ITU completes evaluation of 5G interfaces, picks three

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) says the successful candidates will ensure worldwide compatibility of equipment and interoperability.

The ITU has completed the evaluation of candidate IMT-2020 (International Mobile Telecommunications2020 otherwise known as 5G) cellular radio technologies.

Three met the required performance and ‘vision’ to become 5G standards. They are 3GPP 5G-SRIT [set of radio interface technologies] and 3GPP 5G-RIT [radio interface technology], and 5Gi submitted by Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI).

Final draft

The three are included in the first release the proposed global standard in the ITU-R Recommendation titled Detailed specifications of the radio interfaces of IMT-2020. This is still to receive final approval by the 193 Member States of ITU.

Mario Maniewicz, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau (ITU-R), said: “The successful completion of the evaluation process and the release of this global standard is a significant milestone for the global telecommunication industry and its users.

“5G technologies will further enrich the worldwide communications ecosystem, expand the range of innovative applications and support the burgeoning Internet of Things, including machine-to-machine communication.”

Team effort

The evaluation of the candidate technologies was not carried out by ITU-R alone. It was a highly collaborative process with substantial input from and coordination with ITU Member States, equipment manufacturers, network operators, and involved national, regional, and international standards development organizations, partnerships, the academic community and fora, since ITU-R provides a unique global framework to discuss the capabilities of new radio technologies.