The NGMN Alliance. At a Glance

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1 The NGMN Alliance At a Glance

2 : Vision, Mission, Organisation and Ways of Working NGMN Ltd. ( NGMN ) was founded by leading international mobile network operators in 2006 as an industry organisation to provide a platform for innovation to ensure that functionality and performance of next generation mobile network infrastructure, service platforms and devices will meet the requirements of operators and, ultimately, will satisfy end user demand and expectations. 1 In particular, NGMN was tasked to develop a set of recommendations to enhance the ability of mobile network operators in offering cost-effective wireless broadband services for the benefit of their customers by guiding or contributing to the activities of equipment developers, standardisation bodies and other stakeholders; by establishing clear performance targets, fundamental and operator specific requirements as well as deployment and operations scenarios. All that by close cooperation of mobile network operators, technology providers, vertical industries, academia, standardisation bodies and other interested stakeholders. Vision Today, the vision of the NGMN Alliance is to expand the communications experience by providing a truly integrated and cohesively managed delivery platform that brings affordable mobile broadband services to the end user. Mission The mission of the NGMN Alliance is: to expand and evolve the mobile broadband experience, with a particular focus on 5G while accelerating the development of LTE-Advanced and its ecosystem, to establish clear functionality and performance targets as well as fundamental requirements for deployment scenarios and network operations, to give guidance to equipment developers and standardisation bodies, leading to the implementation of a cost-effective network evolution, to drive implementation of NGMN recommendations and to establish liaison statements and project agreements as needed with SDOs and industry organisations, to provide an information exchange forum for the industry on critical and immediate concerns and to share experiences and lessons learnt, and to address spectrum requirements and to support the establishment of a transparent and predictable IPR regime. 1 For more information, see:

3 Organisation and Partners Focused on the needs and contributions of its Partners, NGMN today is a unique industry organisation with a clear profile: Well-established global Partnership between operators ( Members ), manufacturers and vendors ( Contributors ), and research institutes ( Advisors ), Co-operations with international industry associations, Open to new players, i.e. internet & media, vertical industries, consultancy companies, Business driven, focusing on customer and end-user demand, Requesting one common global standard with the key objective to avoid fragmentation and to guarantee industry scale, Focus on 5G, covering end-to-end network aspects as well as testing & trials, IPR, and spectrum demand and regulation, Working on requirements level standards are being developed by SDOs Based on Partner contributions projects are staffed by NGMN Partner companies, Publishing results, requirements, solutions and guidelines through White Papers, Liaison Statements and the series of NGMN Industry Conferences & Exhibitions Maintaining a decision-oriented governance and lean organisation structure based on an operator-driven, project-oriented approach and efficient processes This unique organisational set-up mobile network operators in close partnership with manufacturers, vendors and researchers - has not changed since 2006 and over the past 10 years has proved to be a well-accepted platform to respond to the needs of the mobile industry and to communicate requirements to standards organisations like ITU, ETSI, 3GPP, IEEE and others. Board Co-op Partners Members Contributors Advisors CEO & Office Work Programme 02

4 Members Mobile network operators companies providing mobile telecommunication services to the public, owning or controlling all the elements necessary to sell and to deliver services to the enduser including in particular radio spectrum allocation and wireless network infrastructure - are qualified as Members that form the Board of NGMN. The definition of mobile network operators also comprises so-called integrated or converged operators which run both mobile and fixed networks. Companies that are not mobile network operators are not excluded and can participate as Contributors in the NGMN Work Programme. Contributors The term Sponsor was used in NGMN for many years, it described mainly the manufacturers and vendors of mobile telecommunication equipment (in particular devices, infrastructure and chipsets). This category has considerably changed over time: In addition to the original Sponsor companies, new companies (e.g. in the software and internet area) have emerged and, equally important, new industry sectors are interested to contribute to the next generation of mobile networks like 5G. Considering these developments, NGMN changed the Articles of Association and accordingly the name of this category from Sponsor to Contributor in As a result, the Partnership was opened to new industry sectors and vertical industries. Specifically, these companies can be manufacturers or vendors of network infrastructure, chipsets, components, handsets and devices; software companies, as well as players in vertical industry sectors such as automotive, healthcare, media, internet or transport with an interest in contributing to the advancement of next generation mobile technology. Advisors Advisors are companies or organisations qualifying as academic institutions, non-industry affiliated research institutes or other non-profit making organisations. The idea behind Advisors in NGMN is to allow universities and academic research institutions to participate in NGMN projects and to add their experience and mid- to long-term perspective to the advancement of mobile technology. Advisors have essentially the same rights and obligations as Contributors. Advisors should not be affiliated with industry, i.e. they should not be research institutes or departments of industry players; this should not prevent Advisors being supported or financed by industry players. 03

