After many successful decades in the cable television and internet access business, Videotron deployed its wireless operation in 2010 and has been the fastest growing new operator since then. With the combined effort, Videotron has now successfully expanded its services to 5G.

For the launch, Samsung has provided 5G RAN, which covers 600MHz, 700MHz, 2.6GHz and AWS spectrums. Moreover, Samsung’s 5G RAN supports both LTE and 5G NR, enabling convenient operation of a network, and saves installation space while reducing CAPEX and OPEX.

“Collaboration with Samsung for 5G service set us ready to meet the highest expectations of our customers.” said Jean-François Pruneau, President and CEO of Videotron. “By stepping up our collaborative efforts, we will deliver enriching experiences and keep Quebecers connected to all they care about. We are thrilled to offer a renewed connectivity experience that will accompany our customers in their daily lives.”

“Samsung is pleased to support Videotron for its first 5G service. This commercial rollout will open up new exciting experiences for Videotron’s 5G users,” said Jeff Jo, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics Canada. “Together with Videotron, Samsung will leverage its successful 5G experiences to bring reliable and advanced 5G services to users in Canada.”

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios, and core network technologies. Samsung supports 5G commercial services in the world’s leading markets, including Korea, the U.S. and Japan. In addition, the company is rapidly expanding its global footprint to new markets including Canada and New Zealand.

About Videotron

Videotron, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, entertainment, Internet access, wireline telephone and mobile telephone services. Videotron is a leader in new technologies with its Helix home entertainment and management platform. As of September 30, 2020, Videotron was serving 1,481,800 cable television customers and 452,900 subscribers to its Club illico video streaming service. Videotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 1,773,600 subscribers to its cable service as of September 30, 2020. As of the same date, Videotron had 1,452,600 subscriber connections to its mobile telephone service and was providing wireline telephone service to 950,900 Québec households and organizations. Videotron has been recognized as one of Montréal’s top employers.

Samsung’s 5G vRAN consists of a virtualized Central Unit (vCU), a virtualized Distributed Unit (vDU), and a wide range of radio units to enable a smooth migration to 5G. By replacing the dedicated baseband hardware used in a traditional RAN architecture with software elements on a general-purpose computing platform, mobile operators can scale 5G capacity and performance more easily, add new features quickly, and have flexibility to support multiple architectures.

It can also reduce maintenance costs by moving to a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) x86-based platform, while matching the reliability of a traditional RAN. COTS x86-based servers are standard and readily available computing elements from a large supplier ecosystem. Operators use them today for a range of IT needs.

“Samsung’s 5G vRAN validates a software-based alternative to vendor-specific hardware, while offering high performance, flexibility, and stability,” said Jaeho Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Once the solution becomes commercially available this quarter, we look forward to providing carriers with additional architectural options for building innovative and open 5G networks.”

Samsung’s 5G vCU was first commercialized in April 2019 and is currently in commercial use by mobile carriers in Japan, Korea, and the United States. This new solution adds the vDU in addition to the vCU to deliver a fully-virtualized 5G vRAN. When combined with Samsung’s virtualized 4G/5G Core, the operator will be able to implement an end-to-end software-based radio and core network running on COTS x86 servers. The company will continue to conduct vDU field trials in North America in the second half of this year.

Designed for 5G Expansion

The recent surge in broadband—especially high-quality video streaming to support work, entertainment, and learn-at-home demands—has highlighted the need for carriers to be able to quickly deploy network resources to meet the shifting requirements of businesses and consumers. Samsung’s vRAN solution, with its easy expandability and manageability, is able to support operators who want to rapidly expand their network capacity and features, and also evolve their networks with 5G-powered capabilities to support these demands.

“Now, more than ever, mobile operators recognize the need for quality-driven, flexible, scalable, and cost-efficient network architectures while planning for 5G network success,” said Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence. “RAN virtualization will be an important tool in helping to deliver on those demands and Samsung’s continuing vRAN innovation positions it well to deliver.”

Samsung’s vRAN operates on x86-based COTS servers, either with or without hardware accelerators depending on factors such as total bandwidth.

Verified Performance

Samsung demonstrated its vRAN capabilities to customers in April 2020, proving the feasibility of full virtualization by operating 5G New Radio (NR) baseband functions in software running on an x86-based COTS server.

The demonstration results had matched the performance of legacy hardware baseband.¹ It used Samsung’s field-proven cellular algorithms while testing Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), a technology that helps carriers take advantage of 5G in 4G frequency bands and advance a seamless evolution to next-generation communications.

Samsung is a pioneer in the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions ranging from chipset, radio, and core network to cloud platform for both mid-band and mmWave spectrum. The company has been supporting 5G commercial services in leading markets, including Korea, U.S., and most recently Japan, where the majority of worldwide 5G subscribers are currently located. In addition, Samsung is further expanding its global footprint rapidly to new markets from Europe to Canada and New Zealand.

¹ Based on Samsung internal testing.

The two companies started their 5G collaboration in 2018 with a 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) trial in Cluj county, Romania, where Orange mobile customers became the first European users to experience at home 5G services. Now, the companies are ramping up their efforts to bring the benefits of 5G to users in Romania.

At Untold, which drew over 335,000 attendants last year, Orange Romania and Samsung have set up 5G use cases to offer immersive experiences powered by the 5G network’s ultra-low latency and ultra-high speed, unfolding the potential of the next generation technology for all to see. The demonstrations include real-time streaming of the performances, captured by 360-degree cameras built onto the arena’s main stage. The stream is shown at an Orange VR zone set up outside the arena, providing a uniquely immersive viewing experience to fans who visit. The companies are also holding an event demonstrating 5G download speeds reaching above 1Gbps, with a latency reduction of 50% on that experienced when using current LTE technology.

“With these successful demonstrations, we are showcasing the experiences that 5G can bring to Orange customers in Romania,” said Emmanuel Chautard, Chief Technology Officer at Orange Romania. “Together with Samsung, we’re showing live network capabilities, with proof that goes beyond just impressive speeds more centered on the customer experience.”

“5G offers more than just a faster connection; it enables transformative use cases that will benefit people and businesses across the industry,” said GY Seo, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “These joint demonstrations allow for a glimpse into the new kinds of services and capabilities that will be made possible as we unlock the potential of 5G for users across Europe.”

The trial at Cluj Arena, where the festival is taking place, makes use of Samsung’s latest solutions, including 5G Massive MIMO Units (MMUs), which support the 3.4-3.8GHz frequency band. Samsung 5G MMUs have already been rolled out across Korea by all three Korean 5G operators for use with their 5G commercial service, which launched in April of 2019. This commercially proven MMU is one of the smallest and lightest in the industry, making installation in existing cellular sites very straightforward.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that its 5G communication solutions are in mass production for the latest premium mobile devices. The 5G multi-mode chipsets include the previously-introduced Exynos Modem 5100 as well as a new single-chip radio frequency transceiver, the Exynos RF 5500, and supply modulator solution, the Exynos SM 5800, all supporting 5G New Radio (5G-NR) sub-6-gigahertz (GHz) spectrum and legacy radio access technologies that provide mobile device manufacturers with optimum network communication solutions for the 5G era.

“Samsung has been an innovator in mobile communication technologies with a strong portfolio of market-proven solutions, and we are well-prepared to extend our leadership into 5G,” said Inyup Kang, president of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our multi-mode solutions, the Exynos Modem 5100, Exynos RF 5500 and Exynos SM 5800 will together enable powerful yet energy-efficient 5G performance along with the network versatility that allows users to stay connected wherever they are.”

