The NGMN operators´ strategic view:
Five Things You Need To Know About 5G
Barcelona, Spain, 27th February 2018
Three years after the publication of the NGMN 5G White Paper in 2015, the NGMN Alliance presents the operator perspective of the 5G technology development during the Mobile World Congress 2018. The announcement addresses five major aspects of 5G, with the headline:
“5G — five things you need to know about 5G and what it delivers”.
Over the last years, NGMN has been working on many projects, guiding the work of the standard developing organisations. The accelerated completion of the standard for the non-standalone new radio (NSA-NR) last December by 3GPP has moved 5G to the trial and early deployment phase. At this important milestone, the NGMN Board has decided to publish its viewpoint on 5G with the following key messages:
- 5G will provide communication capabilities far beyond current networks and support a much wider ecosystem with a broad set of use cases and applications.
- 5G is evolutionary – with the potential for revolutionary applications.
- 5G brings favourable economics by new technologies and deployment scenarios.
- 5G will come soon – first commercial 5G equipment will be available by the end of 2018.
- Work on 5G is not complete yet: NGMN activities will be focusing on key challenges for successful 5G delivery.
Members of the NGMN Board of Directors, representing operators from Asia, Europe and North America, conveyed the messages to the audience during a Press and Industry Briefing at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, followed by a Q&A session.
Johan Wibergh, Chairman of the Board, said: “NGMN wants to cut through the hype around 5G and present a realistic view of the current status, as well as the work which still needs to be done over the next few years to evolve towards the full potential of 5G. The work programme of NGMN will continue to guide and drive the technical requirements of 5G, recognising that we are just at the start of the journey. NGMN will continue to support the development of a healthy ecosystem for all stakeholders.”
