to rethink infrastructure, economics, and governance from the ground up. The opportunity: to shape the first truly intelligent global network, capable of learning, reasoning, and evolving alongside humanity. In this new era, telecom networks will no longer be the silent backbone of digital life — they will become living systems that sense, think, and act. At the end: Have scientists and experts already started developing Releases for 7G mobile systems? In short: no — formal “releases” for a 7th-generation mobile system (often called 7G) have not yet been developed or standardized to the extent that earlier generations (like 3G/4G/5G) have. What exists is conceptual research, early vision papers, and speculation. I’ll explain the current status, what’s being done, and why we’re not yet at the stage of concrete “Releases”. Author’s Note: This perspective aims to stimulate long-term strategic thinking in telecom planning, R&D, and policy development. The road to 7G will not be defined by incremental innovation, but by the fusion of technologies and disciplines that together construct the intelligent, interconnected world of 2040 and beyond.