Exynos Modem 5100 is Samsung’s first 5G modem solution that had completed preparations for commercialization in August, 2018, with a successful over-the-air (OTA) 5G-NR data call test. The modem supports virtually all networks from 5G’s sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrums to 2G GSM/CDMA, 3G WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, HSPA and 4G LTE networks in a single chip.

For reliable and power-efficient performance, the modem is paired with RF and supply modulator solutions, Exynos RF 5500 and Exynos SM 5800 respectively.

Samsung’s Exynos RF 5500 supports legacy networks and 5G-NR sub-6GHz networks in a single chip, offering added flexibility in smartphone designs, especially for today’s premium mobile devices. RF transceivers are key components that allow smartphones to transmit and receive data over the cellular network. When transmitting voice or data from a smartphone to a carrier, the RF up-converts the modem’s baseband signal to high GHz-range cellular frequencies so that data can be sent swiftly over the connected network. Vice versa, when receiving, the signal is down-converted by the RF to baseband frequencies for it to be processed by the modem. The Exynos RF 5500 has 14 receiver paths for download, and supports 4×4 MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) and higher-order 256 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) scheme to maximize the data transfer rate over the 5G network.

The Exynos SM 5800 is a low-power supply modulator solution for 2G to 5G-NR sub-6GHz that supports up to 100MHz envelope-tracking (ET) bandwidths. As the possibilities for richer content with higher data rates open up with the arrival of 5G, maintaining a highly efficient RF has become more critical in ensuring a longer battery life in a mobile device. The Exynos SM 5800 demonstrates up to a 30-percent power reduction by dynamically adjusting the supply voltage according to the modem’s RF input signal. With an advanced power optimizing ET solution for RF, data can be transmitted more efficiently and reliably over the incredibly fast 5G network.

Both the Exynos RF 5500 and SM 5800’s technological breakthroughs have been recognized by the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) committee and were presented at ISSCC 2019 held at San Francisco last February.

As the industry moves forward to unfold and discover the full benefits of 5G, Samsung plans to continue pushing for innovation in mobile communication technologies, including RF transceiver and phased array solutions for mmWave along with 5G-embedded mobile processors, that will further drive the proliferation of new applications in mobile devices and emerging industries.

KT has used its 5G commercial network using 3.5GHz frequency deployed in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, which comprised of Samsung’s 5G NR end-to-end network solutions including 5G radio and virtual core (vCore) supporting both 4G LTE and 5G simultaneously, and 5G smartphone (Galaxy S10 5G). The two companies have focused on providing end users with real-world outdoor mobile experiences, achieving overall 1Gbps speed on 5G smartphone connected to 5G commercial network.

This has been one of the key accomplishments for the two companies – proving that 5G commercial network is ready to deliver stable gigabit speed for end-users since last December – signifying the impact of 5G commercialization and promising enhanced user experiences in a real outdoor environment.

After KT selected Samsung as the key 5G network solution provider in November 2018, the companies have jointly built the 5G commercial network, on-air already from last December. Since then, the two companies have been focusing on optimizing the 5G network for both wider coverage and exponential data traffic derived by 5G’s higher speed.

As 5G commercial service for end-users is set to arrive this spring, KT announced today that 5G network will be ready for end-user mobility service in 85 cities nationwide including the Seoul metropolitan area by end of March 2019. This includes 5G service coverage expansion throughout a number of major national highway and high-speed railways (KTX and SRT) connecting cities. In addition, it will gradually cover 464 colleges and universities, subways, landmark buildings and parts of mountainous areas.

“KT has shown unparalleled leadership in technology through its 5G trial services in PyeongChang, which led to early 5G commercialization,” said Chang-Seok Seo, Executive Vice President of Network Strategy Unit and Network Group at KT. “Based on our technical expertise and years of experience working on 5G, KT will continue to establish its 5G network across the nation to provide differentiated services to our valued customers in collaboration with Samsung.”

“Samsung and KT will continue to work closely in collaboration to push beyond the limits of today’s technology and offer a glimpse of the revolutionary world led by 5G,” said Jaeho Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Harnessing our assets and cutting-edge 5G end-to-end solutions, Samsung aims to be at the forefront to push the limits of 5G even further.”

This achievement is a part of an ongoing collaboration between KT and Samsung of many years toward 5G commercialization. The two companies successfully delivered the 5G pilot services during the winter sports games in February 2018, being the first to bring 5G network and device that utilize 28GHz frequency. Leveraging this experience, they succeeded in live video call conducted with Samsung’s 5G network built in USA and Korea (Link), respectively. Further, the companies achieved 5G NR based interoperability test using both 3.5GHz and 28GHz in February 2018 (Link).

These joint efforts have led Samsung to become a major 5G partner of KT in November 2018 and launch 5G mobility commercial service in South Korea on December 1, 2018.

The data connection demonstrated the delivery of multi-gigabit 5G speeds to a smartphone form-factor mobile test device, with a focus on how users can experience a virtually seamless, uninterrupted data transmission using 3GPP 5G NR specification and dual connectivity (known as EN-DC¹). The test used Samsung’s commercial 5G NR and 4G LTE equipment to deliver the 5G NR data transmission using Verizon’s 28 GHz spectrum. This spotlights a rapid, stable and effective path to commercial 5G service using a Non-Standalone mode of operation with dual-connectivity that takes advantage of both 5G and LTE technology.

The data throughput of more than 1.7 Gbps was delivered to a Qualcomm Technologies’ smartphone form factor test device with a Qualcomm^® Snapdragon X50 5G modem and antenna modules with integrated RF transceiver, RF front-end and antenna elements. This represents a smartphone form factor device that consumers will use on high-capacity, multi-gigabit 5G networks using mmWave spectrum. Testing occurred in Qualcomm Technologies’ San Diego, CA -based labs.

This 5G NR demonstration follows a recent announcement from Verizon of the company’s successful first data transmission on a 5G-upgradeable smartphone using a commercial 5G network in Providence, RI. That transmission used Samsung’s 5G NR solutions and the Snapdragon X50 5G modem, along with the groundbreaking Qualcomm^® QTM052 mmWave antenna modules.

“Successful interoperation of multiple network technologies takes us another step closer to the commercialization of 5G mobility services,” said Woojune Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of North American Business at Samsung Electronics’ Networks Business. “We are proud to join with Verizon and Qualcomm Technologies to spotlight the next steps driving network evolution. The use of substantial mmWave spectrum and EN-DC demonstrates how a seamless 5G/LTE approach succeeds in delivering high-speed, high-capacity mobility on next-generation networks.”

“Verizon is leading the industry again with the first 5G NR standards connection leveraging multiple component carrier technology and our ultra wide band frequencies to achieve top 5G speeds,” said Ed Chan, senior vice president and chief technology architect for Verizon. “This is a demonstration of real 5G speed achieved through commercial grade Samsung network equipment and a Qualcomm chipset. Our strong partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm is truly accelerating the 5G ecosystem to deliver the 5G promise to our customer.”

¹ EN-DC (Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access-New Radio), introduced in 3GPP release 15, refers to E-UTRA NR Dual connectivity.

