Industry group gets behind 5G push with name change to 5G Americas
Industry trade group 4G Americas has thrown its might behind the “5G” wave, announcing its formal name change to 5G Americas.
The organization, which initially focused on GSM-based network technologies in the Western Hemisphere, said the name change comes as the mobile telecom market begins to take aim at defining the standards for the next evolution in network technology.
“The name change to 5G Americas will not come as a surprise to the industry since the association has been contributing to the development of 5G for the past two years; however, its timing is significant given the growing effort to standardize our next generation of wireless technology,” said Tom Keathley, chairman of 5G Americas and SVP for wireless network architecture and design at AT&T, in a statement. “As the work to make 5G a reality ramps, it’s a fitting time for 4G Americas to accept the mantle of 5G Americas, reflecting our focus on both LTE Evolution and the next generation of wireless technology, IMT 2020.”
The newly named organization said it will continue to advocate for the “advancement and full capabilities of LTE wireless technologies, which will remain a leading mobile broadband technology for another decade, and the evolution to 5G, throughout the ecosystem’s networks, services, applications and wirelessly connected devices in the Americas.”
“The organization has a new brand name that captures our vision for the industry and our 5G work,” added Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas. “However, the foundation of the organization will not change as we continue to advocate for LTE wireless technology evolution progress as the foundation for 5G that will exist for decades to come.”
The International Telecommunications Union, which is tasked with setting mobile technology generational standards, is expected to base the evolution to 5G on current LTE standards, though with a greater focus on diverse spectrum bands; virtualization technology using software-defined networking and network functions virtualization; small cell deployments; and advanced antenna technology. Standards for this evolution are expected to be finalized by 2019, with standards-based commercial deployments currently expected to begin in 2020.
The name change comes on the heels of some notable U.S.-based wireless carriers announcing 5G-related plans.
AT&T last week laid out its plans to begin work on research, development and ultimate commercialization of next-generation 5G mobile networks in partnership with Ericsson and Intel. The network operator pointed to millimeter wave spectrum, SDN and NFV as key enablers of 5G.
Verizon Communications last September said it planned to begin field trials of 5G-based technologies beginning this year, with commercial deployments beginning in 2017.
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