Technologies for 5G and future generations of connectivity, when deployed in the 2020s, will provide higher bandwidth and lower latency than current-generation 4G technology. “5G and Beyond” will enable bandwidth in excess of 100s of Mbps with latency of less than 1 millisecond (ms), as well as provide connectivity to billions of devices. Most importantly, these technologies are expected to enable fundamentally new applications that will transform the way humanity lives, works, and engages with its environment.
This white paper describes the IEEE 5G and Beyond Technology Roadmap process and summarizes the need for collaboration among all stakeholders in industry, academia, and standards development organizations (SDOs) in undertaking this high-risk engineering challenge. They outline the current telecommunications value chain that will have to adapt to the changes and opportunities that the introduction of 5G and Beyond technologies will bring. Future applications are listed that drive 5G and Beyond requirements to provide societal benefits for education, manufacturing, healthcare, smart grid, entertainment, autonomous cars, and smart cities.
They also describe key technology trends that may impact 5G and Beyond design drivers and the design challenges if these technologies are to simultaneously provide wireless communication, massive connectivity, the tactile internet, quality of service (QoS), and network slicing (NS). Finally, the white paper highlights some technology enablers that need to be explored in the creation of the roadmap. Collectively, with widespread participation, the roadmap process outlined here can reduce some of the technical and engineering risk associated with the migration to 5G and Beyond technologies.