Samsung Electronics America today announced that their 5G-ready massive MIMO solutions on Sprint’s 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE network are now in commercial service. As part of Sprint’s network, Samsung’s massive MIMO solutions deliver improved 4G LTE throughput and capacity to Sprint’s subscribers. Additionally, this helps provide Sprint with a seamless upgrade path to 5G New Radio (NR), utilizing the carrier’s deep 2.5 GHz spectrum.

In February 2018, Sprint announced its selection of Samsung as a massive MIMO provider for their future 5G mobile network launch in the U.S., an important milestone for the carrier. Samsung’s massive MIMO can provide a way for operators to inject new capacity into their network without having to purchase more spectrum or add new base stations. It is being used by Sprint to significantly boost LTE network speeds and capacity for millions of U.S. customers, while improving network efficiencies through advanced beam-forming. 

“We are excited to see Samsung MIMO solutions in use on Sprint’s current LTE commercial network, which will help their customers experience the full benefits of network innovation,” said Lyle Nyffeler, Vice President, Networks Division, Samsung Electronics America. “Our MIMO solutions are engineered to maximize 4G networks today, while offering a graceful, seamless path to a 5G future.”

In addition to delivering substantial capacity gains using the same amount of spectrum, Samsung’s MIMO solution offers a seamless path through split mode, enabling deployment of 4G and 5G NR on the same radio, without any hardware changes. The massive MIMO implementation also includes the Samsung CDU 30, a higher capacity digital unit and software that enables gigabit level speeds while supporting eMTC and NB-IoT.

“Massive MIMO is a powerful technology that enables us to dramatically increase our LTE capacity and data speeds, giving customers in dense urban locations an even better mobile experience,” said Jay Bluhm, Vice President of Network Development and Engineering, Sprint. “We’re also excited to collaborate with Samsung on 5G and enable a whole new level of immersive mobile services.”

For further information on Samsung and Sprint’s massive MIMO trial, please visit here.

3GPP TSG #80 Plenary Meeting has approved the completion of the standalone (SA) Release 15 5G specifications. After the release of the 5G NR specifications for non-standalone (NSA) operation in Dec. 2017, another essential step of standardization of 5G has been successfully completed. Now, the whole industry is taking the final sprint towards 5G commercialization. The completion of SA specifications which complements the NSA specifications, not only gives 5G NR the ability of independent deployment, but also brings a brand new end-to-end network architecture, making 5G a facilitator and an accelerator during the intelligent information and communications technology improvement process of enterprise customers and vertical industries. New business models will be enabled and a new era where everything is interconnected will be opened up for both mobile operators and industrial partners.

More than 600 delegates from the world’s major telecom operators, network, terminals and chipset vendors, internet companies and other vertical industry companies have witnessed this historic moment for 5G. Balázs Bertényi, Chairman of 3GPP TSG RAN, said: “The freeze of Standalone 5G NR radio specifications represents a major milestone in the quest of the wireless industry towards realizing the holistic 5G vision. 5G NR Standalone systems not only dramatically increase the mobile broadband speeds and capacity, but also open the door for new industries beyond telecommunications that are looking to revolutionize their ecosystem through 5G.”

Erik Guttman, Chairman of 3GPP TSG SA, adds: “The agreed completion of the stage 3 freeze milestone for the 5G standalone system has great significance. The 5G System specification has now reached its official stage of completion, thanks to the intense efforts of hundreds of engineers over the past three years. A special acknowledgment is due to those who led this remarkable effort in diverse committees. 5G promises a broad expansion of telecommunications, as an ever more central component of our economies, societies and individual activities. The 5G System opens the way for commercialization of services based on the New Radio and 5G Core Network and their advanced extensible capabilities. The new system provides the foundation for ongoing specialization for support of new business sectors, for unlike 4G and past generations, 5G supports the very specific requirements and individual service characteristics of diverse communications. Already, 3GPP activities have begun to leverage the 5G system to realize opportunities in areas such as industrial automation. This activity will intensify in the months and years to come, in increasingly many sectors, all on the foundation of the work that has been achieved on this occasion.”

Georg Mayer, Chairman of 3GPP TSG CT, said: “Two years ago, 5G was seen as a vision or even just a hype – with the closing of Rel-15 3GPP has made 5G a reality within a very short time. The outcome is an amazing set of standards that will not only provide higher data rates and bandwidth to end customers but which is open and flexible enough to satisfy the communication needs of different industries — 5G will be the integration platform for heterogeneous businesses. All this could only be achieved thanks to the willingness of the stakeholders to work together on a common goal and due to the effectiveness of 3GPPs structure and processes. Rel-15 only marks the first step of the 5G story and 3GPP will further develop it into the future, aligning it to the needs of customers and industries.” It is firmly believed by the whole industry that, after 34 months of hard and efficient work, the carefully crafted and elaborately designed 5G specifications, a fruit of close collaborations and collective wisdom, will surely meet the high expectations.

China Mobile

Mr. Li Zhengmao, Vice President of China Mobile, said: “The name of the host place, La Jolla, means “the jewel” in Spanish. As the name of the host place, 5G has been viewed as a “jewel” from its birth and bears the expectations and dreams of the entire mobile communications industry to provide faster and smoother mobile broadband services and more comprehensive and more effective communication solutions to vertical industries. The whole industry will carry the momentum to accelerate the maturity of the 5G end-to-end system, create a new ecology of cross-industry integration, cultivate a new model for 5G development, and make greater contributions to the development of the global digital economy.”

Anritsu

Takashi Seike, the Senior Vice President of Anritsu, said: “We are very pleased to see the next frontier of wireless communication coming closer to reality by the completion of Standalone 5G NR specification. Anritsu is committed to contribute to commercial success of 5G by ensuring device and service quality through close collaboration with customers and partners.”

Asia Pacific Telecom

Mr. Fang-Ming Lu, Chairman of Asia Pacific Telecom, said: “The complete of Rel-15 NR specification opens the door for introducing more intelligence into the world. We are very pleased to continue cooperating with global industry partner to explore new applications of 5G technology. More specifically, Asia Pacific Telecom is willing to create 5G+8K eco-system to enrich our digital life and provide Industrial IoT services to offer more innovative solutions for society.”

AT&T

“Commercial 5G services are closer than ever with the completion of 3GPP Release 15,” said Hank Kafka, VP Access Architecture and Standards. “This milestone will allow for more advanced testing using standards-compliant equipment and paves the way for our commercial 5G launch in a dozen cities later this year. We are proud to have been part of the process as the industry participants in 3GPP came together to achieve the acceleration, and now completion, of the first phase of 5G specifications.”

British Telecom

“BT recognises another significant milestone on the path of 5G.” said Neil J. McRae, Chief Architect at BT, “This step provides the crucial foundation to enable the power of 5G to deliver on low latency, scale and high availability- the foundation that our customers need to usher in the fourth industrial revolution and the era of ultra collaboration.”

CAICT

Ms. Wang Zhiqin, Deputy Director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), said: “The on-time delivery of the first version of 5G specifications does not come easily. It is the result of wisdom and sweat of people who has devoted themselves to 5G standardization. The new end-to-end business capability of 5G will become an essential engine to open up an era where everything is inter-connected. IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group is going to work with industrial partners to promote the successful deployment and development of 5G.”

