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onFebruary 12, 2026

5G and beyond (RP 2025)

23 min read

(A.) Policy and legislation

(A.1) Policy objectives

The 2015 digital single market (DSM) strategy and the communication “Towards connectivity for a European gigabit society” identify very high-capacity networks like 5G as a key asset for global competitiveness. In addition to fibre-like performance for mobile networks, the benefits of adopting 5G go beyond the telecom sector to enable a fully mobile and connected society and to empower socioeconomic transformations in a variety of ways (many of which are not possible at present. These transformations include higher productivity, sustainability, well-being and innovation opportunities for smaller actors and start-ups. 5G makes a new wave of convergence possible through digital business models reaching non-ICT-native industrial sectors. In that context, the EU sees 5G as a core infrastructure to support the DSM strategy’s wider objectives for the digitisation of the industry.

The strategy for Digitising European Industry and the Communication on ICT standardisation priorities for the digital single market announced the European Commission’s intention to develop a 5G action plan for EU-wide deployment, which was adopted in September 2016. The communication drew on multiple consultations, events[4] with stakeholders, a targeted survey[5] , several studies , a 5G industry manifesto[6] and early results of the 5G-PPP. It presented a set of targeted actions for a timely and coordinated deployment of 5G networks in Europe through a partnership between the Commission, Member States, and industry. It leveraged the new opportunities offered by the revised telecommunication regulatory framework by putting it in the context of a concrete European project of high added value for businesses and citizen.

Furthermore, Member States, in the Ministerial Declaration of Tallinn of July 2017[7] have identified the objective of preserving 5G global interoperability as key in order to make 5G a success for Europe. Standards are of paramount importance to ensure the competitiveness and interoperability of global telecommunication networks. Therefore, Member States endorsed a “comprehensive and inclusive approach to 5G standardisation as a priority for the DSM”. Member States promoted “cross-industry partnerships to support the timely definition of standards backed by industrial user experiments, including through the leveraging of international cooperation partnerships, in particular for the digitisation of industry. Encouraging innovation and development of products and services making use of 5G networks across the EU should be a priority”.

In addition, the EU toolbox for 5G security constitutes an important milestone as it puts in place an EU coordinated approach to secure 5G networks calling notably on implementation of 5G standards across Europe as part of relevant tools.

Following the publication of the EU toolbox for 5G cybersecurity, the Commission launched in February 2020 the strategy “Shaping Europe’s digital future”, with the objective of making EU a global leader in the digital economy. Connectivity, and 5G in particular, is identified as one of the most fundamental building blocks.

The Communication on Europe’s Digital strategy calls Europe to invest more in the strategic capacities that allow us to develop and use digital solutions at scale and to strive for interoperability in key digital infrastructures, such as extensive 5G (and future 6G) networks and deep tech.

In the Conclusions of the Special meeting of the European Council (1 and 2 October 2020), accelerating 5G deployment was identified as an area eligible for Recovery and Resilience Facility funding, (of which at least 20% will be made available for the digital transition). Furthermore, “to ensure the rapid deployment of 5G across the EU, the European Council also urges all Member States to submit their national plans on the roll-out of 5G to the Commission by the end of this year, as set out in the 5G Action Plan”.

Despite the many anticipated benefits of 5G networks, there are a number of challenges and concerns pertaining to the area of public and internal security. In the context of a Europe that protects, the European Commission identified 5G networks as a strategic asset therefore requiring high cybersecurity standards[8] and preserving lawful investigation capabilities[9]. To attain these objectives, the needs of the law enforcement and other relevant authorities in the area of public and internal security should be taken on board though a coordinated approach in view of the ongoing 5G standardisation activities[10].

(A.2) EC perspective and progress report

The Communication on ICT standardisation priorities as well as the 5G Action Plan identified 5G standards as key to competitiveness and the interoperability of global networks, with stakeholders from different standardisation cultures called upon to collaborate. It also details the actions required.

The three initial phases of 5G standardisation have now been completed, with the publication of 3GPP Release-15, Release-16 and Release-17 sets of specifications. This first phase focused on enhanced mobile broadband while also supporting ultra-reliability and low latency. Release-16 provided the basis for 3GPP’s IMT-2020 submission for an initial full 3GPP 5G system. Release-17 provides stabilisation and enhancements of the concepts introduced in the two initial phases and introduces satellite access. The work on 3GPP Release-18 is ongoing.