5 Governance Board of Directors The Alliance is constituted as NGMN Ltd. and headed by a Board. As an operator-driven initiative the Board membership is restricted to mobile network operators. All operators, i.e. Members, have the right to nominate a Director. The Board gives strategic guidance for the objectives and the Work Programme of the Alliance and represents the ultimate decision authority within NGMN. The Board is chaired by one of the Directors of the Board who is elected by the Board for two years. CEO & Office The CEO is appointed by the Board and is responsible for achieving the overall NGMN objectives and the execution of the Work Programme on an operational level. The CEO is responsible for the annual budget and the financial planning. He reports to the Board and is a member of the Board. The CEO is heading the NGMN Office. The Office facilitates the collaboration of Partners, manages the Work Programme, takes care of all legal tasks within NGMN including competition aspects, manages the NGMN portal (Workspace), the website and press relations and oversees all general administrative tasks. In particular, the Office manages all day-to-day Partnership relations including invoices, tax matters and accounting as well as planning of meetings and projects. The preparation and the execution of the NGMN Industry Conferences & Exhibitions is part of its activities. NGMN Forum The NGMN Forum consists of representatives nominated by all NGMN Partners Members, Contributors and Advisors. The NGMN Forum acts as a consultative body to support and provide feedback to the Board and the CEO in key decision making activities and to facilitate the collaboration between Members, Contributors and Advisors with regards to the scope of NGMN activities. In addition to the project related work, it also acts as a place for open discussion of new ideas and innovative proposals to broaden the view and look beyond the day to day activities generated by the Work Programme. While everyone is welcome to present new proposals, this is the prominent place for the Advisors to contribute ideas from their ongoing R&D activities a highly appreciated innovation session. Work Programme The Work Programme is executed through a number of work-streams, projects and task forces, which are approved, initiated and supervised by the Board. The Work Programme is guided by a structured process with clearly defined procedures to initiate, produce, approve and disseminate NGMN deliverables. The details are described in the Process Document, which shall be adhered to by all Members, Contributors and Advisors. The document, which is updated from time to time, provides a general framework and guideline thereby allowing flexibility for pragmatic resolution of issues, in particular for time-critical matters. The guidelines include the management of the Work Programme, the lifecycle of projects, the production, review and approval of deliverables, the dissemination and publication of results, interactions with external organisations (Liaison Statements), and the creation and approval of press releases. 04

6 Finance Committee The Finance Committee has a central role in supervising the financial policy of NGMN, to ensure the prudent running of financial aspects within NGMN and to advise and make recommendations to the Board on finance matters. The Finance Committee is composed of two members, both being Board Directors or Alternate Directors. Details are described in the Finance Process document. 5G Board Committee The 5G Board Committee (5GBC) is constituted by a small team of Board Directors with project lead / work-stream responsibility plus the NGMN Programme Office. The participation in the 5GBC is mandatory and linked to the run-time of the respective project / work-stream. The tasks of the 5GBC are to serve as programme sponsor/ sparring partner, ensure end-to-end alignment and consistency of the Work Programme, establish information exchange, give guidance and support, interact with the Board to report on status, escalate if necessary and receive feedback, ensure regular reporting on status and results to all NGMN Partners for full transparency. 05

