New open-access book on 5G, 6G and future digital services released

In a rapidly digitizing world, staying ahead of the curve requires a deep understanding of the evolving mobile communications landscape. A new open-access book titled “The Changing World of Mobile Communications: 5G, 6G and the Future of Digital Services” has been released to shed light on this transformation.

This insightful book is edited by Petri Ahokangas (University of Oulu, 6G Flagship, Oulu Business School, and Martti Ahtisaari Institute) and Annabeth Aagaard (Aarhus University).

The book is the fruit of meticulous research and international collaboration co-authored by Petri Ahokangas, Marja Matinmikko-Blue, Seppo Yrjölä, Irina Atkova, Marika Iivari, Oxana Gisca, Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen and Ahmad Arslan from the University of Oulu, Jillian Gordon from Glasgow University, Paul Timmers from Oxford University, and Georg Serentschy from Serentschy Advisory.

“The Changing World of Mobile Communications: 5G, 6G and the Future of Digital Services” offers a multi-disciplinary overview of the subject with contributions from experts in the field. It’s a comprehensive journey from the present, encompassing the ongoing adoption of 5G networks, towards the promising horizon of 6G, aimed at deployment in the 2030s.

Petri Ahokangas shares his perspective on the significance of this book, “When writing, our aim was to balance between practicality and vision based on the insights of the whole team. I hope this book has its input on the industry and that our work contributes to the development of future 6G,”

The book goes beyond technical advancements; it blends technical with business-related perspectives, thus providing a holistic view. It discusses these technologies’ potential impacts on future digital services, businesses, and society. The narrative also explores how individuals and businesses could benefit from 5G and 6G innovations and delves into the regulatory considerations that come with these advancements.

Annabeth Aagaard, expressing her thoughts on the collaborative effort, mentions, “This book features contributions from leading experts in the fields of business, regulation, and technology management, who collectively offer fresh insights and a holistic, interdisciplinary perspective on the current and future ramifications of the evolving landscape of mobile communications”

Research Director Marja Matinmikko-Blue of the University of Oulu’s 6G Flagship and Infotech continues, “This book summarizes the key tools and findings from our long-term multi-disciplinary multi-stakeholder collaboration. I dare to say that the University of Oulu’s research approach to future mobile communications bringing together and co-developing technical enablers, business models and related regulations, is unique and more topical than ever.”

The content is rich with academic insights, practical examples, and industry views, making it a valuable resource for academics, students, practitioners, policymakers, and anyone interested in mobile communications and digital innovation.

Professor Seppo Yrjölä, also from the 6G Flagship, underlines the practice of business, “The question is how to foster and benefit from technological innovation in the emergent 6G era? The book addresses the value appropriability potential and conditions, as well as the instruments, processes, and outcomes of value appropriation while reflecting those against earlier generations.”

The book’s open-access nature ensures that it reaches a broad audience, allowing individuals across the globe to have free and unlimited access to this treasure trove of knowledge. It is now available for free download, opening doors to a world of knowledge in the evolving mobile communications realm. For those eager to navigate through the exciting voyage from 5G to 6G and explore the future of digital services, this book is your companion.