CATT

Chen Shanzhi, the Vice President of Datang Telecom Group (CATT), said: “The success of 5G NR first full specification comes from the joint efforts of the industry. SA operation can be regarded as a prerequisite of 5G supporting both mobile internet and IoT, and also an accelerator for 5G successful commercialization and even a multiplier for 5G showing its social value. Therefore, the successful completion of SA specification has laid a foundation for the overall launch of 5G industry. With 5G commercialization entering the final sprint phase, Datang Telecom Group will continuously endeavor to promote 5G into global commercial success.”

China Telecom

China Telecom EVP, Dr. Liu Guiqing said: “China Telecom is proud of being important part of the team for completing this historical 5G milestone. With this Rel-15 SA specification frozen, China Telecom plans to lead the efforts on verifying the specified performance and optimizing the innovative features through field trials in many cities. In parallel to the verification efforts of Rel-15, China Telecom looks forward to working with others in 3GPP to define Rel-16 that is critical for URLLC applications. To get ready for commercialization, China Telecom will work closely with the vendors and partners to promote 5G ecosystem and to explore new applications and business cases.”

China Unicom

Dr. Shao Guanglu, China Unicom EVP, said: “The 5G standard completed at this meeting is result of sincere cooperation of the whole industry. It is the result of wisdom and sweat of experts in communications, and carries high expectation and dreams of the whole society to form a more intelligent world. The completion of specifications is a milestone for 5G commercialization. 5G can meet various business requirements in different scenarios. It can not only provide high speed wireless access, but also enable vertical industry applications. It help us carry out the national strategies such as Internet+ and Made in China 2025. China Unicom will work together with the whole industry to build a good ecosystem and create a new dimension for 5G development, with the “five new” attitude”.

Chunghwa Telecom

Mr. Kuo-Feng Lin, SEVP and CTO, Chunghwa Telecom said: “We are delighted to see R15 5G NR specifications have been successfully and timely completed. It not only sets a remarkable milestone for the global ecosystem towards 5G eMBB commercialization, but also heralds the start of R16 5G specifications towards broader mMTC and uRLLC opportunities. We appreciate the efforts and contributions from 3GPP colleagues and stakeholders. Chunghwa Telecom will continue cooperating with the whole industrial players to enter the 5G wonderland.”

Deutsche Telekom

“We welcome the on-time completion of the Standalone Architecture with a cloud-friendly core network as part of the Rel-15 3GPP standard. This is another crucial milestone to realize a full end-to-end 5G system,” says Alex Jinsung Choi, SVP Research & Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom. “Deutsche Telekom recently implemented the world’s first non-standalone architecture trial in a commercial network in Germany. We now look forward to continuing our cross-industry collaboration to accelerate the 5G ecosystem development and explore the applications of reduced latency and network slicing, so that we can bring the full benefits of 5G to our customers.”

DISH Network

“Congratulations to 3GPP, we are excited to be a part of the completion of this important milestone,” said Mariam Sorond, Vice President of Technology Development at DISH Network.  “5G is set to be a paradigm shift for the industry and the completion of standalone (SA) 5G new radio (NR) specifications will enable new entrants to usher in innovative solutions.  We look forward to contribute to future milestones which enable the full potential of 5G to address massive connectivity and solutions for other verticals beyond broadband.”

Ericsson

Erik Ekudden, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson, says: “5G is fast approaching commercial reality thanks to the dedicated, industry-wide standardization work lead by 3GPP, we together have accelerated the delivery of the standard well ahead of time. Together with our ecosystem partners we will sustain this momentum and ensure that communication service providers can successfully launch 3GPP standard-based 5G networks.”

Fujitsu Limited

Masayuki Seno, SVP and Head of Network Products Business Unit at Fujitsu, said: “Fujitsu is very proud to reach a major milestone by successfully completing standalone (SA) 5G NR specifications together with the world’s mobile operators and vendors. The 5G network is surely the foundation for the secure exchange of information between trusted communities in the hyper-connected world. Fujitsu will strive to provide 5G network products and connected services to co-create human centric innovation through digital technologies with our customers and partners all over the world.”

Huawei

Yang Chaobin, president of Huawei 5G product line, said: “With the development of 5G NR standardization, we are pleased to cooperate with global organizations to reach a great milestone that 3GPP 5G NR specification of Standalone(SA) have been completed, which is a critical step forward for the 5G standardization and industry ecosystem. Huawei will positively invest on the research and development of 5G key technology and product, continue cooperating with global industry partner, and promote the implementation of 5G commercial deployment and health industry ecosystem worldwide.”

Intel

Asha Keddy, Vice President and General Manager Next Generation and Standards, Intel: “As the world prepares for 5G network deployments later this year, Intel is proud to have worked alongside our industrial partners to complete the standalone (SA) 5G new radio (NR) specification. This new air interface is another major step in our journey to power this first wave of 5G.  Intel, with our end to end network, cloud and client focus, and our partners are reimagining the network to deliver a true convergence of computing and communications.”

InterDigital

Dr. Robert DiFazio, Vice President, InterDigital Labs: “The completion of the 5G NR standalone specification and indeed all the new technologies that will make up 5G are the culmination of many years of work from all the companies and hundreds of engineers at 3GPP, and InterDigital is proud to have worked alongside them. InterDigital has been committed to playing a leading role in mobile industry standards across multiple generations of wireless, and we are excited to continue contributing our best technology as 5G deploys and brings amazing connectivity and economic opportunity throughout the world.”

Keysight Technologies

Satish Dhanasekaran, senior vice president of Keysight Technologies, and president of the Communications Solutions Group (CSG): “We are excited to enable the industry at a threshold of 5G acceleration and commercialization. The completion of the standalone (SA) 5G new radio (NR) specification marks a distinct milestone and offers a playbook for a connected ecosystem to move forward, in making 5G a reality and unlocking huge potential for society. Keysight’s is engaged with market leaders, contributions to the 3GPP standardization development and providing scalable 5G test and measurement solutions all the way from L1 to L7.”

KDDI

Mr. Yoshiaki Uchida, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Director of KDDI, said: “We are proud to have played a part in completion of 5G standardization as one of the leaderships of 3GPP TSG. With this successful completion of the 5G NR specification, KDDI will continue our collaboration with various business partners and prepare for the commercial 5G service launch in 2020.”

KT

Dr. Hongbeom Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of KT’s Infra Lab., said: “Ever since our successful 5G trial at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February, we have sought to elevate 5G standards in 3GPP to a higher level of excellence. KT greatly appreciates the timely establishment of the full 5G specifications and will continue to lead the global efforts for the coming commercial launch of 5G.”

Asha Keddy, Vice President and General Manager Next Generation and Standards, Intel: “As the world prepares for 5G network deployments later this year, Intel is proud to have worked alongside our industrial partners to complete the standalone (SA) 5G new radio (NR) specification. This new air interface is another major step in our journey to power this first wave of 5G.  Intel, with our end to end network, cloud and client focus, and our partners are reimagining the network to deliver a true convergence of computing and communications.”

KYOCERA

Masahiro Inagaki, Senior Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate R&D Group at Kyocera said: “The completion of the 5G NR SA specification marks a key turning point in the evolution of the next generation of wireless technology. Kyocera believes the new technology will fundamentally change the efficiency of network resource utilization, deployment flexibility and support of various applications with different QoS requirements such as IoT and V2X, some of which require high efficiency, ultra-reliable, low latency operations.”

