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IMT-2020 (a.k.a. “5G”)

​ITU-R Working Party 5D has started work on Revision 3 of ITU-R M.2150​

ITU-R has announced that the work on revision 3 of Recommendation ITU-R M.2150 has been started and has invited submissions of new proposals for candidate radio interface technologies (RIT) for the terrestrial components of the radio interface(s) for IMT-2020 and participation in their subsequent evaluation – details see here​.

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​ITU-R Study Group 5 adopts 2nd revision of ITU-R M.2150 (December 2023)

During the years 2022/23, further radio interface technologies (RIT) candidates have been undergoing the evaluation process by ITU-R (a.k.a. “IMT-process”) and have been checked against the given minimum requirements, but as outcome, no new RIT could be included. Enhanced capabilities for 3GPP 5G-SRIT, 3GPP 5G-RIT and ETSI DECT
5G-SRIT have been incorporated in revision 2 of Recommendation ITU-R M.2150.

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​​ITU-R Study Group 5 adopts 1st revision of ITU-R M.2150 (December 2021)​

During 2021, further radio interface technologies (RIT) candidates have been undergoing the evaluation process by
​ITU-​R (a.k.a. “IMT-process”) and have been checked against the given requirements and worldwide compatibility of operation and equipment. As the outcome, a new RIT has been included in the draft revision: “ETSI DECT 5G-SRIT​”.​

“ETSI DECT 5G-SRIT​” has fu​lfilled all the minimum requirements (technical performance, services and spectrum) contained in Circular Letter 5/LCCE/59 (including its addenda), as per the principles expressed in Resolution IT​U-R 65. Such fulfilment has been assessed and evaluated b​y ITU-R Working Party 5D in collaboration with Independent Evaluation Groups (external to the ITU).

​At its last meeting on 18​ December 2021, ITU-R Study Group 5 adopted this first revision of ITU-R M.2150, which is now in the final approval process by the 193 Member States of ITU (see CACE/1010) - if approved, the publication can be expected to be published towards the end of February 2022.​
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​​​IMT-2020 Specifications ​published as Recommendation ITU-R M.2150 (February 2021)

In December 2020, this Recommendation was submitted for simultaneous adoption and approval by correspondence (PSAA), following the procedure of Resolution ITU-R 1/8 (§ A2.6.2.4). After a 2 month deadline, the conditions governing this procedure were met on 1 February 2021 and ITU-R has published the new​ ​​Recommend​ation ITU-R ​M.2150 titl​​​​ed ‘Detailed specifications of the radio interfaces of IMT-2020’.

Following the successful evaluation of various radio technology candidates for IMT-2020 at the end of last year, the newly published Recommendation represents a set of terrestrial radio interface specifications which have been combined into a single document.​

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On the road to IMT-2020 and the globalization of 5G​ (July 2020)

Rising to thechalleng​e of the COVID-19 situation, working through an electronic meeting instead of the usual physical meeting, ITU-R Working Party 5D​ has successfully concluded its November 2020 e-meeting achieving an important milestone for IMT-2020.​
Following a multi-year developmental program, the key Steps 1 to 8 of IMT 2020 process have been fulfilled. With these completions, ITU-R has determined those candidate technology submissions assessed by ITU-R to be the qualified IMT-2020 technologies and meeting the key technical criteria underpinning the IMT-2020 Vision and global 5G. These technologies now move forward to the final stage, the detailed technical specifications for the terrestrial radio interface technologies, comprising the first release of IMT-2020, are included in a new ITU-R Recommendation “Detailed specifications of the radio interfaces of IMT-2020”, expected to be approved in January 2021.

Futuristic mobile technologies foresee “IMT for 2020 and beyond”

In early 2012, ITU-R embarked on a programme to develop “IMT for 2020 and beyond”, setting the stage for 5G research activities that were emerging around the world.
A year after, through the leading role of Working Party 5D, ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) finalized its view of a timeline towards IMT-2020. The detailed investigation of the key elements of 5G were already well underway, once again utilizing the highly successful partnership ITU-R has with the mobile broadband industry and the wide range of stakeholders in the 5G community.
​​​​​ITU has a rich history in the development of radio interface standards for mobile communications. The framework of standards for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), encompassing IMT-2000 and IMT-Advanced, spans the 3G and 4G industry perspectives and will continue to evolve as 5G with IMT-2020.
Reliability of the ITU multi stakeholder’s framework assures the result for the benefit the global telecommunications community.
​Figure 1
 

