Executives at some of the world’s largest telecommunications and technology firms have told CNBC that 6G is likely to launch in 2030.

Despite the fact that uptake of 5G globally remains low despite hundreds of billions of dollars of investment into the networks, work is still underway on 6G standards which could be completed later this decade, executives say, with roll-out expected in the early 2030s.

Prospects for 6G were discussed in Barcelona at last month's Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest mobile industry trade show, with global telecommunications companies giving their views on the latest tech.

Notes of caution were sounded.

"We have not completed the deployment of 5G yet," Ha Min Yong, chief development officer of SK Telecom, told CNBC.

"I don’t think it’s mature enough to talk about 6G seriously ... it’s already a bit too early."

Mobile operators in China, South Korea and the United States began rolling out 5G in 2019.

The technology is the latest generation of mobile internet after 4G, which promises superfast speeds.

But penetration among consumers remains low.

Just one in seven people worldwide today use a 5G smartphone, according to Strategy Analytics.

However, 5G has been positioned by the telecoms industry not just as a consumer product for faster download speeds, but as a network that could underpin new technologies like driverless cars or unpiloted air taxis.

But work is underway on 6G standards already through standards-setting bodies like 3GPP, which contributed to 5G.

"Well, 6G for us is really on the research stage," Sigve Brekke, Telenor chief executive, said.