Lenovo

Dr. Yong Rui, CTO&SVP of Lenovo Group, said: “The 5G has arrived at one of its key milestones, namely, the 5G NR SA specs has just been released in the 3GPP Plenary. The game-changing 5G has extremely broad implications for the telecommunications as well as many other industries that affect the most exciting and promising fields of the modern society for years to come. Lenovo has been working closely with key industry partners like China Mobile to accelerate the commercialization of 5G technologies to bring their full benefits to both our consumers and clients.”

LG Electronics

“LG is proud to be one of the key contributors toward the timely and successful completion of the 5G Phase-1 standard including 5G NR Stand Alone specifications, an important milestone to extend the application of 5G technologies to diverse deployment environments and emerging vertical sectors,” said Dr. I.P. Park, Chief Technology Officer of LG Electronics. “We are ready to deliver 5G-based intelligent mobile products and convergence services to worldwide markets and look forward to making significant contributions to the evolution of 5G standards.”

LG Uplus

Joosik Choi, executive vice president and Head of 5G Strategy Planning, said: “We would like to thank to 3GPP and all companies for great effort on 5G SA NR standard, Release 15. Based on this standard, LG Uplus is preparing for the successful deployment and commercialization of 5G in 2019. We will contribute to the continued development of 5G NR.”

MediaTek

MediaTek Senior Vice President Cheng-Te Chuang said: “The completion of standalone 5G NR specifications is another remarkable milestone in the progress of 5G and the goal of full coverage 5G SA networks. MediaTek is deeply involved in the standardization of 5G core technologies. With the completion of both SA and NSA specifications, MediaTek’s commercial-ready 5G chipset is getting mature and MediaTek will be one of the first-tier suppliers in 5G commercial markets.”

Mitsubishi Electric

Dr. Takashi Nishimura, executive officer in charge of Communication Systems Group, said: “It is our great pleasure to be a member of the group that has created a new 5G standard. Mitsubishi Electric wishes to contribute to the realization of a prosperous society that simultaneously achieves “sustainability” and “safety, security and comfort”, making the best use of the strengths of our existing businesses as well as the opportunities presented by this recently developed 5G standard.”

NEC

Atsuo Kawamura, Executive Vice President and Head of the Network Service Business Unit at NEC, said: “NEC is proud to have contributed to the completion of 5G NR standardization. This is a significant milestone towards successful commercialization of 5G, which will enable new value and services through its secure and intelligent technologies. Going forward, NEC will continue to develop and provide innovative 5G solutions for society that enable advanced communications and a diversified range of sophisticated services.”

Nokia

Marcus Weldon, President of Bell Labs and Corporate Chief Technology Officer, Nokia, said: “Nokia is proud to have played a significant role in achieving this milestone with excellent global industry cooperation. This milestone connects the 5G radio (NR) to the new 5G Core Network, in line with Nokia’s Future X vision. It enables exciting possibilities for the digital transformation that 5G will bring us for a connected world. A whole new horizon is available to create a digital economy with vertical industries beyond mobile broadband. Nokia will continue to leverage our unique 5G E2E capabilities and bring this vision into reality together with industry partners.”

NTT DOCOMO

Dr. Hiroshi Nakamura, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, NTT DOCOMO said: “I’m very glad that the first release of 5G specifications has been completed. This completion is the starting point of sustainable 5G development and expansion of 5G global ecosystem by leveraging unified NSA and SA. NTT DOCOMO has been collaborating with many partners across various industries to co-create 5G services through activities such as ‘DOCOMO 5G Open Partner Program’ and ‘DOCOMO 5G Open Labs’. We believe that the completion of the specifications will accelerate open innovation that will bring about solutions to social issues and new style creation for richer future for all. NTT DOCOMO will continue the collaborative effort aiming to spark the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

OPPO

Levin Liu, VP of OPPO & Director of OPPO Research Center, said, “The completion of 5G Standalone (SA) specifications marks the milestone where 5G NR truly becomes a complete system and thus is able to take full advantage of its high speed, low latency features. OPPO is willing to cooperate closely with China Mobile and other operator partners to provide richer and unprecedented user experience to end-users globally by introducing 5G capable devices at the earliest time.”

Orange

Arnaud Vamparys, SVP Radio Networks in Orange, said: “Orange welcomes the successful development of this new 5G standard release. This ensures more flexibility and freedom for our future 5G roll-outs, enabling 5G autonomous deployment, depending on each country’s specific context and corresponding strategy.”

Panasonic

Yoshiyuki Miyabe, the Senior Managing Executive Officer and CTO, Panasonic, said: “Panasonic is pleased this set for the 5G NR standard has been completed. 5G can be used not only for enhancement of voice and visual communication but also for new services such as IoT and autonomous driving, which ultimately contribute to resolving social issues. We would like to contribute to achieving ‘A Better Life, A Better World’ using 5G.”

Qualcomm Technologies

“We are proud to have worked with our industry counterparts in 3GPP RAN as well as in 3GPP CT and SA to achieve this milestone of including standalone 5G NR operation as part of the 5G global standard,” said Cristiano Amon, President, Qualcomm. “In addition to our leadership in developing and contributing new ideas and directions to 3GPP, Qualcomm Technologies is putting tremendous effort into making NR commercial through our 3GPP 5G NR spec compliant prototypes and interoperability testing and with the development of 5G NR modem chipsets which support both NSA and SA operation. We will continue to work with the industry to drive the evolution of 5G technologies as well as the worldwide commercialization of both SA and NSA 5G networks and mobile devices.”

Rohde-Schwarz

Mr. Andreas Pauly, EVP of R&S and head of Test and Measurement division said: “This is an important step of 5G development. In the process of 5G industrialization, Standardization is the cornerstone while test provides assurance. As a leading wireless test vendor, R&S participated in all stages of 5G standard development, and cooperated with industry chain partners to complete all 5G trial test. With formal freeze on 5G NR SA standard, R&S  intensifies close work with all partners in 5G new technology and various 5G application fields, provides innovative test solutions to meet 5G challenges, and contributes to the prosperity of future 5G industry.”

Samsung Electronics

Seunghwan Cho, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research, said: “We are very pleased to see the completion of the first release of 5G standard. Samsung has pioneered breakthrough technologies for 5G and has been actively collaborating with key partners to achieve this milestone. We will continue our efforts for the commercial success of 5G and deliver a new level of mobile experience to everyone’s life.”

Sharp

Yoshiro Nakano, BU President, Mobile Communication BU at Sharp said: “I’m delighted that 3GPP has completed their work on global 5G specifications today. Utilizing the 5G standards, SHARP will accelerate development of innovative technologies, such as “8K” (ultra-high-definition imaging) and “AIoT” (people-oriented IoT), aiming to contribute to people’s rich lives and a sustainable society.”

SK Telecom

“It is a significant step that enables new levels of mobile innovation with 5G technology by taking full advantage of new 5G NR and 5GC features. We are proud to be one of the key contributors of this important milestone,” said Jinhyo Park, EVP, Head of ICT R&D Division, SK Telecom, “Timely completion of the 5G NR SA standard will encourage operators to quickly move towards 5G commercialization. We truly look forward to taking the first step in the 5G commercialization and keeping the momentum with all 5G ecosystem players.”

SoftBank

Junichi Miyakawa, Representative Director & CTO of SoftBank, said: “SoftBank would like to express our gratitude to the leading companies for the timely completion of 5G standardization in 3GPP. In 2020s, everything will be connected to the internet, guiding us to greater revolution than ever. SoftBank has a huge expectation toward the upcoming 5G era, and is willing to lead the whole industry to accelerate the commercialization of 5G.”