Working Party 5D study areas and/or deliverables towards “IMT for 2020 and beyond”

Working Party 5D is engaged in a wide range of activities for IMT. These activities include new information and deliverables to guide the continuing evolution of terrestrial IMT. At a high level the work is organized in these broad categories:
Report ITU-R M.2320 - Future technology trends of terrestrial IMT systems (November 2014)
This activity is to address the terrestrial IMT technology aspects and enablers considering the approximate timeframe 2015-2020 and beyond for system deployment, including aspects of terrestrial IMT systems related to WRC-15 studies as part of its scope.
Recommendation ITU-R M.2083 - Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT for 2020 and beyond (September 2015)
This activity is to address the longer term vision for 2020 and beyond and will provide a framework and overall objectives of the future developments of IMT.
Report ITU-R M.2376 - Technical feasibility of IMT in bands above 6 GHz (July 2015)
The purpose of this report is to provide information on the study of technical feasibility of IMT in the bands above 6 GHz.
 
Report ITU-R M.2410 - This Report describes key requirements related to the minimum technical performance of IMT-2020 candidate radio interface technologies. It also provides the necessary background information about the individual requirements and the justification for the items and values chosen. Provision of such background information is needed for a broader understanding of the requirements. This Report is based on the ongoing development activities of external research and technology organizations.
Report ITU-R M.2411 - This Report deals with on the requirements, evaluation criteria and submission templates for the development of Recommendations and Reports on IMT-2020, such as the detailed specifications of IMT 2020. It provides the service, spectrum and technical performance requirements for candidate Radio Interface Technologies (RITs)/Set of Radio Interface Technologies (SRITs) for IMT 2020.
Report ITU-R M.2412 - This Report provides guidelines for the procedure, the methodology and the criteria (technical, spectrum and service) to be used in evaluating the candidate IMT-2020 radio interface technologies (RITs) or Set of RITs (SRITs) for a number of test environments. These test environments are chosen to simulate closely the more stringent radio operating environments. The evaluation procedure is designed in such a way that the overall performance of the candidate RITs/SRITs may be fairly and equally assessed on a technical basis. It ensures that the overall IMT 2020 objectives are met.
 
Recommendation ITU-R M.1768-1 - Methodology for calculation of spectrum requirements for the terrestrial component of International Mobile Telecommunications (April 2013)
“This Recommendation describes a methodology for the calculation of terrestrial spectrum requirement estimation for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT).
It provides a systematic approach that incorporates service categories (a combination of service type and traffic class), service environments (a combination of service usage pattern and teledensity), radio environments, market data analysis and traffic estimation by using these categories and environments, traffic distribution among radio access technique groups (RATGs), required system capacity calculation and resultant spectrum requirement determination. The methodology is applicable to packet switch-based traffic and can accommodate multiple services. It can also accommodate circuit switched emulation traffic using a reservation based concept.”
Report ITU-R M.2243 - Assessment of the global mobile broadband deployments and forecasts for International Mobile Telecommunications (March 2011)
This Report reviews both the market and traffic forecasts for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) that were developed in previous study periods (extending from 2000-2007) and assesses the current perspectives and future needs of mobile broadband that would be supported by IMT over the next decade (2012-2022). It also presents new traffic forecasts provided by a number of industry sources for the forecast up to 2015 and one source for the forecast between 2015 and 2020 taking into account new market trends and market drivers.
Report ITU-R M.2289 - Future radio aspect parameters for use with the terrestrial IMT spectrum estimate methodology of Recommendation ITU-R M.1768-1 (March 2014)
This document presents the future radio aspect parameters for use with the terrestrial IMT spectrum estimate methodology of Recommendation ITU-R M.1768-1 in conjunction with developing the future spectrum requirement estimate for terrestrial IMT systems, principally focused towards the years 2020 and beyond.
Report ITU-R M.2290- Future spectrum requirements estimate for terrestrial IMT (February 2014)
This Report provides the results of new studies on estimated spectrum requirements for terrestrial IMT in the year 2020. In order to reflect the advances in technologies and the deployments of IMT networks, the spectrum requirements are calculated using the updated methodology in Recommendation ITU-R M.1768-1. This Report utilizes information on traffic growth in different mobile telecommunication markets, including those of IMT networks, as provided in Report ITU-R M.2243.
Report ITU-R M.2370 - IMT Traffic estimates for the years 2020 to 2030 (July 2015)
This activity is in support of the future views of the marketplace for IMT and for WRC-15 agenda item 1.1 and addresses the traffic and related market demand and users needs towards the years 2020 focusing on terrestrial IMT – including “traffic related” inputs and parameters for use with the terrestrial IMT spectrum estimate methodology.
Extract from WP 5D Liaison Statement to Task Group 5/1 (Document 5-1/36, Att. 1) - Spectrum needs for the terrestrial component of IMT in the frequency range between 24.25 GHz and 86 GHz
Recommendation ITU-R M.2083, “IMT Vision – Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT for 2020 and beyond” identifies three main usage scenarios currently envisaged for IMT-2020, while acknowledging the possible emergence of additional use cases. The three usage scenarios are enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable and low latency communications, and massive machine-type communications.
Among these scenarios, spectrum in the frequency range between 24.25-86 GHz would be needed to satisfy the expected data rates of the enhanced mobile broadband usage scenario. IMT-2020 systems will incorporate the use of new technologies that benefit from the physical characteristics of the frequency bands in the range from 24.25 to 86 GHz and the large bandwidths potentially available.
 
