Silicon Valley 5G Summit
Samsung Electronics hosted the first Silicon Valley 5G Summit at Samsung Research America in San Jose on Oct. 20 (local time), US. The summit brought together global telecommunications industry leaders from the related value chain to lay the foundation for an open end-to-end ecosystem for fifth generation (5G) networks.
More than 100 industry leaders gathered in the meeting, which is expected to become an annual event, discussed the opportunities and challenges involved in the commercialization of 5G technologies. The participants consisted of chip makers, other component manufacturers, telecom operators, universities, industry analysts, system vendors, measurement equipment vendors, investors, and policy makers, representing a wide cross-section of interests and expertise.
The summit addressed the current status, challenges and requirements for creating business opportunities for the coming 5G era. Government officials discussed the role of policy makers to enable 5G services through allocation of spectrum, while attendants examined the market outlook for new 5G service opportunities, including Fixed Wireless Access and the future of mobile connectivity services. Industry experts such as academics and eco-partners held discussions on key technologies for creating an aligned 5G evolution path, helping to shape the end-to-end ecosystem through testing, verifying and optimizing radio frequency (RF) performance of 5G candidate frequencies above and below 6GHz.
“The United States was the first country to make broader ultra-high frequency millimeter wave spectrum bands available for next generation mobile wireless services. This was made possible through the swift action on wireless policy taken by the Federal Communications Commission,” said Julius Knapp, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering and Technology, who delivered the Summit’s keynote speech. “Today’s summit will also accelerate 5G deployment and contribute to future wireless innovations for 5G and beyond.”
The summit consisted of session programs and an exhibition that featured a diverse range of ecosystem partners showcasing products and services. This summit program was designed to show the beginnings of strong and viable ecosystem that could support rapid 5G commercialization.
“We believe it is time to come together and shape the new era of 5G. To that goal, it is critical to build a sustainable ecosystem by inviting all industry stakeholders to share their perspectives on how 5G will develop over the next few years,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President, Head of the Next Generation Communications Business Team at Samsung Electronics. “The collective intelligence we have seen today is the result of interaction between various industry segments, and I am confident that this will act as a catalyst in transforming 5G from vision to reality.”
“5G technologies will help bring about many new and enhanced services. Looking at the current pace of the market, 5G Fixed Wireless Access commercial services could be available in a few years,” said Daryl Schoolar, Principal Analyst at Ovum. “For 5G Fixed Wireless Access to be successful, it will need a robust ecosystem in order to drive innovation, keep prices down, and ensure a strong multivendor environment. Today’s summit was an important first to kick-start discussions dedicated to 5G Fixed Wireless Access and other 5G opportunities,” Schoolar added.