The 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project), which oversees cellular communications standards, has approved a new logo for 5G, the next generation ultra-high speed Internet technology. The image features familiar LTE waves weaved into a new wave pattern in green color to represent LTE-Advanced Pro version.
“The idea is to keep a familiar design aspect with the use of plain black text and textured waves, but to make the logo stronger and sharper–-ready for use on the new radio and next generation core specifications for 5G,” 3GPP
said in a press statement.
The logo will initially be used on 3GPP 5G specifications from Release 15 onwards. For vendors and partners seeking to use the logo for 5G-enabled products and services, 3GPP requires them to
abide by some rules.
WHERE ARE WE WITH 5G TECHNOLOGY?
At the moment, with the U.S. approaching 90 percent penetration of LTE, the stage is being set for a new technology frontier with the fifth-generation wireless technologies,
according to Michael Sullivan, BCC Research analyst.
Sullivan expects 5G wireless "to revolutionize the market" by making visual communication commonplace.
"People are expected to be able to use wireless devices to interact instantly with people remotely, as if they were meeting face to face. The technology will also wirelessly connect an enormous number of devices to a network," he says. "In combination with cloud computing and Big Data technologies, it's thought society can be automated."
By 2020, 5.6 billion mobile subscribers and mobile technology will have penetrated 72% of the world’s population, according to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). Within that context, BCC Research's new report, Mobile Technologies: Global Markets,
estimates that mobile technology will create a marketplace for more than $23.9 billion in mobile applications.
MEET THE MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAMILY: 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G AND…5G?
Some 20 years ago, the wireless industry coined the term 1G for technology that, from our modern perspective, seems charmingly quaint. 1G basically allowed for wireless phone calls. That's about it.
Then, as the wireless infrastructure improved, text messaging came along, and with it a new technology, called 2G that quickly begat 3G technology, which now allowed for web browsing. 4G, the fourth iteration of wireless technology, increased the speeds that put streaming video in our hands as the smart phone industry soared into the stratosphere.
The relentless technology push has seen video go from HD to UHD to 3D to 4K. While LTE deployments continue to globally expand, regions such as Korea, Japan, China and the U.S. have nearly reached or exceeded 90 percent penetration of LTE, according to
The Verve.
As our data-hungry world clamors for faster data speeds and the capacity to handle it, the latest generation has its eye on the Internet of Technology to harness it.
5G AWAITS
According to Ericsson Mobility
report, 5G remains a ways off from its debut, probably not until 2020. The report estimates that globally, 5G subscriptions will reach half a billion in 2022, 25% of which will be in North America. Build it, and they will come, it seems.
For consumers, 5G technology means ultra-high data speeds (upwards of 20GBPs), ultra-low latency, and new devices and form factors,
notes The Verge.
So, it's not about speed necessarily, but more about capacity offered by 5G, which will be driven by the Internet of Technology. We'll certainly need it to accommodate the onslaught of devices we'll be connecting to the internet from our homes, cars, and clothing, and who-knows-what else.
5G technology promises a lot, and much waits to be seen.
But at least we have the logo.