June 28, 2015

Defining a Vision and Road Map for 5G Mobile Development

In my previous blog post, I announced that ROI3, Inc. joined ITU's new focus group to identify the network standardization requirements for the 5G development of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) for 2020 and beyond. I participated in the first meeting of the ITU-T Focus Group on IMT-2020 (FG IMT-2020) that was held from June 8-9, 2015 in San Diego, Calif. where we "established the overall roadmap for the development of 5G mobile and defined the term it will apply to it as 'IMT-2020,'" according to an ITU press release of June 19, 2015. "The meeting also agreed that the work should be conducted under the name of IMT-2020, as an extension of the ITU's existing family of global standards for International Mobile Telecommunication systems (IMT-2000 and IMT-Advanced) which serve as the basis for all of today's 3G and 4G mobile systems."

Furthermore, "With the finalization of its work on the 'Vision' for 5G systems at a meeting of ITU-R Working Party 5D in San Diego, California, ITU has now defined the overall goals, process and timeline for the development of 5G mobile systems. This process is now well underway within ITU, in close collaboration with governments and the global mobile industry."

60 individuals from 18 countries representing a wide-array of stakeholders from the mobile broadband industry attended the two-day meeting. Among the 33 contributions presented and discussed, one presentation noted that 5G technology will change people’s lifestyle and enrich society through hyper mobile connectivity with projected data delivery speeds in excess of 10,000 megabits per second (Mbps) compared to 450 Mbps and 14.4 Mbps provided by 4G/LTE and 3G, respectively. Another presentation noted how the jump from 4G to 5G is an evolutionary as well as a revolutionary process.

The next step to identifying the network standardization requirements for 5G development, according to ITU's announcement, "is to establish detailed technical performance requirements for the radio systems to support 5G, taking into account the needs of a wide portfolio of future scenarios and use cases, and then to specify the evaluation criteria for assessment of candidate radio interface technologies to join the IMT-2020 family. These new systems, set to become available in 2020, will usher in new paradigms in connectivity in mobile broadband wireless systems to support, for example, extremely high definition video services, real time low latency applications and the expanding realm of the Internet of Things (IoT)."

My colleagues and I are planning to participate in the second FG IMT-2020 meeting from July 13-14, 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. We will continue to learn how 5G will lead to the development of IoT, cloud computing, virtual reality (VR), and 3D content accessible through a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet, or smart watch.

June 6, 2015

ROI3 Joins ITU Focus Group to Identify Network Standardization Requirements for 5G Development

I am pleased to announce that ROI3, Inc. has joined ITU's new focus group to identify the network standardization requirements for the "5G" development of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) for 2020 and beyond. On May 5, 2015, Geneva, Switzerland-based ITU announced it "has established a new Focus Group to The network studies will be hosted by ITU's Standardization Sector (ITU-T), benefiting from the strength of ITU-T standardization in wireline communications." Led by ​Peter Ashwood-Smith of Huawei Technologies, FG IMT-2020 will hold its first meeting in San Diego, Calif. from June 8-9, 2015, with subsequent meetings in Geneva, Switzerland from July 13-14, 2015, Milan, Italy in September 2015, and Beijing, China in October 2015.

In 2012, according to ITU's press release, the organization "established a programme on International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) for 2020 and beyond, which provides the framework for IMT-2020 research and development worldwide. ITU's Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) is coordinating the international standardization of IMT-2020 systems. ITU-T is expected to play a similar convening role for the technologies and architectures of wireline networks."

Furthermore, this ITU website explains that "'IMT-2020' systems will enable wireless communication to match the speed and reliability achieved by fibre-optic infrastructure. The potential application fields of IMT-2020 systems, in addition to voice and video, span from healthcare to industrial automation, virtual reality, automated driving, and robotic systems controlled with an imperceptible time-lag. One-millisecond end-to-end latency is necessary for technical systems to replicate natural human interaction with our environment, a goal that experts say should be within reach of future networks."

It is believed that 5G will become available in 2020. While a standardized definition does not exist for 5G, large corporations and small businesses in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector must begin to consider how to create opportunities through the next generation of mobile network. It is my intent to have ROI3 be part of the 5G standardization efforts and learn what mobile products and software solutions can be created for the global marketplace. Specific sectors that may benefit from 5G include the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, virtual reality (VR), and 3D content accessible through a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet, or smart watch.

The ITU notes: "IMT-2020 research and development is underway in a wide range of industry and public-sector bodies. The Focus Group's scope of activity is concentrated in identifying the standardization needs of the wireline elements of 5G networks, building on an analysis of other entities' IMT-2020 studies."

What possibilities do you envision using 5G technology?

Aaron Rose is a board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of great companies. He also serves as the editor of GT Perspectives, an online forum focused on turning perspective into opportunity.