The organization that defines mobile standards, 3GPP, has formally approved the first 5G specification. This milestone moves the industry from trial phases toward real commercial 5G deployments.
Telecoms outlets have reported many pre-5G trials; now, with the specification finalized, operators, vendors and device makers can proceed with confidence to develop and launch equipment and services that conform to the standard.
Cristiano Amon, Executive Vice President at Qualcomm Technologies, said:
“We are excited to be part of this significant milestone and to once again be at the forefront of making the 5G vision a reality in 2019. We look forward to continuing to work with our mobile industry peers to deliver 5G NR commercial networks and devices in 2019 across smartphone and other form factors, for both sub-6 GHz and mmWave frequency bands. We will also continue developing 5G technologies to connect new industries and enable new services and user experiences in the years ahead.”
The announcement followed a meeting of industry leaders in Lisbon. With the specification finalized, participating companies can ensure their solutions align with the standard and accelerate interoperable commercial rollouts.
The following companies jointly announced their support for this milestone:
- AT&T
- BT
- China Mobile
- China Telecom
- China Unicom
- Deutsche Telekom
- Ericsson
- Fujitsu
- Huawei
- Intel
- KT Corporation
- LG Electronics
- LG Uplus
- MediaTek Inc
- NEC Corporation
- Nokia
- NTT DOCOMO
- Orange
- Qualcomm Technologies, Inc
- Samsung Electronics
- SK Telecom
- Sony Mobile Communications Inc
- Sprint
- TIM
- Telefonica
- Telia Company
- T-Mobile USA
- Verizon
- Vodafone
- ZTE
Earlier this year, industry leaders pledged to accelerate the standardization of 5G NR. Today’s announcement reflects the collective effort to meet that commitment and brings the industry a decisive step closer to mainstream 5G.
Completing this first standard is essential to enable cost-effective, large-scale development of 5G NR and to enhance the capabilities of 3GPP systems globally.
Erik Ekudden, CTO at Ericsson, commented:
“3GPP has done a tremendous job completing the first 5G specifications to meet industry demand and expectations. As a major contributor to 5G standardization, Ericsson has collaborated with partners in evolving mobile technology into a global network platform for consumers and enterprises. Our research team has worked on 5G since 2010, including early 5G testbed efforts created with industry partners. The open, contribution-driven specification work and the rapid completion of initial 5G standards for global deployment demonstrate the strength of the 5G ecosystem.”
3GPP will continue developing Release 15, including support for standalone (SA) 5G NR operation. The lower-layer 5G NR specifications were designed to support both standalone and non-standalone (NSA) operation in a unified manner, enabling a broad single 5G NR ecosystem for the global industry.
Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, CTO of Deutsche Telekom, added:
“We regard both Non-Standalone and Standalone modes of New Radio as equally important to complete the 5G standard. The timely finalization of NSA is an important step in that journey and in developing the 5G ecosystem. It is now crucial for the industry to redouble efforts on Standalone mode to progress toward a full 5G system, so we can deliver core 5G innovations such as network slicing to customers.”
With the specification finalized, attention will turn to accelerating commercial deployments, device availability, and further standard enhancements throughout 2018 and beyond. The industry can now move forward with greater clarity, enabling operators and vendors to plan large-scale rollouts and ecosystem development.
What are your thoughts on today’s 5G specification announcement? Share your views in the comments.
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss topics like this and share use cases? Attend the co-located IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series events in locations such as Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to explore the future of enterprise technology.