Trump demands 6G technology in rant against American companies: 'We must be the leader in everything we do'

President demands America become leader in technology that does not exist

Donald Trump has called on American companies to become leaders around the world in "5G, even 6G" technology in a series of tweets.

“I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible,” the president tweeted on Thursday morning. “It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind.”

“There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future,” he continued. “I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!"

The president's tweets arrived as Finland is scheduled to take part in the largest mobile event in the world next week. The rest of the global economy has only just begun to adapt to the idea of implementing 5G technology, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

In a statement, Finland’s Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner said, “Finland plans to be a forerunner as a user and developer of 5G technology. Our Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, has created a 5G ecosystem that will accelerate the development of new innovations and services through collaboration with other 5G experiments.

Still, the 6G technology Mr Trump is tweeting about is not due until at least 2030, according to Network World.

The trade magazine spoke to Ari Pouttu, professor for Dependable Wireless at the University of Oulu in Finland, who said "6G will emerge around 2030 to satisfy the expectation not met with 5G" and "will eventually offer terabits per second." The technology remains in the very beginning stages of research and development.

The Academy of Finland, which is funded by the Finish government, has reportedly dedicated $290m (£221m) towards a new programme called 6Genesis, which will conduct developmental efforts towards 6G capabilities.

“Finland is the perfect environment for 5G trials, because our pro-trialing legislation and flexible regulation encourages trialing of new technologies and innovations,” Ms Berner continued. “The ecosystem has already almost seventy different member entities that include for example cities, ports, aviation and research centres.”

It's unclear whether the White House plans to announce new measures towards 5G or even 6G developmental research. A request for comment was not immediately returned.

While the 5G standard has been set and networks are slated to continue rolling out in the coming years, what impact the advancements may have on the US and global economies, workplaces and more remains to be seen. Study groups spearheading research into the future technologies are currently exploring products and capabilities that do not yet exist, PC Magazine reported last year.

The tweets were just a pair of social media posts the president published on Thursday. Mr Trump also — once again — shared a video of barrier construction along the US-Mexico border in New Mexico.

“THE WALL IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW!” he wrote.