Jamming Intrusions in Extreme Bandwidth Communication: A Comprehensive Overview
Richa Priyadarshani, Ki‐Hong Park, Yalçın Ata, Mohamed‐Slim Alouini
Abstract
As wireless communication advances toward sixth-generation (6G) networks, extreme bandwidth communication (EBC) technologies, such as millimeter-wave (mmWave), terahertz (THz), freespace optical (FSO), and visible light communication (VLC), emerge as essential enablers of ultrahigh data rates, massive connectivity, and seamless mobility. However, the unique characteristics of EBC, including high propagation losses, directional transmission, and susceptibility to atmospheric and physical obstructions, make these technologies particularly vulnerable to jamming attacks. Additionally, reliance on large antenna arrays and beam formation for efficient communication introduces new attack surfaces where adversaries can exploit beam misalignment and signal disruption. Given that 6G networks are expected to support mission-critical applications such as autonomous systems, smart cities, and space-based networks, the security risks posed by jamming threats could lead to severe service degradation, financial losses, and compromised reliability. This survey provides a comprehensive overview of jamming intrusions in EBC, categorizing prevalent attack strategies, assessing their impact on different communication paradigms, and reviewing state-ofthe-art countermeasures. In mmWave and THz communications, vulnerabilities arise from narrow beams, atmospheric absorption, and beam spoofing, with countermeasures such as reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), hybrid beamforming, spread spectrum techniques, etc. FSO and VLC systems face risks due to wide field-of-view requirements, unregulated bandwidth, and power constraints, with solutions such as spatial diversity, relaying, RIS, frequency/wavelength hopping and coding techniques, etc. By synthesizing these challenges and solutions, this survey serves as a foundational resource for researchers and practitioners aiming to improve jamming resilience and physical layer security of 6G EBC systems deployed in missioncritical and real-world scenarios.