Learn about InterDigital’s support of 5G and the Internet of Things, as well as the company’s role in the standards-setting process
Discourse in the telecommunications industry is currently focused on next-generation 5G mobile networks, which, through dramatic increases in throughput coupled with decreases in latency, promise to fully enable the Internet of Things and bring to life futuristic use cases like the tactile Internet, autonomous driving and more.
Even as 5G products enter the market, the standard is tracking for finalization by 3GPP and related organizations in the 2019-2020 timeframe. So let’s take a moment to focus on the standards-setting process and how it fosters innovation and creates value not only for the telecom ecosystem but for consumers as well.
In a recent interview with RCR Wireless News, Jim Nolan, InterDigital Executive Vice President – IoT Solutions, discussed the importance of being engaged in the ongoing standardization work. InterDigital, an R&D focused company that enables network interoperability and scalability, whose predecessor company was founded in 1972, has been an active member of 3GPP since its inception in 1998.
“There’s been a good amount of work being done worldwide over the last couple of years in preparing for what 5G will be,” Nolan said. “It’s the next-generation wireless standard…and what it promises, as each of the last improvements, each G has done, is an order of magnitude improvement in terms of throughput, latency and price/performance. But there are actually multiple elements.”
We’re not just talking about an air interface, Nolan said, noting the fundamental importance of software-defined network and network functions virtualization to an ultimate 5G standard, but also technologies that present immediate utility for network operators looking to gain agility and market share in a market rife with threats from low-cost OTT players.
“These are improvements that are happening right now in terms of how networks are being built,” he explained. “These will be tremendous enablers and also critical components of 5G. I think you will see elements of 5G happen…even before 5G’s approved standards are released.”
But back to value: How does involvement in the highly-technical standardization process create value across the ecosystem? It’s a matter of global scalability, Nolan explained.
“We went from several standards that were regional or distinct…to worldwide standards. When we moved to worldwide standards, what we did is we created an ecosystem that created such tremendous scale. That scale provides the ability for other people in the ecosystem—application developers, equipment developers—to develop products for a much, much broader market. What that does is it drives down the price of not only the handsets and the terminals, but of the networks themselves. The other thing that I think is important from an end-consumer perspective is the level and rapidity of development for performance and cost that has happened given these standards. All of the companies are competing to a common denominator, a common standard, that ensures that customers get a minimum level of performance and it also enables a multi-vendor ecosystem. That competition drives pricing down.”
For more information about InterDigital, click here. To get an in-depth look at InterDigital’s vision for 5G, watch this interview with InterDigital Europe Vice President Alan Carlton, and learn more about IoT in this interview with Nolan filmed during Mobile World Congress 2016.
