Editorial
From Bits to Meaning: A Survey of Semantic Communications for 6G Networks
@ARTICLE{10.4108/eettti.11434, author={James Adu Ansere and Quang Nhat Le and Tuan Thanh Nguyen}, title={From Bits to Meaning: A Survey of Semantic Communications for 6G Networks}, journal={EAI Endorsed Transactions on Tourism, Technology and Intelligence}, volume={3}, number={1}, publisher={EAI}, journal_a={TTTI}, year={2026}, month={3}, keywords={6G Networks, Edge Intelligence, Quantum Machine Learning, Semantic Communications, Semantic Metrics, Task-Oriented Transmission}, doi={10.4108/eettti.11434} }- James Adu Ansere
Quang Nhat Le
Tuan Thanh Nguyen
Year: 2026
From Bits to Meaning: A Survey of Semantic Communications for 6G Networks
TTTI
EAI
DOI: 10.4108/eettti.11434
Abstract
The advent of sixth-generation (6G) networks necessitates a paradigm shift from conventional bit communication to meaning-centric systems capable of semantic understanding, contextual inference, and task-oriented optimization. This survey explores the emerging domain of semantic communications (SemCom), which aims to transmit not just data, but relevant and actionable meaning aligned with user intent. Unlike Shannon’s theory that emphasizes bit-level fidelity, SemCom emphasizes the semantic and pragmatic utility of transmitted information. This introduces a unified taxonomy aligned with 6G system layers and highlights applications in latency-sensitive, mission-critical applications such as autonomous vehicles (AVs), extended reality (XR), digital twins, and remote healthcare. The study identifies open challenges in semantic reliability, multi-agent alignment, green SemCom, and integration with quantum and bio-inspired systems—positioning SemCom as a cornerstone for future 6G networks.
Copyright © 2026 James Adu Ansere et al., licensed to EAI. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, which permits copying, redistributing, remixing, transformation, and building upon the material in any medium so long as the original work is properly cited.
