Strategies for Reducing Communication Latency in 6G Networks

Abstract Design of computer networks usually aims at optimizing the network performance through efficient network communication protocols to maximize resource utilization and network throughput. Over the different generations of wireless cellular network staring from first (1G) to fifth generation (5G), end-to-end communication latency, bandwidth and energy required for communication have turned out to be the most significant performance parameters to be considered for the design process. Although a significant amount of research has been done in this direction over the last few decades, still lot more attention needs to be given to explore the techniques for improving the end-to-end communication latency specifically in the context of recent 5G and 6G networks. This paper initially presents the expected goals of the 6G networks and the potential smart services to be enabled by 6G. In the later sections, it provides a concise survey of strategies for managing latency-related issues in the literature. Next we focus on the types and sources of delays that affect latency, the enabling technologies for 6G implementation and the potential strategies for reducing latency. Finally, we discuss about some significant challenges and identify a few open research problems to achieve ultra-low end-to-end latency in 6G communication.