The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance announced its newly launched activities on 5G Trial & Testing, End-to-end Architecture and Vehicle-to-X.The Alliance highlights its commitment to ensure successful 5G development, testing and standardisation in the coming years.

Throughout the year, the NGMN Alliance has provided industry-wide 5G guidance based on its requirements around 5G radio access, architecture, vertical services, security and spectrum. The NGMN Board – CTOs from leading international operators – has now agreed on significant new additional work-items for the coming years and discussed those with the NGMN Partners at the Forum meeting last week:

• 5G Trial & Testing Initiative: Definition of proof points and testing methodologies, establishment of a globally aligned trial and testing platform for all NGMN Partners, comparison and benchmarking of technologies, identification of gaps and support of standardisation
• End-to-end Architecture: Development of a 5G end-to-end architectural framework and ‘big picture’, derivation of architecture design guidelines and requirements, enablement of synergies between SDOs and regional alignment
• Vehicle-to-X: Evaluation and driving of V2X technologies and business opportunities, co-operation with automotive industry stakeholders

In addition to the new work-items, the Board highlighted the importance of the on-going NGMN 5G projects on spectrum, IPR, operations and security with fundamental recommendations expected to be ready in due time.

NGMN’s overall work-programme is structured around key focus areas (ecosystem building and interaction, guidance to SDOs and the wider industry, evaluation of test and proof of concept results) aiming to address the major industry challenges ahead. The individual project activities will be implemented as part of one of those focus areas and the outcome of the work will be shared with all relevant organisations, SDOs and research groups.

“In the last 12 months we provided essential 5G input and substantial contributions to standardisation and the broader ecosystem”, said Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, chairman of the NGMN Alliance and CTO Deutsche Telekom. “With our 5G Trial & Testing initiative and the other new work-items, we will ensure global alignment of 5G development and will jointly work towards availability of commercial, standards-based solutions by 2020.”

“We are extremely happy that many new partners have joined NGMN over the last months”, said Peter Meissner, CEO of the NGMN Alliance. “The Operators, in close co-operation with our partners from industry and research, will now implement the above mentioned flagship projects along the NGMN focus areas. In addition, we are looking forward to the next major reporting milestone on our roadmap, the NGMN Industry Conference & Exhibition in October 2016.”

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