5G Work Item Approved

The Global Certification Forum (GCF) has approved a ‘Work Item’ that will bring us closer to having 5G-enabled phones.

21:19 04 February 2018

A so-called "Work Item", which is considered to be an important element to first 5G phone certification, has been approved by the Global Certification Forum (GCF).

 

Explaining what the term Work Item means, GCF General Manager Lars Nielsen said: “In GCF, a Work Item identifies a new technology, functionality or feature that GCF members agree should be covered by the certification scheme. The GCF Work Item process converts an initial Work Item Proposal into a set of Certification Criteria”.

 

The initial 5G Work Item will incorporate options from Stand Alone (SA) and Non-Stand Alone (NSA) modes of operation. From 2019 existing LTE infrastructure will be used to anchor the initial 5G rollout while SA will provide full user and control plane capability.

 

“GCF’s objective is to be ready to offer device certification in line with the early standards-compliant 5G deployments expected in late 2018/early 2019,” Nielsen added.

 

The information supports Qualcomm’s announcement back in October 2017 when it confirmed the creation of the first commercial 5G modem, which will start shipping in phones starting 2019.