Recommendation ITU-R M.1036-5 - Frequency arrangements for implementation of the terrestrial component of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) in the bands identified for IMT in the Radio Regulations (RR) (October 2015)
This new Recommendation ITU-R M.1036-5 incorporates new amendments related to frequency bands already identified for IMT.
Report ITU-R M.2292- Characteristics of terrestrial IMT-Advanced systems for frequency sharing/interference analyses (March 2014)
Frequency sharing studies and interference analyses involving IMT systems and other systems and services operating in the same or the adjacent bands may need to be undertaken within ITU-R. To perform the necessary sharing studies between IMT systems and systems in other services, characteristics of the terrestrial component of IMT-Advanced systems are needed. This Report provides the baseline characteristics of terrestrial IMT-Advanced systems for use of sharing and compatibility studies between IMT-Advanced systems and other systems and services.
Report ITU-R M.2039-3 - Characteristics of terrestrial IMT-2000 systems for frequency sharing/interference analyses (March 2015)
This activity is the updating of the existing “Characteristics of terrestrial IMT-2000 systems for frequency sharing/interference analysis”. It has a role in support of information supplied in this topic to JTG 4-5-6-7 particularly for studies on WRC-15 agenda items 1.1 and 1.2.
Report ITU-R M.2374 - Coexistence of two TDD networks in the 2 300-2 400 MHz band (July 2015)
This activity is in support of compatibility studies of co-located, adjacent TDD blocks in the 2 300-2 400 MHz frequency band.
 
Recommendation ITU-R M.1457-13 - Detailed specifications of the terrestrial radio interfaces of International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) (February 2017)
This activity is in support of the revision of Recommendation ITU-R M.1457-11 to reflect updates and enhancements to IMT-2000 terrestrial radio interfaces in conjunction with relevant external organizations under Resolution ITU-R 9-4.
Recommendation ITU-R M.2012-2 - Detailed specifications of the terrestrial radio interfaces of International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) (September 2015)
This activity is in support of the revision of Recommendation ITU-R M.1457-13 to reflect updates and enhancements to IMT-Advanced terrestrial radio interfaces in conjunction with relevant external organizations under Resolution ITU-R 9-4.
Recommendation ITU-R M.1579-2 - Global circulation of IMT-2000 terrestrial terminals (March 2015)
This activity is in support of the revision of Recommendation ITU-R M.1579-1 to add information related to IMT-Advanced technologies.
Recommendation ITU-R M.2070-1 - Generic unwanted emission characteristics of base stations using the terrestrial radio interfaces of IMT-Advanced (February 2017)
Generic unwanted emission characteristics of mobile stations using the terrestrial radio interfaces of IMT-Advanced
Recommendation ITU-R M.2071-1 - Generic unwanted emission characteristics of mobile stations using the terrestrial radio interfaces of IMT-Advanced (January 2017)
Generic unwanted emission characteristics of base stations using the terrestrial radio interfaces of IMT-Advanced
This activity is in support of the development of new Recommendations on the specific “unwanted emission characteristics” related to IMT-Advanced base stations and terminals and relates to the technologies in Recommendation ITU-R M.2012.
Report ITU-R M.2334-0 - Passive and active antenna systems for base stations of IMT systems (November 2014)
This work address the technical and operational aspects of passive and active base station antennas for IMT systems based on Question ITU-R 251/5.
Report ITU-R M.2375-0 - Architecture and topology of IMT networks (July 2015)
This activity is to address the Architecture and Topology of IMT Networks.
 