Release-16 (R16) takes into account a number of functionalities needed for 5G deployment by vertical industry, as called for by the EU 5G strategy. This includes notably: Integrated access and backhaul (IAB), easing deployment where fibre is not accessible; NR in unlicensed spectrum, multi factories applications; Features related to Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC); positioning; intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communications with additional use cases taken into account. Release-16 delivered key standards for use-cases such as those related to industrial applications, and transversal needs such as lawful interception and lawful access to retained data. The availability of standards promoting open innovation and opportunities for start-ups is also key.

Release-17 (R17) is completed as of September 2022. It includes additional features making the standards more widely applicable and with even better performance characteristics. It covers satellite access to 5G as the main new capability as well as a number of improvements of the features introduced in the two initial phases of 5G, e.g. on services to the industry (the “verticals”), on the support of Internet of Things (IoT), on direct communications between mobiles, in particular in the context of autonomous driving (V2X), and in several specific aspects of access (radio) network and of the core network (slicing, edge computing, MIMO, Repeaters,…).

Release-18, completed in 2024, does not introduce any new key concepts but is a stabilisation and enhances functionalities introduced previously. Release 19 is aiming to advance 5G towards 6G, enhancing 5G network performance and strengthening the support for services like XR, indoor positioning, and non-terrestrial networks.

In support of EU industrial capabilities, the Commission launched a 5G public-private-partnership (5G PPP) in 2013 which entered its third phase in 2018. The 5G PPP was designed to deliver solutions, architectures, technologies and standards for the ubiquitous next generation communication infrastructures of the coming decade. It had successfully performed in depth piloting of 5G technology in critical industrial sectors, showing the usability of 5G for multiple use cases.

The European Commission had called on Member States and industry to commit to the following objectives:

  • a standardisation approach that preserves future evolution capabilities and aims at availability of 5G global standards by end of 2019;
  • a holistic standardisation approach encompassing both radio access and core networks as coordinated activities within global standardisation bodies, encompassing disruptive use-cases and promoting open innovation;
  • establishment of cross-industry partnerships by 2017, at the latest, to support timely standard-setting, partly by leveraging international cooperation partnerships, in particular towards the digitisation of industry.

In October 2018 the European Commission hosted a 3GPP workshop in the context of the submission of the 3GPP 5G specifications to the ITU. The aim was to inform the ITU sanctioned Evaluation Groups, policy makers and interested experts on the progress of the 3GPP work to meet and exceed the performance requirements for IMT-2020 radio interface technologies. 3GPP’s 5G standard has been submitted to the ITU evaluation process in July 2019, which was the target date to submit to ITU the candidate technologies to obtain acceptance as an IMT-2020 technology (the 5G label).

As part of the ITU process on the evaluation of candidate technologies (RIT/SRIT), the 5G PPP has provided the only European evaluation group that submitted its analysis and findings to ITU successfully in 2020.

The Commission took also steps, through the FPI Project on internationalisation of EU ICT standardisation, to support the organisation of more 3GPP meetings in Europe, in order to facilitate the active participation of a broad range of European delegates, from key industrial players, but also SMEs, academia and research institutions. This project provided financial support for the organisation of 3GPP meetings in the EU, and echoes recurring requests from administration and smaller industrial stakeholders to have SDO meetings organised in Europe.

The Advanced 5G and later 6G networks are expected to be the basis for Europe’s digital and green transition For Horizon Europe, the new Framework Programme started in 2021, the Commission and the European industry have launched the Smart Network and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) with EUR 900 million EU funding, in order to lead the 6G technology research and to maintain sovereignty. In December 2023, 3GPP committed to develop 6G specifications.

In addition, to ensure the ability of the law enforcement authorities to detect and investigate serious crime and terrorism, there is a need to provide for contingency on lawful interception and lawful disclosure of data in the course of judicial investigations. To this end, it is necessary to provide for adequate technical means for the judicial authorities to be able to request for legal interception also in the context of 5G networks, PIN (Personal IoT Network) and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).

Six main challenges have been identified that would benefit from an appropriate standardisation activity, namely:

