5G Rollout Will Slow as Standards Work is Suspended

By John Walko, EETimes
March 26, 2020

LONDON — The 5G rollout will grind to a slower pace with a decision by the 3GPP to suspend work on some crucial parts of the specification due to the impact of the novel coronavirus.

The delay had been signaled a few weeks earlier when the association announced it would cease all face-to-face meetings for at least three months.

The 3GPP — the global association responsible for standardizing the technology — has now confirmed that it would delay work on Stage 3 of Release 16, and, more worryingly, announced that Release 17 would also be delayed. Taken together, the moves mean stage 3 can not be frozen as a standard before September 2021. This, in practice, means no further functions can be added.

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