Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has kicked off initiatives to identify spectrum for 5G mobile technology in the US.
Earlier, Britain’s telecom regulator Ofcom also announced a similar program to speed up its 5G investment program in the UK.
Indian telecom regulator TRAI is yet to make any announcement on 5G though telecom equipment makers Nokia and Ericsson are in talks with mobile operators in India on the use of the much-hyped 5G technology.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said the vote on the new rules to identify and open spectrum for next-generation 5G wireless applications will take place on July 14, 2016.
Tom Wheeler added that there will be a proposal made for the same from his end which will be circulated to trigger the much anticipated 5G wireless proceedings. If the proposal gets the nod from the commission, high-band spectrum with the capability of delivering data at much higher speeds than the current networking methods of 4G and LTE can be implemented within time.
Tom Wheeler conveys that if the FCC “approves my proposal next month, the United States will be the first country in the world to open up high-band spectrum for 5G networks and applications.”
Policymakers and telecom companies are of the opinion that the upcoming generation of wireless signals have to be 10 to 100 times faster and should be more responsive so that support to latest technologies will be possible.
Tom Wheeler said that the 5G implementation should happen at the earliest, and should not be kept waiting due to research.
The 5G spectrum will be made available by the commission and the complete process for the production of technical standards will be in the hands of the private sector.
With telecoms like Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc announcing possible 5G trials in 2017, Tom Wheeler has conveyed that the first commercial deployments are expected in 2020.
Qualcomm Inc. a leading mobile chip major, has already expressed its support on the topic on Monday.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also revealed that the adoption of 5G will be a competitive process with countries like South Korea and Japan planning to deploy 5G services by the time they host the Olympics, in 2018 and 2020, respectively. The European Commission, South Korea, China and Japan are all working on 5G research efforts.
5G is believed to help majority of the population by providing high speed connectivity and is believed to be a booster to many emerging technologies.
“Smart-city energy grids, autonomous automobiles, transportation networks and water systems will be controlled in the cloud. Immersive education and entertainment will come from the cloud,” said Tom Wheeler on Monday.