  • Being able to perform Mobile Subscriber Identification and Localisation by authorized LEAs on the radio interface with the assistance of Mobile Network Operators aside new strong 5G security features to get permanent digital IDs and precise localisation. Outside the field of the judicial investigations, ensuring the identification and positioning capabilities are also necessary to perform efficiently the Search And Rescue (SAR) activities.
  • Being able to benefit from a complete copy of intercepted communications with precise location information despite fragmentation, slicing and virtualization of 5G e.g. multi-access edge computing systems and international private networks.
  • Being able to benefit from a clear copy of intercepted communications, notably if the target is a user of encrypted communication services, including end-to-end encrypted communication applications and Rich Communication Services (RCS), or if the target is an inbound roamer (encrypted S8HR and N9HR roaming agreement). This should be done without prejudice to strong encryption mechanisms and with full respect for privacy.
  • Ensuring the network based confidentiality and integrity of lawful interception systems considering that they will become logical components in 5G networks, as well as in PIN, NTN and may move outside of European jurisdictions.
  • Ensuring that data preservation and lawful access mechanisms can be used in a way that is compatible with the principles set out by the Court of Justice of the European Union(cf. judgement in Joined cases C-511/18 and C-512/18 and C-520/18, La Quadrature du Net; judgement in the case C-140/20, Commissioner of An Garda Síochána ). This could notably include the ability to i) retain data for fixed operators, mobile operators and Internet Service Providers in a more targeted manner, e.g. based on geographical criteria, possibly combined with temporal criteria, ii) perform expedited retention (quick freeze) of traffic data.
  • Ensuring a trusted access to electronic evidence by developing standardized electronic interfaces (e.g. from ETSI TC LI or 3GPP Sa3 LI working group) and supporting cross-border exchange of electronic evidence (e.g. the e-Evidence Digital Exchange System, eEDES) based on ETSI /3GPP standards.

These functional capabilities should be maintained without causing exorbitant impediments to the core functions and benefit of the 5G networks as well as of PIN, NTN and also be in line with current obligations on electronic communications networks and services to provide for such services to the law enforcement authorities. 3GPP 6G specifications are expected to include the most secure features allowing the smooth standardisation of lawful interception features.

(A.3) References

(B.) Requested actions and progress in standardisation

(B.1) Requested actions

The Communication on ICT standardisation priorities for the digital single market proposes priority actions on 5G, some of which are reflected in section C.2.

Action 1: Global industry standards. Foster the emergence of global industry standards under EU leadership for key 5G/6G technologies (radio access network, core network) and network architectures notably through the exploitation of 5G public-private partnership results in key EU and international standardisation bodies (3GPP, ITU, ETSI).

Action 2: Ensure that 5G/6G standards are compatible with innovative use-cases of vertical industries and ensure sufficient spectrum-sharing capabilities, notably through broader participation of industries and authorities with sector-specific needs and in close collaboration with other industry specific standards developing organisations, in 5G standardisation organisations. Several projects funded by the European Commission, as well as the 5G PPP are dealing with 5G standardisation.

Action 3: Lawful interception and lawful disclosure related standards. Foster the emergence of standards that ensure proper provisions for enabling lawful interception mechanisms in the context of 5G networks by encouraging and coordinating law enforcement involvement in 5G standardisation related committees (e.g. ETSI TC LI, ETSI NFV-SEC, 3GPP SA3-LI) and promoting a European approach based on its legal system.

Action 4: SDOs to work with the stakeholders in standardisation to deliver a report on the standardisation needs and specific requirements for the uptake of 5G in vertical sectors (e.g. transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, energy).

(C.) Activities and additional information

(C.1) Related standardisation activities

3GPP

Release 16 is a major release for the project, not least because it brings our IMT-2020 submission – for an initial full 3GPP 5G system – to its completion (see details below).

In addition to that formal process, work has progressed on around 25 Release 16 studies, on a variety of topics: Multimedia Priority Service, Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) application layer services, 5G satellite access, Local Area Network support in 5G, wireless and wireline convergence for 5G, terminal positioning and location, communications in vertical domains and network automation and novel radio techniques. Further items being studied include security, codecs and streaming services, Local Area Network interworking, network slicing and the IoT.

As with previous generations of mobile technology, 3GPP will follow Release 16 with a continuous programme of 5G standardisation, delivering performance enhancements and new features required by the market in a series of periodic releases.

5G-ACIA

5G-ACIA is an alliance formed to ensure that the needs of the automation industry are considered, fostering developing a 5G technology that addresses industrial requirements. 5G-ACIA aims at being the central global forum for shaping 5G in the industrial domain. See https://www.5g-acia.org/

CEN-CENELEC

CEN/CLC/JTC13 supports the ENISA work regarding 5G.

ETSI

TC LI: Particularly ETSI TS102 656, and ETSI TS 102 657

TC EE (Environmental Engineering): https://www.etsi.org/committee/ee

TC MSG/TFES: https://www.etsi.org/committee/MSG is responsible for identifying European regulatory requirements and creating harmonised standards to support the deployment of IMT family networks in Europe. ETSI TC MSG/TFES is developing harmonised standards for 5G base stations (including repeaters) and user equipment, updating the EN 301 908 series to include 5G support. ETSI TC MSG/TFES is continuously monitoring 3GPP activities to include the new relevant features and the major updates in the harmonised standards that ETSI TC MSG/TFES is maintaining. Once regulated in Europe, new spectrum (bands) are also added to the ETSI TC MSG/TFES Harmonised Standards. ETSI TC MSG/TFES will develop harmonised standards for IMT technologies beyond 5G once they are specified in ITU and 3GPP.