Sony Mobile Communications

Hidehiko Teshirogi, Director, EVP, Sony Mobile Communications, said: “Sony has been part of the 5G NR and SA standardization and recognizes the progress in 3GPP to reach the completion of the SA 5G NR specifications. Sony Mobile is ready for full-scale development of 5G NR smartphones to take benefit of the opportunities offered by the new standard.”

Spirent Communications

“Delivery of the standalone 5G NR specifications is a milestone for the industry,” said Wright Nigel, EVP Global Sales, Spirent Communications, “As a test solution provider, Spirent will continue to work with the industry to reduce the complexity and cost of 5G testing, and accelerate innovation and time to revenue for new 5G-enabled services. Spirent will continue the close cooperation with our industry partners that will help to bring forward the implementation of 5G commercial deployment worldwide.”

StarPoint

“Congratulations to 3GPP for successfully completing Rel-15 5G SA standard”, said Professor Zhang Ping, founder of StarPoint, “This is a pivotal milestone of 5G commercialization, which will profoundly change the way we live for many years to come. As a world leading mobile testing solution provider, StarPoint is proud of having played a part of this process and will continue to work closely with our partners and the whole ecosystem to ensure that our 5G testing solutions always meet what the industry requires.”

Sumitomo Electric Industries

Toshiaki Kakii, Managing Executive Officer of Sumitomo Electric Industries, said: “As a global leading manufacturer of infocommunication devices and infocommunication/automotive network systems, we are pleased that the first release of the 5G NR specification has been completed and are proud to be a member of the 5G NR pioneers. Sumitomo Electric will continue developing advanced products to support the introduction of 5G NR commercial devices and networks.”

TIM

Enrico Bagnasco, Head of Technology Innovation of TIM, said: “The timely delivery of Rel 15 is another big step forward in the adoption of 5G to expand the footprint of the current mobile network into new market segments. We at TIM are particularly proud to have contributed with the 3GPP family for this achievement. The availability of a full set of NSA and SA standards will open several options for the deployment of the new technology, boosting a new generation of devices.”

Unisoc

Mr. Jingming Wang, Chief Operation Officer of Unisoc, said: “The 5G SA mode can decently reveal the technical advances of 5G. It will extensively fulfill the technical needs of intelligent transformation of global society in the coming 5G era. The prompt finalization of 3GPP R15 consolidates the standard foundation for the successful commercialization of 5G in year 2020, aiming at which the 1st generation 5G terminal chip from Unisoc is under developing with full power.”

Verizon

Ed Chan, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Architect of Verizon, said: “I applaud 3GPP’s completion of Release 15 including the Standalone NR System specifications. This milestone mirrors our active contributions and collaboration in industry standards and our continued leadership in 5G with our vendor partners, like the creation of  Verizon 5G Technical Forum with key industry players in 2015 to accelerate the pace of 5G innovation.  Earlier this month, Verizon marked two important industry firsts in 5G development: the successful completion of outdoor data sessions based on the 3GPP NR standard and the successful completion of multi-carrier aggregation, boosting the signals into the gigabit range.  The pair of successes, based on 3GPP’s NR standard and Verizon’s 28GHz millimeter wave spectrum, proved the exciting potential of 5G technologies. It demonstrated the transmission of multiple live interactive virtual reality (VR) sessions with a latency of 1.5 milliseconds and simultaneous 4K streaming video.  We are working with our industry partners in leading the 5G fixed wireless and enhanced mobile broadband deployments.  Verizon believes 3GPP’s standardization of 5G technologies will further help us build the future as we embark into a new era of services for our customers.”

VIAVI

Ian Langley, SVP and GM at VIAVI, said, “The completion of the first-phase full-featured 5G NR standardization work is an exciting news for the entire wireless communications industry. Since the 3G era, VIAVI test solutions have been dedicated to helping the industry accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation mobile and broadband services. VIAVI will accelerate the development of TM500 test instruments supporting the 5G SA and provide comprehensive support for the development and verification of 5G network infrastructure.”

Vivo

Yujian Shi, SVP and CTO of vivo, said: “To provide better user experience in 5G, we joined 3GPP and made lots of technical contributions on 5G SA&NSA. We appreciate the great efforts made by thousands of telecommunication experts to accelerate the 5G standards. Vivo are stepping up the 5G smart phone R&D and strive to release 5G SA smartphone in 2019.”

Vodafone

Luke Ibbetson, Head of Vodafone Group R&D said “This is another important step towards being able to realise the full potential of 5G as we look ahead to the next decade of mobile innovation. This adds further capability to the 5G family of technologies including 5G NR, LTE evolution and LPWA.”

Xiaomi

Mr. Wang Xiang, the senior VP of Xiaomi, said: “Xiaomi always adheres to the concept of “Let everyone in the world to enjoy the fun of science and technology.” With this concept in mind, we have been actively participating in the 5G standardization. 5G will provide a broader platform and market for industrial applications. By making full use of the advantages of its ecological system and 5G technology, Xiaomi will continue to make contributions to the development of 5G industrial applications.”

ZTE

Mr. Zhang Jianguo, Senior Vice President of ZTE, said: “The complete Phase-I 5G standard published on schedule has embodied collective wisdom and painstaking efforts of operators and industrial partners, and will definitely accelerate the global 5G industrial process. A more open, agile, and smart high-speed full-connectivity era is coming in the blink of an eye. The development of enterprises and industrial applications will benefit the whole society. ZTE will continue to work together with industrial partners to make a contribution to global digital development.”

The collaboration between groups of telecommunications standards associations, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) opens its general assembly in San Diego, the U.S. from June 11 to 14 and announces details on the first standards for the 5G mobile communication. Samsung Electronics published a 5G standards whitepaper following the general assembly on June 14.

With the title of “Who & How: Making 5G NR Standards”, the paper contains clear information on 5G mobile communication and its standards including the reason why standards are required in telecommunication, establishment process of the 5G standards and technological characteristics of the 5G standards. The paper explains the frequencies and new technologies for 5G such as above 6GHz range that had previously not been used in telecommunication.

5G Frequency Bands

The paper also contains interviews with five employees who work as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the 3GPP and 5G business fields. The interviews show Samsung’s leadership in the standardization and commercialization of 5G in a Q&A format.

“Samsung has been leading the 3GPP standardization for more than two years and introduced 5G super high frequency equipment for the first time in the world,” said Woojune Kim, Senior Vice President of the Network Division at Samsung Electronics. “Until 2020, we will actively support the commercialization of 5G including super high frequency and low frequency equipment with Korea, the U.S., Japan and other 5G leading countries at the very center of the change”.

The whitepaper, “Who & How: Making 5G NR Standards,” is available for download at the Samsung Electronics Network Division homepage.

“At MWC 2018, Samsung plans to show how our homes, cars and cities can be transformed by building user-centric 5G networks” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Since the beginning of our 5G research in 2012, Samsung stood firm among industry players to trust in the potentials of the millimeter wave spectrum. Our efforts towards advancing this technology will see the light this year, making 5G a reality and opening up new territories’ possibilities for consumers, operators and enterprises.”

Samsung has developed the world’s first complete commercial 5G FWA solutions, which includes: commercial form-factor 5G home routers (CPEs) for both indoors and outdoors, 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) comprised of a radio access unit and virtualized RAN, a next-generation core, as well as AI-powered 3D radio frequency planning tools and services. Using in-house technology and assets, Samsung has managed to develop the first commercial ASIC-based 5G modems and mmWave RFICs, enabling the design of compact access units and CPEs.

