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    HomeNewsSix operators form 5G Future Forum to boost global collaboration

    Six operators form 5G Future Forum to boost global collaboration

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    Operators from around the world have formed the 5G Future Forum to collaborate and develop interoperable 5G specifications across key geographic regions.

    The Forum’s founding members are América Móvil, KT, Rogers, Telstra, Verizon and Vodafone.

    According to a press statement, 5G Future Forum’s focus will be on standardising interoperability specifications to speed time to market for developers and multinational enterprises working on 5G-enabled solutions.

    The Forum participants will also work to develop public and private marketplaces to improve developers’ and customers’ access to 5G, and to share best practices in technology deployment.

    “This forum of global leaders in 5G marks an important step in ensuring edge computing works seamlessly for our customers,” said Vinod Kumar, CEO of Vodafone Business. “These new specifications will allow us to offer services that work consistently across the globe and support devices moving between countries.”

    At a glance

    América Móvil provides telecoms in 25 countries across the Americas and Europe. At September 30th, 2019, the company had 363 million access lines, including 278.7 million wireless subscribers and 84.3 million fixed revenue generating units (fixed lines, broadband accesses and PayTV).

    KT is Korea’s largest telco and launched the world’s first nationwide commercial 5G network on April 3, 2019, after showcasing the world’s first trial 5G services at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February 2018.

    Rogers was founded in Canada by Ted Rogers in 1960 to compete against Bell Canada. It is Canada’s largest wireless carrier, with 10.8 million subscribers in Q4 2018, and revenues of just under C$15.1 billion in 2018.

    Telstra was Australia’s incumbent telco and provides 18.3 million retail mobile services, 3.7 million retail fixed bundles and standalone data services and 1.4 million retail fixed standalone voice services in its home market, and says it competes in “all telecoms markets”.

    Verizon Communications has its HQ in New York City and “a presence around the world”, generating revenues of $130.9 billion in 2018.

    Vodafone Group has mobile operations in 24 countries, partners with mobile networks in 41 more, and fixed broadband operations in 19 markets. As of 30 September 2019, Vodafone Group had approximately 625 million mobile customers, 27 million fixed broadband customers and 22 million TV customers, including all of the customers in Vodafone’s joint ventures and associates.