TC RRS: https://www.etsi.org/committee/RRS is the ETSI centre of expertise for Reconfigurable Radio Systems and software-controlled Spectrum Sharing and actively contributes to Expert Group Radio Equipment Directive (EG RED) meetings. TC RRS has developed a comprehensive secure framework on Software Reconfiguration of Radio Equipment which is specifically tailored to the needs of RED Articles 3(3)(i) and 4 and is expected to also support the implementation of the future Cyber Resilience Act. TC RRS is furthermore assessing spectrum sharing schemes in collaboration with global organizations with the objective to address any gaps for key use cases including Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE), eHealth, Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), etc.

SC SAGE (Security Algorithms Group of Experts):

ISG NFV (Network Functions Virtualisation): http://etsi.org/nfv/ . NFV is a key technology enabler for 5G. ETSI GR NFV-IFA 037 (report on further NFV support for 5G) provides recommendations for enhancements to the NFV architectural framework and its functionality aiming to provide further support to address 5G network use cases. ETSI GR NFV-IFA 046 profiles and extends NFV capabilities to enhance the support for vRAN use cases and deployments. Normative work updating NFV standards is ongoing in NFV Release 5.
ISG NFV has also analysed the impact of supporting LI in NFV architectures in ETSI GS NFV-SEC 004.

OSM (Open Source MANO) http://osm.etsi.org/ , developing an open source Management and Orchestration (MANO) software stack aligned with ETSI NFV.

TFS (Tera Flow SDN) https://tfs.etsi.org/, developing an open source cloud native SDN controller enabling smart connectivity services for future networks beyond 5G.

ISG MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing): https://www.etsi.org/committee/mec offers application developers and content providers cloud-computing capabilities and an IT service environment at the edge of the network. https://www.etsi.org/technologies/multi-access-edge-computing. ISG MEC published a report on “MEC 5G Integration (ETSI GR MEC 031) describing key issues, solution proposals and recommendations for MEC integration into 3GPP 5G system. The study addressed topics such as MEC System interactions with the 5G System, including the correspondence of the current MEC procedures to procedures available in 3GPP 5G system specification, options for the functional split between MEC and 5G Common API framework, and the realisation of MEC as 5G Application Function(s). Moreover, ISG MEC has updated MEC specifications (e.g. ETSI GS MEC 011) to align with the related 3GPP 5G standards (e.g. 5G Common API Framework). In addition, ISG MEC provides an application developer-focused sandbox for API experimentation and exploration (try-mec.etsi.org) that includes 5G network deployment options.

ISG ENI (Experiential Networked Intelligence): https://www.etsi.org/committee/ENI is defining a Cognitive Network Management architecture and protocol (ETSI GS ENI 005 V3.1.1 (2023-06) and ETSI GS ENI 019 V3.1.1 (2023-06)), using Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and context-aware policies to adjust offered services based on changes in user needs, environmental conditions and business goals. It therefore fully benefits all networks, including 5G networks, by providing automated service provision, operation, and assurance, as well as optimized slice management and resource orchestration. ENI has also launched Proof of Concepts (PoCs) aiming to demonstrate how AI techniques can be used to assist network operations including 5G/6G. The use of Artificial Intelligence techniques in the network will solve future network deployment and operation problems.

ETSI ISG ETI (Encrypted Traffic Integration) has moved from its problem statement (ETSI GR ETI 001) to further develop mitigation in the form of a Zero Trust Architecture that is expected to be published in both an overview and a detailed specification in 2023.

ISG IPE (IPv6 Enhanced Innovation): https://www.etsi.org/committee/1424-ipe published a report on “5G Transport over IPv6 and SRv6” to provide guidelines on how to deploy IPv6-based technologies on 5G backhaul networks.

ISG NIN (non-IP Networking): https://www.etsi.org/committee/NIN 

ISG F5G (Fixed 5G): https://www.etsi.org/committee/F5G studies and develops optical networks in multiple application environments such as residential, business and industry, supporting and complementing the mobile networks, either as a transport infrastructure as well as an extension of services in indoor scenarios where 5G coverage may be deficient. Similar to the mobile network, the ETSI ISG F5G is specifying the fixed network generations (ETSI GR F5G 021) F5G and F5G Advanced and releases (release 3 and 4 at the moment). The ISG F5G includes the specification of a variety of functions and performance requirements for the fixed network generation(s) with a focus on fibre-based networks.