These products have already been proven through months of field trials in multiple markets. On February 23rd, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted authorization of Samsung’s 5G access units. These are the first 5G millimeter-wave products in the world to secure government regulatory approval—a milestone achieved through close collaboration with the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology.

The solutions will be deployed in the first commercial 5G network to be launched in 2018 in the U.S. For more details, refer to Verizon Selects Samsung for 5G Commercial Launch.

Samsung will also present its first 3GPP Release 15-compliant 5G NR products supporting spectrum bands both below and above 6GHz, to be made available in 2018.

5G-powered Smart Cities

The solutions will enable 5G connectivity for deployments covering a broad range of use cases, greatly enhancing an operator’s ability to explore various business cases and scenarios. A demonstration of a 5G-powered smart city at Samsung’s MWC booth will showcase the difference next-generation technology can bring to streets and transportation, so they are much safer and more convenient. Other demonstrations that illustrate how 5G will work in homes, stadiums, cars and trains are also planned to be presented at the booth.

Other Samsung solutions to be presented will include new LTE radio units and massive MIMO solutions, cloud platform, user-centric network optimization tools as well as services tailored to operators and enterprises’ specific needs.

Samsung Networks’ booth at MWC is located at the Exhibit Hall 2 Stand 2M20 in Fira Gran Via, and will be open from February 26th to March 1st, 2018. To learn more about MWC 2018, please visit www.mobileworldcongress.com.

On February 27, 2017 in Barcelona, global mobile industry leaders announced their support for the acceleration of the 5G NR standardization schedule, which introduced an intermediate milestone to complete the first implementable specification for Non-Standalone 5G NR operation. As a result of this announcement, the schedule acceleration was agreed at the 3GPP RAN Plenary Meeting on March 9 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. This first specification was completed as part of 3GPP Release 15.

This standard completion is an essential milestone to enable cost-effective and full-scale development of 5G NR, which will greatly enhance the capabilities of 3GPP systems, as well as facilitate the creation of vertical market opportunities. 3GPP plans to continue to develop Release 15, including the addition of support for Standalone 5G NR operation also agreed upon by 3GPP in Dubrovnik. The 5G NR lower layer specifications have been designed so that they can support Standalone and Non-Standalone 5G NR operation in a unified way, to ensure that 3GPP benefits the global industry with a large-scale single 5G NR ecosystem. We express our appreciation for the tremendous efforts that 3GPP has dedicated to accomplishing this challenging standardization schedule.

AT&T

“We’re proud to see the completion of this set of standards. Reaching this milestone enables the next phase of equipment availability and movement to interoperability testing and early 5G availability,” said Hank Kafka, VP Access Architecture and Analytics at AT&T. “It showcases the dedication and leadership of the industry participants in 3GPP to follow through on accelerating standards to allow for faster technology deployments.”

BT

“BT welcomes the first significant step to 5G deployment and we remain excited about the further innovations that 5G will bring.” said Neil J. McRae, Chief Architect at BT, “We are proud to have played a part in this and BT is committed to continuing to drive further 5G standardisation at pace to benefit our customers and communities.”

China Mobile

“The first version of 5G NR not only provides a NSA solution for 5G deployment but also completes the common part of NSA and SA, which lay a solid foundation for a global unified 5G system with global market scale. We believe the next important milestone that is SA standard providing end to end 5G new capability could be completed by June of 2018, which is very crucial to enable the operators to explore the enterprise and vertical markets. China Mobile is actively working with industry partners for 5G commercialization in year of 2020 and providing various services to customer. ” said Zhengmao Li, EVP of China Mobile Group.

China Telecom

“China Telecom is proud of being part of the 3GPP standard efforts that led to the completion of the first implementable 5G new radio specification. We expect that this important milestone, together with the SA part to be completed later, will promote and accelerate the development of 5G products, trials and commercial deployment in the coming years,” said Liu Guiqing, EVP of China Telecom. “With this successful completion of the 5G new radio standard, China Telecom plans to lead the 5G effort by launching field trials in many major cities in China as early as 2018, and prepare for the possible commercialization thereafter.”

China Unicom

Guanglu Shao, EVP of China Unicom Group, said: “It is the significant step for both 3GPP and the whole industry. This first version of 5G NR standardization provides essential functionalities for NSA and SA deployment, which are equally important for operators. We believe in that the industry could joint together further to make 5G more advanced for both human and vertical societies. We welcome the 5G era’s coming, and will continue collaborate with industry partners to make successful 5G commercialization.”

Deutsche Telekom

“We view both the Non-Standalone and Standalone modes of New Radio as equally important for the completeness of the 5G standard specification. This timely finalization of NSA is one important step on that journey and in the development of the 5G ecosystem,” said Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, CTO Deutsche Telekom. “It is crucial that the industry now redoubles its focus on the Standalone mode to achieve progress towards a full 5G system, so we can bring key 5G innovations such as network slicing to our customers.”

Ericsson

Erik Ekudden, CTO at Ericsson, said: “3GPP has done a tremendous job to complete the first 5G specifications according to industry demand and expectations. As a prime contributor to 5G standardization, Ericsson has worked with industry partners in the evolution of mobile technology to a global network platform for consumers and enterprises. Our research team has worked on 5G since 2010 including early 5G testbed efforts created together with these industry partners. The open contribution-driven specification work and the rapid completion of the first 5G standards for global deployment demonstrates the strength of the 5G eco-system.”

Fujitsu

Masayuki Seno, EVP and Head of Network Products Business Unit at Fujitsu, said: “I’m very pleased that the first 5G NR standard has been completed today. Fujitsu will accelerate development of 5G NR products based on the first 3GPP 5G NR specifications and provide them to worldwide markets to support our customers’ trials and commercial deployments.”

Huawei

Yang Chaobin, president of Huawei 5G product line, said: “As one of the key players, Huawei has committed to develop a single global 5G standard. With the a successful cooperation and join efforts with global organizations including governments, regulatory agencies, research organizations, academia, industries, and many more sectors, 3GPP 5G NR standardization Phase 1 has been completed with great progress. Huawei will keep working with global partners to bring 5G into the period of large-scale global commercial deployment from 2018.”

Intel

“We are pleased to work in cooperation and close alignment with global mobile industry leaders to support the new 3GPP Non-Standalone 5G NR standard and to accelerate the first NR trials,” said Asha Keddy, Intel vice president and general manager, Next Generation and Standards. “As part of this coordinated effort, Intel will continue to play a leading role across the network, cloud and client devices; and with our first commercial 5G modems, we will help the ecosystem lead the way to 5G deployments worldwide.”

KT Corporation

Dongmyun Lee, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Institute of Convergence Technology, KT said: “As one of the 5G leaders, we are greatly excited to witness the first ever release of 5G NR NSA specification that the whole industry including KT has endeavored to achieve in recent years and therefore make a strong commitment to finally bring full-scale services of the true 5G standards to commercial market as early as 2019.”

KT expects that such 3GPP’s efforts meeting the market needs will further accelerate the realization of the 4th Industrial Revolution for telecommunication industry.”

LG Electronics

I.P. Park, Chief Technology Officer, said: “LG Electronics is pleased to be one of key contributors to the first global 5G NR standard completed in a timely manner, which will play a pivotal role in enabling innovative IoT services and expediting the convergence of diverse industry sectors. Along with continued contributions to evolved 5G standards, we will make all the efforts to introduce new innovative 5G convergence products and services in the market.”

