The Journal of mHealth Vol 2 Issue 1 (February 2015) | Page 36

U.S. FCC to Look into New-Generation Wireless Networks
Continued from page 33

mobile devices is becoming the norm rather than the exception.
5G won't just be faster, it will bring new functions and applications with high social and economic value.
Global Investment
The European Commission is investing €700 million to kickstart a 5G research project, part of a broader 10-year initiative
to bolster competitiveness of European industry.
Also announced in 2014 were details of the 5G-InfrastructurePPP. A 1.4 Billion Euro joint initiative between the European
ICT industry and the European Commission this project is
aimed at rethinking the infrastructure in order to create the next
generation of communication networks and services that will
provide super-fast connections and seamless service delivery in
all circumstances.
Similar, investment initiatives are also in place around the world.
Mike Murphy, Nokia Networks' head of technology for North
America recently suggested that the upcoming Olympic Games-specifically the 2018 winter event in South Korea and 2020
summer event in Japan--will likely drive those Asian nations,
whose wireless networks are already among the world's most
advanced, to shine the spotlight on their respective 5G prowess
while they hold the world's attention. Because those nations will
want to prove they are still on the cutting edge, Murphy predicts

that we will actually see early 5G trials during 2018 in South
Korea, followed by broader commercialisation starting in 2020.
The European Commission and South Korea recently agreed
to work towards a global definition of 5G and to cooperate in
5G research. They similarly agreed on the need for harmonised radio spectrum to ensure global interoperability and on the
preparation of global standards for 5G.
Both sides have signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Cooperation in Information Communications Technology (ICT) and
5G, agreeing to deepen discussions in the area of Net Futures
(network and communications, 5G, cloud computing), an element of on-going relations on ICT topics. Both sides will also
work towards a coordinated call for research project proposals,
to be launched in 2016. An industry memorandum of understanding will be signed between the EU’s 5G Infrastructure
Association (whose members include Alcatel-Lucent, Atos,
Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Telecom Italia,
Telenor and Telefonica) and South Korea’s 5G Forum.
Speaking of the agreement in 2014 Neelie Kroes stated, "5G
will become the new lifeblood of the digital economy and digital
society once it is established. Both Europe and South Korea recognise this. This is the first time ever that public authorities have
joined together in this way, with the support of private industry,
to push forward the process of standardisation. Today’s declaration signals our commitment to being global digital leaders.” n

U.S. FCC to Look Into NewGeneration Wireless Networks
U.S. regulators will look "to infinity and
beyond" to harness new technology
that can help build a new generation of
mobile wireless connections.
The FCC, during a meeting in October
2014, voted unanimously to open a socalled "notice of inquiry" into what it
and the technology industry can do to
turn a new swath of very high-frequency
airwaves, previously deemed unusable for mobile networks, into mobilefriendly frequencies.
The FCC's examination would serve as a
regulatory backdrop for research into the
next generation of wireless technology,
sometimes referred to as 5G and which
may allow wireless connections to carry
a thousand times more traffic.
In question are frequencies above 24 gigahertz (GHz), sometimes called millimetre
waves that have previously been deemed
technically unwieldy for mobile

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February 2015

connections, though have the potential to
carry large amounts of data and give the
promise of lightning-fast speeds.
Millimetre waves work best over short
distances and have required a direct lineof-sight connection to a receiver. They
are now largely used for point-to-point
microwave connections.
The FCC said it will study what technologies could help get around the technological and practical obstacles and what
kind of regulatory regime could help a
variety of technologies to flourish on
those airwaves, including the potential
for services other than mobile.
The U.S. wireless industry continues to
work on deploy