China attempts to be a leader not a follower in 5G, dominate another area of tech

The first round of standards for 5G sees China taking a more decisive role that could put Chinese manufacturers at the forefront of equipment production for the new technology–at the expense of others around the world. A foreshortened timetable for 5G rollout also emerged at an international meeting.

Radio Access Network (RAN) just held its Meeting 78 in Lisbon where networking companies, mobile carriers and equipment manufacturers from around the world gather to negotiate the future of the technology. At the meeting, the standards body 3GPP approved specifications for the next generation of mobile signal: non-standalone (NSA) 5G New Radio (NR) which for simplicity’s sake we will refer to as “5G” despite ongoing discussion on who is in charge of this standard.

This approval happened six months earlier than had been expected, accelerating the rollout of large-scale trials and commercial networks. Full approval of 5G standards is expected in September 2018.

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