LG Uplus

Joosik Choi, Head of 5G Strategy Planning, said: “We would like to thank to 3GPP and all companies for great effort on initial 5G NR NSA standard which will accelerate promising future. As one of the big contributor for RF analysis on LTE band, 3.5GHz and 28GHz dual connectivity operation, LG Uplus will keep endeavor for bring 5G NR deployment and advanced standard into industry for this ecosystem.”

MediaTek Inc.

“The milestone reached is significant as it is an important step towards making 5G NR a commercial reality,” said Dr. Kevin Jou, Corporate Sr. Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, MediaTek. “As a leading baseband chip provider, MediaTek has actively contributed to the standardization of 5G NR and will continue to do so. With the standard becoming stable, our focus is now on delivering viable commercial solutions that will enable the use of 5G NR technology to its full potential.”

NEC Corporation

Atsuo Kawamura, executive vice president and head of the Telecom Carrier Business Unit at NEC Corporation, said: “Completion of Non-Standalone 5G NR standardization is a significant milestone for the realization of full-scale 5G services. NEC is strongly committed to driving the progress of standardization for a global mobile system, and believes future 5G services will benefit society in an unprecedented manner by utilizing advanced information and communications technologies. NEC is creating secure and intelligent technologies to realize such services.”

Nokia

Marcus Weldon, president of Nokia Bell Labs and chief technology officer, Nokia, said: “This is a key milestone in bringing 5G to market, and one in which Nokia is proud to have played a significant role. 5G will advance new possibilities for the role of wireless technology in society, leading to dynamic innovation in mobile broadband and in industrial automation for industry 4.0, enabling the creation of exciting new applications that connect and control our physical and digital worlds.”

NTT DOCOMO

Dr. Hiroshi Nakamura, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, NTT DOCOMO said: “ I would like to express my deepest gratitude for 3GPP’s great effort to successfully complete the first release of 5G NR specification six months ahead of schedule. NTT DOCOMO has made tremendous contributions to the standardization as a world-leading mobile operator. We have been collaborating with various partners across industries to co-create 5G services through ‘5G Trial Sites’ since this May. This completion will accelerate these activities and we will launch 5G services with Non-Standalone 5G NR by 2020.”

Orange

Arnaud Vamparys, SVP Radio Networks said: “Orange welcomes this inaugural first release of a worldwide standard for 5G. With subsequent 3GPP releases expected from mid 2018 that will accelerate application and IoT development, Orange sees a myriad of opportunities to deliver a differentiated and high quality network, and is therefore fully committed to working with the industry to roll out 5G. ”

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“We are excited to be part of this significant milestone, and to once again be at the forefront making the 5G vision a reality in 2019,” said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and president, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “We look forward to continue working with our mobile industry peers to bring 5G NR commercial networks and devices in 2019 in smartphone and other form factors, for both sub-6Ghz and mmWave frequency bands, and to continue developing 5G technologies to connect new industries and enable new services and user experiences in the years to come.”

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

DJ Koh, President and Head of IT and Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, said: “As a global leader in the mobile industry, Samsung has been collaborating with the whole industry to achieve this milestone in 5G standards. With the completion of 5G NSA NR standard, we will be able to expedite 5G commercial deployments including chipsets, devices and network equipment. Samsung will continue making every effort to deliver complete Rel-15 NR standards.  Rel-15 NR and its further evolution will be a key milestone for the industry to meet the increasing global demand for enhanced mobile broadband services and exploring new business opportunities and services inspired by 5G.”

SK Telecom

“Having global 3GPP 5G NR standard by 2017 is one of key milestones to bring 5G into early commercial service in 2019”, said Jinhyo Park, EVP, Head of ICT R&D Center, “SK Telecom is proud to be one of key contributors to the accelerated 3GPP 5G NSA-NR standardization. We will continue to work on further development of 3GPP 5G NR to ensure readiness for early 5G commercial deployment.”

Sony Mobile Communications Inc.

Mr. Izumi Kawanishi, Director, EVP, Sony Mobile Communications Inc., said: “Sony has been part of the 5G NR and NSA standardization and recognizes the progress in 3GPP to reach this important milestone with features targeting evolved mobile broadband and ultra low latency communications. Sony Mobile is ready for full-scale development of 5G NR smartphones to take benefit of the opportunities offered by the new standard.”

Sprint

“We’re excited to help usher in the next generation of wireless networks that will drive new levels of innovation and progress around the world,” said Dr. John Saw, Sprint CTO.“We congratulate 3GPP and its delegates on this important milestone, and we look forward to working with our industry partners to deploy 5G NR in our 2.5 GHz (NR band n41) spectrum.”

TIM

Mr. Giovanni Ferigo, CTO, said: “TIM has already defined a sound track towards 5G and is collaborating with key industry players, municipalities and public Institutions to unleash the full potential of 5G for people and vertical markets by 2020 expanding the footprint of LTE-A. The extraordinary work done in 3GPP in a few months to keep the promise of a first set of standards coping with the strict requirements of a new radio interface is a fundamental step in this roadmap. We are looking forward to contributing to the next 3GPP milestones which will complete the work on Release 15.”

Telefonica

Mr. Enrique Blanco, Telefónica’s Global Systems and Networks Director, said: “Telefónica greatly appreciates the efforts made by the industry for completing this major milestone towards 5G. Telefónica acknowledges the full potential of 5G, and encourages the industry to keep developing ambitious ideas in order to deliver outstanding connectivity and bring the best possible experience to our customers. Telefónica is fully committed to working with the industry in this direction.”

Telia Company

“We are happy to see that the acceleration of 5G standardization that we and the whole industry called for in February has been achieved. This allows for the early commercial deployments needed to open up for innovation and new business opportunities that our customers expect from us”, says Mauro Costa, Director Network Architecture & Strategy, Telia Company. “In order for the industry and society to take advantage of the full potential of 5G, it is vital that the standardization now continues with a focus to complete also the stand alone version.”

T-Mobile USA

“This is an important moment and a crucial development toward making 5G NR happen,” said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer for T-Mobile US. “At T-Mobile, we’re committed to drive a 5G rollout across the US in 2020, and the efforts of 3GPP will help us to realize this great win for our customers.”

Verizon

“Verizon is delighted that the 3GPP is moving quickly to release a global standard for mobile 5G,” said Ed Chan, Chief Technology Architect and Network Planning.“With this important 3GPP milestone, Verizon is once again well positioned to deliver next-generation technology to customers just as we did with 4G LTE.”

Vodafone

Luke Ibbetson, Head of Vodafone Group R&D said: “Completion of the 5G standard six months earlier than originally anticipated is a significant milestone that should enable compliant network infrastructure and phones to be delivered in line with our requirements. This first version of 5G will build on the success of 4G, providing fast and highly efficient mobile broadband services to our customers and setting the foundation for the Gigabit Society.”

ZTE

Mr. Xu Huijun, CTO of ZTE Corporation, said: “The completion of the Non-Standalone 5G NR standardization is a critical milestone in the industry. I really appreciate 3GPP’s efforts in meeting this challenging schedule. As one of the contributors to the 5G standards-making process, ZTE will partner with the fellow mobile industry players to commit to accelerating the 5G NR large-scale trials and deployments.”