ISG THz (Terahertz) https://www.etsi.org/committee/2124-thz concentrates on establishing the technical foundation for the development and standardization of THz communications (0.1 – 10 THz). In this pre-standardisation activity, systematic output on channel models, system parameters, and evaluation assumptions for the evaluation of THz communication and sensing systems are prepared, targeting 3GPP and other standardisation activities leading towards 6G. The first two Group Reports, focused on Frequency bands and Use Cases of interest for THz communications have been available since the end of 2023, followed by two Group Reports (on Channel measurements and modeling in THz bands and RF Hardware Modeling) in 2024.

ISG RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces) https://www.etsi.org/committee/1966-ris?jjj=1631218280300 identifies and describes RIS related use cases and deployment scenarios, specifies derived requirements and identifies technology challenges in several areas including fixed and mobile wireless access, fronthaul and backhaul, sensing and positioning, energy and EMF exposure limits, security and privacy. It also documents a networking e2e reference architecture including RIS elements, describes RIS based specific deployment practice / guidelines, provides a gap analysis for RIS microelectronics and enabling technologies and makes proofs of concepts.

ISG mWT (millimetre wave transmission): https://www.etsi.org/committee/mWT , is active across the entire wireless transmission industry to facilitate the use of microwave and millimetre-wave with particular focus at mobile backhauling promoting evolution of technology, standards and spectrum regulations to match the requirements coming with the deployment of 5G. Additional activities have been added in the research of Sub-TeraHz frequency bands as well as wireless backhaul architectures and planning criteria in order to meet the growing capacity and performance needs of 5.5 and 6G.

ISG ZSM (Zero Touch Management): https://www.etsi.org/committee/ZSM . Provides a framework which enables the management of the network and services without human involvement. The automation of operation will ensure that the complexity of next generation networks, 5G and beyond, will be manageable.

ETSI TC DECT has published the first release of the new DECT-2020 NR (New Radio) technology (in ETSI TS 103 636 parts 1 to 5). The standardization effort will continue in the coming years with further releases, additional functionality and Application Specific profiles addressing the needs of multiple vertical industries. The production of test specifications has also started and the basic Harmonised Standard (HEN) for access to radio spectrum has been generated.

DECT-2020 NR is a new radio interface supporting Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) and massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) as specified for IMT-2020 usage scenarios. The technology supports multiple operating bands and radio channel bandwidths The new DECT-2020 NR air interface co-exists with the existing DECT system. DECT-2020 NR has been approved by ITU-R as an IMT-2020 radio interface technology.

GSMA

The GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications) represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, and software companies. Mobile operators will play a key role in 5G, as they will provide the infrastructure and services to a wide spectrum of 5G applications, from consumer mobile telephony to vertical industrial applications such as agricultural monitoring.

For more details see https://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/technology/understanding-5g/

IEEE

IEEE has many efforts underway to develop standards that can serve as components of 5G systems:

  • IEEE 802.11ax is an extension of the current WLAN standards by improving aggregated throughput with high user density. IEEE 802.11ax targets Mid Band, sub 6GHz unlicensed spectrum. IEEE 802.11ax meets the requirements for Indoor Hotspot and Dense Urban Areas according to an evaluation of IEEE 802.11ax performance vis-à-vis IMT-2020 criteria, which was endorsed by the IEEE 802.11 Working Group.
  • IEEE 802.11ay targets bonding 2GHz channels to achieve extremely high point to point throughput in excess of 20 Mb/s. IEEE 802.11ay is implemented in the unlicensed millimetre wave band (60GHz).
  • IEEE 802.11bd is evolution of IEEE 802.11p for next generation V2X communication.
  • IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT) is the potential next amendment to the 802.11 IEEE standard, and will likely be designated as Wi-Fi 7. It will build upon 802.11ax, focusing on WLAN indoor and outdoor operation with stationary and pedestrian speeds in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequency bands.
  • IEEE 802.11bf WLAN sensing – supports the 60 GHz band sensing by improving and modifying the directional multi-gigabit (DMG) implementation in IEEE 802.11ad-2012 and the enhanced DMG (EDMG) implementation in IEEE 802.11ay-2021, both of which use beamforming to provide higher data rates.
  • Packet-based fronthaul transport networks in support of dense deployments of very small cells (IEEE 1914.1).
  • Radio over Ethernet (IEEE 1914.3) in support of backhaul and fronthaul over Ethernet.
  • Precision Timing Protocol (IEEE 1588) which enables phase synchronous wireless networks such as LTE TDD.
  • IEEE 802 access network (IEEE P802.1CF) and time sensitive networking for fronthaul (IEEE P802.CM).
  • Tactile networking: IEEE P1918.1 covering application scenarios, architecture and functions, IEEE P1918.1.1 specifies Haptic Codecs.
  • Radio Regulatory Technical Advisory Group (IEEE 802.18) and Wireless Coexistence (IEEE 802.19).

