The Network of the Future

5G

Now that the 5GPPP had its inaugural meeting at Mobile World Congress, it appears that 5G is moving beyond lip-service and into real research and development. To be sure, many announcements are still more hype than reality, but the building blocks for 5G are actively being defined and the pathway towards the next generation of wireless technology is being hewn.

Is 5G really ready for testing? NTT DOCOMO has announced the beginning of experimental 5G trials with six leading vendors: Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia and Samsung. While the target date for commercial 5G deployment is still 2020, DOCOMO is eager to be the frontrunner. These companies are exploring wireless technology that is 1,000 times faster than LTE and signaling that operates in very high frequencies, above 6Ghz.

"5G will be a key component in the industry's movement toward the Networked Society,” Ulf Ewaldsson, Senior Vice President and CTO of Ericsson, says, “I'm excited about the new technologies that we are exploring in the joint trial collaboration with NTT DOCOMO. This is an important step in the industry transformation we are experiencing."

Planning for the future

What will consumers do with all of this speed? Probably even less talk and more video. New research from Analysys Mason reveals just how little time smart phone users spend using communications services--the number might surprise you. As a result, developing new services that meet the customers' expectations is paramount, which means buying products that offer a clear path to the future, and investing in vendor technologies that enable the commercialization and monetization of the digital lifestyle.