发表机构
Bristol Research and Innovation Laboratory, Toshiba Europe Ltd.（布里斯托研究与创新中心，东芝欧洲有限公司）
机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。AI 中文总结
本文围绕是否存在7G的问题，构建就绪框架评估后6G系统需求，为判断7G是独立代际、6G延伸还是后6G基础设施提供结构化依据。
AI 中文摘要
从5G向6G的过渡正逐步落地：国际电信联盟无线电通信部门（ITU-R）的IMT-2030框架已确立6G的高层愿景与能力集，而3GPP R21版本则明确了首个6G规范的演进路径。这为研究与标准化界提出了一个颇具挑衅性的问题：是否会有7G？若存在，其存在的合理性依据是什么？本文认为，不应将7G视为必然的编号操作或更宏大无线目标的集合，其合理性应取决于后6G系统是否引入了6G/6G-Advanced、Wi-Fi、非地面网络（NTN）、专用蜂窝、中性主机部署、边缘云平台或互补无线及软件系统无法满足的需求或协调问题。为支撑该评估，本文构建了一个就绪框架，涵盖需求驱动型需求、系统级 discontinuity（不连续性）、协调价值、可持续性与循环性、信任及地缘政治可行性，随后将该框架应用于候选7G不连续性场景，包括智能网络操作、射频原生计算、量子赋能互通、政策感知频谱治理、电网交互基础设施、结果保障服务及区域标准化。本文的贡献并非预测固定的7G架构，而是提供了一个结构化基础，用于决定7G应成为独立的移动代际、6G演进的延伸，还是更广泛的后6G基础设施架构。
英文摘要
The transition from 5G to 6G is becoming concrete: the ITU-R IMT-2030 framework has established the high-level vision and capability set for 6G, while 3GPP Release 21 has defined the path toward the first 6G specifications. This raises a deliberately provocative question for the research and standards communities: will there be a 7G, and if so, what would justify it? This paper argues that 7G should not be treated as an inevitable numbering exercise or as a catalogue of more ambitious radio targets. Instead, its justification should depend on whether post-6G systems introduce needs or coordination problems that cannot be met by 6G/6G-Advanced, Wi-Fi, NTN, private cellular, neutral-host deployments, edge-cloud platforms, or complementary wireless and software-based systems. To support this assessment, the paper develops a readiness framework covering demand-led need, system-level discontinuity, coordination value, sustainability and circularity, trust, and geopolitical viability. It then applies the framework to candidate 7G discontinuities, including agentic network operation, RF-native computing, quantum-enabled interworking, policy-aware spectrum governance, grid-interactive infrastructure, outcome-assured services, and regionalized standards. The contribution is not a prediction of a fixed 7G architecture, but a structured basis for deciding whether 7G should become a distinct mobile generation, an extension of 6G evolution, or a broader post-6G infrastructure fabric.
CommentsAccepted for publication in the IEEE Next Generation Communications (NextGCom) conference 2026