For a list of these and other IEEE standardisation activities related to 5G and next generation communications technologies, please see: https://ieee-sa.imeetcentral.com/eurollingplan/ .

IEC

At the IEC/SC 65C level in WG 16 an IEC PAS project is in progress related to “5G communication systems for industrial process measurement and control applications”. After the PAS publication, the content of the PAS should be divided into individual parts as IS and consequently adopted at the Cenelec level.

ITU

In ITU, 5G technologies are discussed under the IMT-2020 banner and 6G technologies under IMT-2030, as defined in ITU-R Resolution 56[1]. ITU-T SG 13, SG 12, SG 11, SG 15 and SG 5, and ITU-R WP 5D are driving the 5G and 6G standardization in ITU.

ITU-R WP 5D is responsible for the overall radio system aspects of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) systems, comprising IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced, IMT-2020 and IMT-2030. It has developed several Recommendations and Reports on performance requirements, spectrum requirements, radio interfaces, frequency bands, spectrum sharing and compatibility, as well as IMT specifications and related technologies.

More info about the group: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg5/rwp5d

More info about IMT technology: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg5/rwp5d/Pages/IMT.aspx

ITU-R SG 5 has recently approved several publications related to IMT including IMT-2030 New Recommendation ITU-R M.2160 on the “Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT for 2030 and beyond”

IMT-2020, Revision of Recommendation ITU-R M.2150 on “Detailed specifications of the terrestrial radio interfaces of International Mobile Telecommunications-2020 (IMT-2020)” )”, adding a 4th Radio Interface Technology., IMT-Advanced Revision of Recommendation ITU-R M.2012 on “Detailed specifications of the terrestrial radio interfaces of International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced)”, IMT-2000 Revision of Recommendation ITU-R M.1457 on “Detailed specifications of the terrestrial radio interfaces of International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT 2000)”.

Other publications on IMT

  • Recommendation ITU-R M.1036 providing the “Frequency arrangements for implementation of the terrestrial component of IMT in the bands identified for IMT in the Radio Regulations” was updated.
  • New Report ITU-R M.2541 about the “Technical feasibility of IMT in bands above 100 GHz”.
  • New Report ITU-R M.2528 about the “Capabilities of the terrestrial component of IMT-2020 for multimedia communications”.
  • New Report ITU-R M.2516 on the “Future technology trends of terrestrial IMT systems towards 2030 and beyond”.
  • Report ITU-R M.2480 on “National approaches of some countries on the implementation of terrestrial IMT systems in bands identified for IMT”.
  • The “Handbook on International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)” provides general guidance to ITU Members, network operators and other relevant parties on issues related to the deployment of IMT systems to facilitate decisions on the selection of options and strategies for the introduction of their IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced and IMT-2020 networks.

ITU-T SG13 on Future networks, with focus on IMT 2020, has approved over 90 standards on 5G, including IMT-2020-related terms and definitions, architecture, QoS functional requirements, slicing, orchestration, information-centric networking, FMC, machine learning in future networks including IMT-2020 etc. (e.g. ITU-T Y.3100, Y.3106, Y.3107, Y.3170, Y.3172, Y.3150), and 8 Supplements. It has ~50 work items under development. Among new perspectives are the fixed, mobile and satellite convergence aspects and the work on deterministic services and communication.

More info: ITU-T WP: 2017-2020: SG13

A flipbook “5G Basics” is a collection of available ITU-T standardization outcomes by the end of 2017 that led to IMT-2020 standards.

ITU-T SG13 through the JCA-IMT2020 maintains the online Roadmap for IMT-2020. It captures the ongoing IMT-2020 and beyond (network aspects) standardization efforts in different SDOs and ITU-T along with pointers to the actual specification/Recommendation location. A snapshot of it was published in July 2024 as ITU-T Supplement 59 to Y.3100-series Recommendations “IMT-2020 standardization roadmap”.

