‘Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces’ (RIS) has become a hot topic of R&D, with ETSI forming an Industry Specification Group for the technology, and 3GPP considering its inclusion in a future release of 5G standards, Release 19. RIS enables repeaters and other devices to transmit and amplify selectively and dynamically according to time, direction or frequency of the signals, and can underpin entirely new surfaces that might be used to make 6G more energy-efficient and responsive. It underpins smart radio surfaces in which thousands of small antennas or metamaterial elements combine to shape and control radio signals dynamically, in a fluid way that is driven by goals or intents. The technology aims to turn the whole wireless environment into a service. Japan’s…