3GPP introduced a new logo in anticipation of the completion and industry-wide adoption of its next-generation 5G mobile broadband technical specification. To be used for technology beginning with 3GPP 5G Release 15 onward, the new logo includes plain black text, a new textured wave pattern and the green of LTE-Advanced Pro’s logo. The idea is to maintain familiarity yet distinguish the logo, and the 5G technical spec, by making it sharper and stronger, 3GPP explains in a press release.
The new 5G logo serves as more than a mark of authenticity and serves more than promotional purposes. Its use on 3GPP cover sheets is meant to help industry participants quickly identify at which point in time a 5G feature will appear.
3GPP 5G Logo
The 5G logo will make its debut with Release 15 of the 3GPP Phase 1 specifications, which are due to be completed by late 2018. It will then be used for 5G Phase 2 Release 16, which are slated for completion in 2020.
Further use is likely, according to 3GPP, given the likelihood additional releases will follow. That was the case with LTE, versions of technical specs for which began with Release 8 and ran to Release 14, the industry association points out in the press release.
Industry players have been eager to announce news and promote their 5G investments, tests, and trials.
Verizon, for example, back in September announced it would test 5G technology in fixed wireless applications in rural, as well as urban and suburban areas. Management is keen to see Verizon lead the field when it comes to 5G deployment just as it did with LTE, executive VP and CFO Fran Shammo said during a session at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia industry conference.
Just last week, AT&T announced several 5G-related initiatives, including plans to deploy its 5G-based Network 3.0 Indigo platform in Austin and Indianapolis. The company also said Austin will be home to two new 5G test beds come early spring when the test beds are expected to be operational.
The FCC and other regulatory agencies, of course, are playing a formative, fundamental role in charting the course of 5G deployment and use in years to come. In late June, the FCC released additional details regarding proposed plans to open up an unprecedented amount of spectrum for 5G wireless networks. The FCC is proposing to open up 11 GHz of the frequency spectrum for 5G licensing, several times more than what is currently available for mobile telecom in total.
