SRG reports latest 3GPP meeting failed to reach a formal agreement on 5G standards timing, with AT&T and Verizon factions remaining at odds.
The push to accelerate the “5G” standards process looks to have hit a temporary snag as the topic was put on hold following the recent Third Generation Partnership Project Plenary meeting in Vienna, Austria.
According to a report from Signals Research Group, attempts were again made to have a version of 5G standards available by March 2018, which would include a non-stand-alone version of the technology requiring the presence of LTE for deployment. This version, which is referred to as “Option 3,” would slide in ahead of the general Release 15 standard that is still scheduled for June 2018.
SRG noted proponents of the accelerated schedule “suggested that 3GPP essentially develops two sets of technical specifications – one set of TS documents for the functionality in the proposed early release and one set of TS documents at the full completion of Release 15.” The analyst and research firm indicated 3GPP did not agree to the change, though it could be revisited at the next 3GPP meeting scheduled for March 2017.
At a previous 3GPP meeting in New Orleans, a disagreement cropped up between an AT&T-led group looking to get some form of 5G standards on the books by the end of 2017, which is well ahead of 3GPP’s initial timeline of mid-2018, which was countered by a group that included Verizon Communications in wanting to keep the schedule as is. The AT&T group explained it needed more time for testing some of the standards to be ready for mid-2018 deployments.
In speaking with RCR Wireless News as part of our Carrier Wrap video show, SRG Founder and President Michael Thelander, explained the situation.
Thelander reasoned Verizon Communications was perhaps looking to stall AT&T’s advancement in terms of 5G work in favor of its own plans for fixed broadband service trials that have already garnered a number of industry partners, while AT&T on the other hand was making Verizon look overly aggressive.
“Verizon Wireless wants to show early leadership, so they can’t accelerate their deployments any faster, but what you can do is essentially delay or prolong the ability of others to deploy something,” Thelander explained. “Although Verizon’s public statement of why they want to not accelerate things is somewhat valid, I think the real reason is different.”
Another item on the docket at the Vienna meeting was a name for the next mobile technology iteration. An agreement looked to have been reached for 3GPP to use the “5G” term for all functionality beginning with Release 15, including LTE, though Thelander did note at least one major operator has since registered some pushback to the term. There had been earlier talk that 3GPP would use the “New Radio” designation for 5G-related work.
SRG did note the NR term would remain connected to new radio access; E-UTRAN, or evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network, would refer to a radio access network that connects to an evolved packet core; and 5G-RAN would refer to a radio access network that connects to a 5G core network.
Another topic noted by SRG was work by 3GPP on narrowband “internet of things,” which is set to handle massive machine type communications use cases. The latest meeting indicated a proposal for new NB-IoT features that would include support for unlicensed spectrum, though no formal decision was made by 3GPP on the topic.
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