7 Ways of Working From the very beginning, NGMN gathered the views of all interested stakeholders in the telecommunication industry to establish an open and transparent process - an inclusive organisation that values the contributions made by all NGMN Partners. These principles for the NGMN Partnership have not changed and the NGMN Board has confirmed the main principles for the 5G initiative: NGMN is an inclusive organisation that values the contributions made by its Partners in achieving its goals and objectives. Therefore, all Partners shall be entitled to make contributions to activities of NGMN by, at least, receiving and being given the opportunity to submit comments on NGMN deliverables, proposals and/or requirements before a decision on the relevant matter will be taken. In order for NGMN s objectives to be realised, it must produce realistic deliverables on time so that the results can be presented to standardisation organisations, to technology providers and to manufacturers to enable these parties to deliver in time to mobile network operators what they require for the envisaged services to be offered to customers. As stated in NGMN s Articles of Association, any activity, e.g. initiative, project, work-stream or task force will be created by the direction of the NGMN Board. Each activity shall have a leader, who will be responsible for the coordination of the efforts and outputs of that activity. Each activity will offer Partners with relevant expertise in the subject matter the opportunity to contribute to these activities. All Partners shall be able to propose new activities or amendments to existing activities for any activity at any time, provided that the proposal falls within the scope of the NGMN Work Programme. All new activities must ultimately be submitted to the NGMN Board for approval including a delivery plan, detailing inter alia required resources, tasks, timelines and targets of the proposed activity. Following any significant amendment to the delivery plan, it must be re-submitted to the NGMN Board for approval. Each delivery plan will identify those Partners who have committed to provide resources. Those who have not committed such resources will still be entitled, at appropriate times or upon achievement of certain milestones, to receive relevant documentation and provide input and feedback on the activity. The final decision on such deliverables, proposals and/or requirements shall be taken by the NGMN Board, taking into account the views of all Partners (including any dissenting Partners). In any such decision, the NGMN Board will include a clear statement setting out the reasons for its decision in accordance with NGMN s objectives and scope. Initiatives, projects, work-streams or task forces will, so far as it is possible to do so, seek to work and, in particular, formulate their deliverables, proposals and/or requirements by consensus of all Partners within that activity. Partners agree that all contributions to NGMN activities will be subject to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms and conditions. NGMN has adopted for its decision making process the interpretation of consensus as based on the 3GPP Working Procedures Document: General agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interest and by a process that involves seeking to take into account the views of all parties concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments. (Note: consensus need not imply unanimity). 06

8 Working and Delivery Principles of NGMN Board, Forum Work Programme Work-Streams, Projects, Task-Forces, Information Exchange White Papers Liaison Statements Press Releases etc. Technology & SW Vendors, Internet Players, Vertical Industries SDOs, Industry Associations Other Eco System Stakeholders, e.g. Regulators NGMN identifies Operator requirements by collecting key functionality and performance targets as well as fundamental demand for deployment scenarios and network operations. NGMN publishes the results requirements, solutions, guidelines - of its various initiatives as White Papers and Liaison Statements. NGMN drives the implementation in Standards. NGMN provides an information exchange forum for the industry on critical and immediate concerns and to share experiences and lessons learnt. NGMN collates and uses the experience and expertise of its leadership Partner network to drive innovation and to create a successful ecosystem. 07

9 NGMN s Role in the Development of 5G A key role of the NGMN Alliance is to enable and drive the creation of commonly accepted and global standards with the objective to expand and evolve the mobile broadband experience to the benefit of all customers. To achieve this goal, NGMN co-operates with all ecosystem stakeholders and acts as a facilitator, allowing all Partners to develop these standards in SDOs like 3GPP and others. SDOs, Industry Associations 5G Industry Initiatives Regulators, Administrations Operators Vertical Industry Representatives Vendors Internet Players Research Institutes Patent Pools... NGMN s cooperation approach in the 5G ecosystem Orchestrated Effort for Global and Aligned Development of 5G Starting in late 2013, NGMN developed requirements for the next generation of mobile broadband technologies which is commonly called 5G. Particular focus during this process has been on the needs of mobile network operators. These requirements are published in the NGMN 5G White Paper and its key messages were initially communicated at Mobile World Congress in The White Paper sets challenging technical and other ecosystem requirements for 5G, and will accelerate the adoption of new emerging technology innovations. Shortly after, the in-detail presentation of the NGMN 5G White Paper by NGMN Board Directors and work-stream leads and open discussion with key industry stakeholders happened at the NGMN Industry Conference & Exhibition 2015 on 24 th and 25 th March 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany. 08