More info: SG13 – Future networks and emerging network technologies (itu.int)

SG13 organised a Workshop on “Future technology trends towards 2030 “ on 24-25 July 2023 in Geneva. The relevant outcomes of this workshop are summarized in https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/Workshops-and-Seminars/2023/0724/Documents/Workshop_Outcomes_July_2023.pdf

ITU-T SG3 (tariff and accounting principles and international telecommunication/ICT economic and policy issues) adopted a new Technical Report ITU-T DSTR-STUDY_IMT2020MVNOs describing 5G-related policy considerations for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs).

ITU-T SG12 (performance, QoS and QoE) adopted a new Technical Report ITU-T GSTR-5GQoE defining a scope for the analysis of QoE in 5G services and several use cases where this scope is applicable. The use cases are: Tele-operated Driving, Wireless Content Production, Mixed Reality Offloading, and First Responder Networks. Other 5G use cases related work includes Recommendations ITU-T G.1035 (QoE influencing factors for VR services), ITU-T G.1036 (QoE influencing factors for AR services), ITU-T P.1320 (QoE assessment of extended reality (XR) meetings). With learnings from the EU Horizon 2020 TRIANGLE project (5G Applications and Devices Benchmarking), ITU approved ITU-T G.1052 (Testbed framework for mobile application QoS and QoE evaluation).

More info: https://itu.int/go/tsg12

Under subcategories for ITU-T Recommendations dealing with signalling requirements and protocols for IMT-2020 (ITU-T Q.5000 – Q.5049) and testing specifications for IMT-2020 and IoT (ITU-T Q.4060 – Q.4099), ITU-T SG11 approved 25 new standards. Currently, there are 18 ongoing work items related to signalling requirements and protocols of IMT-2020 networks, including signalling for UAV, AI-based protocol for managing energy efficiency, signalling for digital twin networks, fixed, mobile and satellite convergence, streaming services lightweight core dedicated networks, ML in future networks to name but a few.

SG11 developed new Recommendation ITU-T Q.4073 “Framework for interconnection testing of Voice, Video over 5G” and advanced Q.VoiNR-test “VoNR/ViNR interconnection testing for interworking and roaming scenarios”.

More info: https://itu.int/go/tsg11

The objectives of the ITU-T Focus Group on Testbeds Federations for IMT-2020 and beyond (FG-TBFxG), which was established by ITU-T SG11 in 2021, was to harmonize testbeds specifications across SDOs and Fora, develop the required application program interfaces (APIs) aligned with the testbeds federations reference model defined in Recommendation ITU-T Q.4068, as well as define a set of use cases for federated testbeds and associated APIs, such as “Testbed-as-a Service” (TaaS). The Focus Group was established following the results of the joint ITU/IEEE/ETSI Workshop, which was organized in 2021.

In April 2024, The FG-TBFxG concluded its work. It developed eight deliverables, which includes a set of 18 use cases for testbeds federations and associated requirements for different APIs. ITU-T SG11 started eight new work items based on FG-TBFxG deliverables.

More info: https://itu.int/go/fgtbf.

ITU-T SG15 on Transport, Access and Home is developing Recommendations ITU-T G.8300-series “Mobile network transport aspects”. SG15 has approved the following 5G related Recommendations:

  • ITU-T G.8300: Characteristics of transport networks to support IMT-2020/5G
  • ITU-T G.8310: Functional architecture for metro transport network
  • ITU-T G.8312: Interfaces for a metro transport network
  • G.8312.20: Overview of fine grain MTN
  • ITU-T G.8331: Metro transport network linear protection
  • ITU-T G.8321: Characteristics of MTN equipment functional blocks
  • ITU-T G.8350: Management and Control for metro transport network

SG15 also developed the following supplements:

  • G Suppl.66: 5G wireless fronthaul requirements in a passive optical network context
  • G Suppl. 67: Application of optical transport network Recommendations to 5G transport
  • G Suppl.69: Migration of a pre-standard network to a metro transport network
  • G Suppl.74: Network slicing in a passive optical network context
  • G Suppl.75: 5G small cell backhaul/midhaul over TDM-PON

More info: https://itu.int/go/tsg15

ITU- T Focus Group on Machine Learning for 5G network (FG-ML5G) was active from January 2018 to July 2020 and worked towards the application of the machine learning techniques to the IMT-2020 operation. The outputs of the FG-ML5G include:

Output of ITU-T SG13, based on FG-ML5G specifications:

Deliverables FG ML5G submitted to ITU-T SG13 for consideration:

  • FG ML5G specification: “Requirements, architecture and design for machine learning function orchestrator”
  • FG ML5G specification: “Vertical-assisted Network Slicing Based on a Cognitive Framework”

