from the the-good-thing-about-standards dept.
The ITU has announced draft technical requirements for 5G mobile technology:
The total download capacity for a single 5G cell must be at least 20Gbps, the International Telcommunication Union (ITU) has decided. In contrast, the peak data rate for current LTE cells is about 1Gbps. The incoming 5G standard must also support up to 1 million connected devices per square kilometre, and the standard will require carriers to have at least 100MHz of free spectrum, scaling up to 1GHz where feasible.
These requirements come from the ITU's draft report on the technical requirements for IMT-2020 (aka 5G) radio interfaces, which was published Thursday. The document is technically just a draft at this point, but that's underselling its significance: it will likely be approved and finalised in November this year, at which point work begins in earnest on building 5G tech.
[...] Under ideal circumstances, 5G networks should offer users a maximum latency of just 4ms, down from about 20ms on LTE cells. The 5G spec also calls for a latency of just 1ms for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC).
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Intel Announces XMM 8060 5G & XMM 7660 Category 19 LTE Modems, Both Due in 2019
Intel last week announced that its first commercial 5G modem, the XMM 8060, is now under development and will ship in a couple of years. As part of the announcement, the company reiterated its plans to offer a top-to-bottom XMM 8000 family of 5G modems for various applications, including smartphones, PCs, buildings and vehicles. In addition, the company announced its XMM 7660 Cat-19 LTE modem that supports download speeds of up to 1.6 Gbps, which will be available in 2019.
At present, Intel's 5G Mobile Trial Platform is used to test 5G technologies in different locations around the world. For example, one of such devices installed aboard the Tallink Silja Europa cruise ship is used to enable Internet connectivity to passengers while in port in Tallinn, Estonia, (where another 5G MTP is installed) and the nearby area. Meanwhile, Intel's 5G Modem for client applications is evolving as well. Intel said that devices powered by the silicon can now make calls over the 28 GHz band. The 5G MTP will be used for its purposes for a while and will even gain new capabilities over time, but the company is working on a family of commercial modems that will be used for mass applications sometimes in 2019 and onwards. The Intel XMM 8000-series multi-mode modems will operate in both sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave global spectrum bands, combining support for existing and next-gen radios. Intel does detail the whole lineup two years before the launch but indicates that it will be able to address smartphones, PCs, vehicles, and fixed wireless consumer premise equipment (CPE).
Previously: ITU Defines "5G" as up to 20 Gbps, 2018 Olympics Demo Planned
5G Gets a Shot in the Arm From the FCC
3GPP Sets 2018 as Freeze Date for 5G Air Interfaces
5G Draft Technical Requirements Announced
Verizon will launch "5G" wireless service in three to five cities by the end of next year, starting with Sacramento, California:
Verizon is getting closer to releasing its first commercial 5G network, with the company announcing today that it plans on launching 5G in three to five cities by the end of next year. The rollout starts with Sacramento, California sometime in the second half of 2018.
Related: 5G Draft Technical Requirements Announced
Intel Announces Development of 5G Modems (Due in 2019)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 26 2017, @04:33PM
Here's hoping we get some real unlimited plans with this tech. I'm fine with rate limited like 10Mb/s max, unmetered, $50/mo. Or half the price and twice the speed, since I'm dreaming.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Sunday February 26 2017, @07:50PM
I'm on a grandfathered 3G unlimited plan, paying peanuts for it. (I suppose that's rate limited by design.) I won't touch 4G as it stands (in the UK) as even the best SIM-only plans will be more expensive, and come with data caps applied.