ITU Focus Group Delivers Draft International Standards to Support 5G Innovation

The ITU-T Focus Group on network aspects of IMT-2020 (‘5G’) has concluded its preliminary study into the networking innovations required to achieve the ambitious performance targets of smart 5G systems. The group’s output takes the form of five draft ITU international standards and four draft ITU technical reports to drive related work in ITU’s standardization expert groups (ITU-T Study Groups).

Draft ITU international standards:

·         Requirements of IMT-2020 from network perspective

·         Framework for IMT-2020 network architecture

·         Requirements of IMT-2020 fixed mobile convergence

·         IMT-2020 network management requirements

·         Network management framework for IMT-2020

 

Draft ITU technical reports:

·         Application of network softwarization to IMT-2020

·         Unified network integrated cloud for fixed mobile convergence

·         Application of information centric networking to IMT-2020

·         Terms and definitions for IMT-2020 in ITU-T

 

The draft ITU standards and technical reports are undergoing final editing before being transferred to ITU’s standardization expert group responsible for ‘future networks, with focus on IMT-2020, cloud computing and trusted network infrastructures’, ITU-T Study Group 13.

 

 

The Focus Group was established in May 2015 to analyze how emerging 5G technologies will interact in future networks. The group has undertaken in-depth studies into network softwarization and slicing, 5G architecture and fixed-mobile convergence, end-to-end network management, information-centric networking, and related open-source innovation.

 

The group held its final meeting in Geneva, 5-9 December, hosting a workshop and demo day on 7 December to showcase networking innovations to support the diverse range of envisioned 5G use cases, use cases which span from automated driving to industrial robotics and tele-surgery.

 

The Focus Group’s vision of the 5G era is of a highly dynamic ICT industry characterized by the entrance of new players to the networking business and new opportunities for telecoms companies. The approach to year 2020 will play host to the emergence of new business models capitalizing on the transformative effects of softwarization and the associated convergence of open-source and telecoms communities.