Big 5G industry developments range from key new standards to new Super Bowl experiences

Vodafone, Verizon Wireless, Telstra, Rogers Communications, KT Corp. and América Móvil have formed the 5G Future Forum in the hopes of accelerating the rollout of the newest upgrade of mobile telecom capabilities and the use of 5G services by consumers.

The fact is that 5G is not a fully finalized industry standard for delivering capabilities like lower latency, greater data throughput and more security. Telcos can implement 5G in different ways, ways that can sometimes conflict with the methods used by competitors and telcos in different nations, hurting industry growth (as well as growth of 5G-reliant edge computing).

This was the case during networking’s early days. Common technology specifications between vendors means companies do not have to write cumbersome and sometimes efficiency-sapping software so that one company’s system can work seamlessly with another’s. At best, a lack of standards can create inconsistent experiences for users.

Presumably, the ultimate goal of the group, which represents operations in North and South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, is to maximize service uniformity by getting as many 5G players in the forum as possible.

Also this month, executives at Japan’s NTT Docomo and San Francisco-based MobiledgeX said they are collaborating to “verify a solution that leverages multi-access edge computing,” or MEC, infrastructure to distribute applications around the globe. MEC infrastructure includes servers and storage in the edge.

The pair will conduct a proof of concept this week in Tokyo. The goal is to help telecom and technology companies leverage the increased capabilities of 5G networks.

MobiledgeX has created a web portal that software developers can use to distribute applications to MEC infrastructures without the need to confirm each telco’s system use conditions or system availability. This should streamline and speed application distribution.

The proof of concept will involve a markerless augmented-reality app using the Edge Realities platform sold by Poland-based application maker 1000 Realities.

On the last day of 2019, executives at one of Telefónica S.A.’s mobile-network operators, O2, said that they had started 5G service in 21 UK cities, including London, Belfast and Glasgow, fulfilling a key 2019 company goal. Another 29 service masts are predicted to go up this summer, according to the company.

O2 already is experimenting with 5G on data-intensive tasks including the testing of driverless vehicles as well as handling the huge traffic demands of the European Space Agency.

And finally, Michelle McKenna, CIO for the National Football League, has said that Super Bowl LIV will be the first to offer 5G services to fans in attendance. Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, is the site of this year’s game. It is one of 16 NFL stadiums in cities served by telcos that have deployed 5G.

While not committing to specific features available at the game, McKenna, a veteran of The Walt Disney Co., said 5G could enable fans to see game information in augmented reality. They might see yellow down lines, game stats and player names superimposed on screens.

Article Topics

5G  |  industry standards  |  Telefónica S.A.  |  Telstra  |  Verizon  |  Vodafone  |  wireless