More information at: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/ml5g

ITU-T SG5 is responsible for studying methodologies for evaluating the effects of ICTs on climate change and the circular economy. It has developed a series of 26 ITU-T Recommendations, Supplements and Technical Reports related to the environmental aspects of 5G, which cover aspects ranging from innovative energy storage (ITU-T L.1220) (ITU-T L.1221) (ITU-T L.1222), energy feeding (ITU-T L.1210), energy efficiency for future 5G systems (ITU-T L.Suppl.36),liquid cooling solutions (L.1326) energy efficiency metrics and measurement for base station sites (ITU-T L.1350)(ITU-T L.1351) , smart energy solutions (ITU-T L.1380, ITU-T L.1381, ITU-T L.1382), smart energy saving of 5G base stations (ITU-T L.Suppl.43), energy saving technologies for 5G RAN equipment (ITU-T L.1390), 5G technology and human exposure to RF-EMF (ITU-T K.Supplements 1, 4, 9, 14 and.16), electromagnetic compatibility – EMC (ITU-T K.76, ITU-T K.114, ITU-T K.116, ITU-T K.123, ITU-T K.152, ITU-T K.Suppl.10 and ITU-T K.Suppl.26), resistibility analysis of 5G systems (ITU-T K.Suppl.8), e-waste management (ITU-T L.1050) and assessing the use of ICT solutions impact GHG emissions of other sectors (ITU-T L.1480).

More info: https://www.itu.int/itu-t/workprog/wp_search.aspx?sg=5 and https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/climatechange/Pages/ictccenv.aspx

https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/studygroups/2017-2020/05

ITU-T SG20 approved Recommendation ITU-T Y.4421 “Functional architecture for unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicle controllers using IMT-2020 network”, which provides a functional architecture for UAVs and UAV controllers using IMT-2020 networks and functionalities defined in the application layer, service and application support layer, and security capabilities.

More info: https://itu.int/go/tsg20

(C.2) Other activities related to standardisation

EC

There are several projects funded by the European Commission, dealing with 5G standardisation. Also, the 5G PPP deals with some issues connected to 5G standardisation.

HOME

(C.3) additional information

Interactions between IETF and 5G developments fall into several categories:

  • New dependencies on existing IETF technology: For instance, introducing a flexible authentication framework based on EAP (RFC 3748, RFC 5448). This work is being addressed in the EAP Method Update (EMU) Working Group. This working group has been chartered to provide updates to some commonly used EAP methods. Specifically, the working group shall produce documents to:
    • Provide guidance or updates to enable the use of TLS 1.3 in the context of EAP TLS (RFC 5216). Update the security considerations relating to EAP TLS, to document the implications of using new vs. old TLS versions, any recently gained new knowledge on vulnerabilities, and the possible implications of pervasive surveillance.
    • Update the EAP-AKA’ specification (RFC 5448) to ensure that its capability to provide a cryptographic binding to network context stays in sync with what updates may come to the referenced 3GPP specifications through the use of EAP in 5G.
  • Dependencies on ongoing IETF work: The IETF Deterministic Networking (DETNET) Working Group defines mechanisms to guarantee deterministic delays for some flows across a network. As one of the 5G use cases is time-critical communication and low-latency applications, this is a component technology that is being looked at. Similarly, IETF routing-related work such as traffic engineering , service chaining and source routing are likely tools for managing traffic flows in 5G networks, as they are for other large service provider networks. 5G-related topics are also discussed in the Distributed Mobility Management Working Group .
  • There are many IETF tools already for dealing with virtualisation and separation of networks (see 3.1.2 Cloud computing, below), so the first order of business is mapping what can be done with those tools for the 5G use cases.

https://wiki.ietf.org/en/group/iab/Multi-Stake-Holder-Platform#h-311-5g-and-beyond

[4] see: e.g. https://5g-ppp.eu/event-calendar/#

[5] https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/have-your-say-coordinated-introduction-5g-networks-europe

[6] Industry Manifesto 7 July 2016: http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?action=display&doc_id=16579;

[7] Ministerial Declaration “Making 5G a success for Europe” signed during the informal meeting of competitiveness and telecommunications ministers on 18 July in Tallinn

[8] Commission Recommendation of 26 March 2019 on Cybersecurity of 5G networks

[9] 8268/19 11 April 2019, Position paper on 5G, Europol
[10] 8983/19 6 May 2019, Law enforcement and judicial aspects related to 5G, EU counter Terrorism coordinator

homerpap
onFebruary 12, 2026
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