As expected, 5G was one of the major themes at last week's Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona, Spain. The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance presented its 5G White Paper, setting its vision for 2020 and beyond and operator requirements in terms of technology performance and capabilities. Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia Networks demonstrated technology that forms the basis of their 5G road maps, and some leading operators, such as Deutsche Telekom, also spoke about how developments including network functions virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networks (SDN) are making 5G possible.
The 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5GPPP) also released its vision document detailing the key drivers of the progression to 5G, the design principles of the next-generation technology, 5G's disruptive capabilities, key technological components, spectrum considerations and a timeline toward commercialization. But 5G was not the only network evolution under discussion. For more, check out FierceWireless:Europe Editor Anne Morris' recap of the event.