Release of 04.03.2015
At this year’s Mobile World Congress, the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance published a “5G White Paper” at a press conference yesterday. The whitepaper outlines the most important operator requirements in regards to future standards and provides a comprehensive overview of the 5G standardization roadmap for 2020 and beyond. A global team of more than 100 experts have been working to lay the foundations for future standardization and develop consolidated operator requirements. The publication of this paper marks an important first step towards the launch of the 5G technology.
Günther Ottendorfer, CTO Telekom Austria Group, welcomes this publication in his capacity as board member of the NGMN Alliance: "Currently, we are already seeing a strong increase in demand for shorter latency times and faster mobile data services. This trend is likely to increase even further in the coming years. To be able to meet future customer needs, 5G needs to be in place by 2020. I'm delighted that this initiative will make a significant contribution to future standardization within the mobile industry".
At present, 5G is still in the research stage across the world. Within the framework of a research partnership with the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), numerous issues relating to future technologies, which might also be relevant for 5G, have long been debated. According to the NGMN timetable, new standards will be defined and new systems and end-devices developed based on the NGMN expert requirements over the next years. Starting from 2020, the first 5G system solutions should be made available and gradually go live. 5G does not only mean faster wireless Internet, more mobile connections between man and machine (Internet of Things), lower energy and battery consumption but also new mobile base stations, a higher geographic density of base stations and a wider frequency spectrum. At the same time, higher transmission rates will also allow for new applications and business models.
Data traffic in mobile communications networks and the number of internet-enabled devices have literally exploded in recent years. Video and music streaming services, photo and movie downloads, as well as M2M applications, which pervade almost every aspect of daily life and business, contribute to the steady increase of both Internet usage and broadband demand. For the real economy, mobile Internet plays an increasingly important role, meaning an excellent telecommunications infrastructure is imperative for a well-functioning economy and society.
The Telekom Austria Group has taken this development into due account by investing in network rollout and the ongoing development of necessary network technologies along with higher data rates and shorter runtimes.