ETSI has begun work on a set of five specifications for millimetre wave transmission (mWT) technology.
Work on mWT commenced last week following ETSI’s first millimetre wave Industry Specification Group (ISG) meeting.
The five specifications involve establishing potential use cases for mWT, which will include an analysis of “field-proven experiences” of the technology.
ETSI will also publish an overview of worldwide regulations for E band (2GHz-3GHz) and V band (40GHz – 75GHz) frequencies, in addition to assessing the current state of the mWT semiconductor industry. Problems surrounding street-level interference of V-band spectrum will also be addressed.
Renato Lombardi, chairman of ETSI’s ISG mWT, commented: “ISG mWT was conceived as an industry wide platform to prepare for large scale usage of millimetre wave spectrum in current and future transmission networks by improving the conditions to make millimetre wave spectrum a suitable and convenient choice for all stakeholders.
“The ISG aims to be a worldwide initiative with global reach and to address the whole industry: national regulators, standards organisations, telecom operators, product vendors and key component vendors.”
According to ETSI, millimetre wave spectrum, which lies between the 30GHz and 300GHz range, offers more readily-available spectrum than lower bands, allowing for “fibre-like” capacities as high as 10Gbps.
Licensing millimetre wave spectrum is also cheaper and can be re-used, meaning it presents a lower total cost of ownership for operators.
Nokia Networks and SK Telecom this week revealed plans to develop millimetre wave technology as part of a 5G commercialisation project.
A newly-established 5G research centre in Kazakhstan is also looking into the technology.
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