Report ITU-R M.2291-1 - The use of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) for broadband public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) applications (November 2016)
This Report addresses the current and possible future use of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) including the use of LTE in support of broadband public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) communications as outlined in relevant ITU-R Resolutions, Recommendations and Reports. The Report further provides examples for deploying IMT for PPDR radiocommunications, case studies and scenarios of IMT systems to support broadband PPDR applications such as data and video.
This Handbook is to provide general guidance to ITU Members, network operators and other relevant parties on issues related to the deployment of IMT systems to facilitate decisions on selection of options and strategies for introduction of their IMT-2000 and IMT-Advanced networks. It also provides the general information such as service requirements, application trends, system characteristics, and substantive information on spectrum, regulatory issues, guideline for the evolution and migration, and core network evolution on IMT.
 
 
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Plan, Timeline, Process and Deliverables for the future development of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)

  • ITU Radiocommunications Bureau Circular Letter(s) are expected to be issued at the appropriate time(s) to announce the invitation to submit formal proposals and other relevant information.
  • Working Party 5D will essentially use the same process utilized in the development of IMT-Advanced.
  • In the next phase, in the 2016-2017 time-frame, WP 5D will define in detail the performance requirements, evaluation criteria and methodology for the assessment of new IMT radio interface.
  • It is anticipated that the timeframe for proposals will be focused in 2018.
  • In 2018-2020 the evaluation by independent external evaluation groups and definition of the new radio interfaces to be included in IMT-2020 will take place.
  • Working Party 5D also plans to hold a workshop in late 2017 that will allow for an explanation and discussion on performance requirements and evaluation criteria and methodology for candidate technologies for IMT-2020 that has been developed by WP5D, as well as to provide an opportunity for presentations by potential proponents for IMT-2020 in an informal setting.
  • The whole process is planned to be completed in 2020 when a draft new ITU-R Recommendation with detailed specifications for the new radio interfaces will be submitted for approval within ITU-R.
  • Additional details associated with Figure 1 above including a table of the anticipated IMT-2020 related deliverables 
  • ITU-R Working Party 5D Planned Meeting Schedule for Years 2015-2020 

Key Messages on IMT and the Future of Mobile Broadband Wireless

I) Mobile Broadband is Not Optional in Society
  • IMT is an essential foundation of modern society.
  • IMT brings the world to people in all countries – it is truly a global force for change and empowerment.
  • IMT is increasingly becoming the sole means for accessing communication, information, and entertainment.
  • IMT contributes significantly to national economies & jobs.
  • IMT continues to grow at unprecedented rates and supports connectivity, applications, and services that were not envisioned even a few years ago.
II) Technology Evolution and Additional Spectrum are a Must If the Societal Benefits are to Continue
  • IMT voice usage remains a key communication medium and most importantly, data traffic volumes have become unbounded and show no signs of scaling back.
  • IMT systems, technologies, and architectures supporting mobile broadband continue to evolve to improve on spectrum efficiency & utilization. They are adopting new deployment architectures which help but are not the total solution.
  • IMT must continue to seek new ways to advance the capabilities and push out the boundaries of the technology.
  • IMT requires adequate spectrum if these society benefits are to continue.
III) ITU has a rich history in the development of radio interface standards for mobile communications.
  • The framework of standards for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) encompasses IMT-2000 and IMT-Advanced which spans the 3G and 4G industry perspective.
  • IMT standards will expand to incorporate “IMT for 2020 and beyond”.
  • Establishing IMT as an excellent global mean for connecting people and devices everywhere will continue in the “5G” future.
  • ITU-R provides the unique opportunity for collaboration between governments (ITU Member States), industry (ITU-R Sector Members), Associates and Academia. All the viewpoints and concerns are taken into consideration and finally approved by Member States to create globally agreed outcomes (ITU-R Reports, Recommendations and Radio Regulations).

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