3GPP signs off on new 5G specification

The organisation which manages cellular standards, the 3GPP, has capped off the year by signing off on the first specification for Non-Standard 5G NR (New Radio). This is something that has been in production for quite some time, but has recently been pushed on an accelerated timeline in order for it to come to fruition in the Summer of 2018.

Initially, there was an air of scepticism about the acceleration, however most of the logistics were laid out before the RAN plenary meeting in Lisbon, Portugal by numerous tech firms including Qualcomm. Reports began to surface on Twitter, before a first report came to light on Fierce Wireless.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!

Just a few minutes ago, the first spec for 5G has been declared complete by the 3GPP!

Congratulations to all the brilliant people, from Qualcomm and many other companies around the globe, who worked so hard to make this happen on an accelerated timeline! pic.twitter.com/9Eq3OVAWFn

— Sherif Hanna ? (@sherifhanna) December 20, 2017

The specifications set to be published this week are speculated to encompass support for a wide range of spectrums across the low, mid and high-band, from 600 and 700 MHz all the way up to 50 GHz, including the 3.5 GHz band.

“This is really the step that enables vendors to start building equipment off of,” Matt Branda, Qualcomm's director of technical marketing told Fierce Wireless, referencing the dawn of the new spectrum.

Many companies have already been working on their own 5G technology, with Qualcomm having announced its 5G modem chip over a year ago that’s capable of attaining 5Gbps. EE and Huawai have also been working on its own end-to-end 5G tests, with its attempt showcasing up to 2.8Gbps download speed.

KitGuru Says: Overall it’s looking promising that 5G will become a new standard within the next year. And with download speeds that fast, it is set to outdo a lot of wired setups, providing that the area coverage can handle it. What do you think about 5G so far?

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