The ITU has outlined its vision and roadmap for the 5G standard, defining 5G as networks capable of transmitting data at up to 20Gbps.
During a meeting of the ITU-R Working Party in the US, the ITU defined the goals, processes and timeline for 5G development. The union agreed that the official name for 5G should be IMT-2020.
In a statement, ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said the union will continue to work with the telecom industry to develop the standard.
“The buzz in the industry on future steps in mobile technology – 5G – has seen a sharp increase, with attention now focused on enabling a seamlessly connected society in the 2020 timeframe and beyond that brings together people along with things, data, applications, transport systems and cities in a smart networked communications environment,” he said.
The ITU has also declared that 5G networks will have a capacity to provide over 100Mbps data rates to over 1 million IoT devices within one square kilometer, the Korea Times reported, citing South Korea's Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
The ministry sent a 12-member delegation to the 5G meeting, and the ITU's vision for 5G was developed based on the ministry's suggestion.
South Korea plans to take a leading role in 5G development and adoption. The nation's operators are involved in various 5G research partnerships and plan to deploy demonstration networks for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The 5G standard is expected to be commercialized by 2020.