Global 5G group kicks off working group meeting in Taiwan

Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) A five-day working group meeting of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) opened in Taiwan on Monday, with more than 350 representatives from about 150 high-tech companies looking to devise standards for 5G applications in the global market.

A representative of Taiwan-based integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc. acknowledged that no conclusion on future 5G standards was likely to be reached at the meeting, but she said it will still be an important venue for 5G technology developers to present opinions on future 5G trends.

Holding the meeting in Taiwan for a fifth straight year showed recognition of the country's strength in 5G development and that it was no longer just a follower on 5G technology development but could contribute to setting standards, she said.

Echoing MediaTek, Taiwanese telecom provider Chunghwa Telecom said in a statement that the 3GPP working group meeting is expected to allow Taiwanese 5G developers to hold discussions with their foreign counterparts to standardize future applications.

In addition to MediaTek and Chunghwa Telecom, other participants included software developer Intel Corp. and telecom services provider AT&T Inc. of the United States, Japanese telecom operator NTT DOCOMO, South Korean smartphone brand Samsung Electronics, and Finnish smartphone vendor Nokia.

The 3GPP, established in December 1988 for telecommunication technology standardization, is extending its efforts from 3G and 4G development to the next generation -- 5G -- of mobile telecommunication development.

In conjunction with the 3GPP working group meeting, the Taiwan 5G Commercialization Summit organized by Taiwanese organizers was also held here Monday.

The organizers of the Taiwan 5G summit were MediaTek, Chunghwa Telecom, the Taiwan Association of Information and Communications Standards, and the 5G Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

At the summit, Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), the head of a private sector group advising the government's national innovation/new economy task force, said 5G technology is expected to drive sophisticated applications of the future such as smart medical care and the Internet of Vehicles.

As long as Taiwan is successful in 5G development, it will create major commercial opportunities for the local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, said Tung, chairman of iPhone assembler Pegatron Corp.

He urged the government to update regulations to meet the needs of a fast-changing telecom environment and prevent Taiwan from lagging behind other countries in 5G development.

Since January 2018, Chunghwa Telecom has teamed up with the MOEA's 5G Office, and the government-sponsored Institute for Information Industry (III) and Industrial Technology Research Institute in a 5G development alliance.