10 5G Vision and Work Programme 5G is an end-to-end ecosystem to enable a fully mobile and connected society. It empowers value creation towards customers and partners, through existing and emerging use cases, delivered with consistent experience, and enabled by sustainable business models. In addition to supporting the evolution of the established prominent mobile broadband use cases, 5G will enable countless emerging use cases with a high variety of applications. 5G will cover use cases ranging from Internet of Things applications with very low bandwidth requirements to use cases with a very high demand on data rate and latency. Furthermore, NGMN envisages delay-sensitive video applications, high speed entertainment applications in vehicles, and mobility on demand services for connected objects. There will also be new services enabled in the health and safety area with extreme requirements in terms of system reliability and availability. In addition, future services will be delivered across a fully heterogeneous environment and a wide range of devices such as smartphones, wearables, and Machine Type Communication. The White Paper is going to serve as a guideline for 5G definition, architecture and design, taking particularly into account the demand of consumers, enterprises, vertical industries, and value added service providers (VAS) in 2020 and beyond. It intends to guide the standardisation and to support the subsequent availability of 5G from As with LTE, the 5G White Paper is key to achieve NGMN s primary objective to enable and support 5G as one common global standard and sets the basis for the Work Programme towards commercial availability of 5G. White Paper: 5G VISION 5G WORK PROGRAMME 5G is an end-to-end ecosystem to enable a fully mobile and connected society. It empowers value creation towards customers and partners, through existing and emerging use cases, delivered with consistent experience, and enabled by sustainable business models. 5G Work Programme as a result of NGMN s 5G vision End-to-End Architecture and Requirements Spectrum Business Principles Verticals Operations, Orchestration, Automation, Security IPR 09

11 In 2016, the NGMN Board announced three key NGMN focus areas for the coming years: Eco-system building and interaction: Establishing and nurturing platforms for collaboration with representatives from vertical industries, experts for IPR, spectrum demand and other business communities; Guidance to SDOs and the wider industry: Recommendation of technical requirements and performance targets as well as recommendation of enabling conditions; Evaluation of test and proof of concept results: Analysis of initial, internationally proposed 5G technical solutions with regards to gaps, feasibility, consistency. Guidance to SDOs and the Wider Industry E2E Architecture Framework and Principles Service-Based Architecture RAN Functional Split NW Management & Orchestration Security Competence Team 5G Extreme Requirements Evaluation of Trials, Tests, and Proof of Concept Trial & Testing - Technology Building Blocks - Proof of Concept - Interoperability Testing - Pre-commercial Network Trials Eco-system Building and Interaction Spectrum Recommendations V2X Technology Evaluation IPR Forum Base Station Antenna Standards Work Programme 2017 In 2016, the evaluation of technical solutions and the standardisation work have started and will lead to trials and pre-commercial implementations in The Work Programme foresees the full commercial standards to be ready for deployment by It is an essential requirement that 5G provides a future-proof technology platform allowing the evolution of existing business models in both retail and wholesale offerings. Furthermore, it should open up opportunities to create completely new business models without having an impact on network architecture. For operators, the capability to evolve and enable new business models should be supported in a cost efficient manner, without having architectural impact. Using 5G networks, third party service providers (VAS) should be able to offer their services in a very short time-to-market manner and based on mutual service level agreements. In addition, operators will support vertical industries and the IoT, and contribute to the mobilization of industries and industry processes. Partnerships will be established on multiple layers ranging from sharing the infrastructure, to exposing specific network capabilities as an end to end service, and integrating partners services into the 5G system through a rich and software oriented capability set. Innovative technology capabilities like SDN/NFV to enable network slicing and new radio and core architecture will be required to provide these services. 10

12 5G Work Programme Current Scope Guidance to SDOs and the Wider Industry Security End-to-End Architecture FW RAN Functional Split & X-haul Network Management & Orchestration Extreme 5G Requirements Security of network capability exposure in 5G Security related to V2X Definition of requirements in terms of entities and functions that characterize the capabilities of an e2e framework. SDO message on open interfaces Lower Layer functional split RAN functional split Xhaul mapping User Stories, use cases and requirements on the network and service management and orchestration Assessment of extreme 5G requirements for certain use-cases and the impact on the architecture Eco-System Building and Interaction IPR Forum Spectrum V2X BASTA Declaration of Standard Essential Patents Legal requirements for patent pools in 5 regions Open Source and Standards in 5G Spectrum licensing and other regulatory issues for 5G Additional spectrum bands for 5G Drive adoption and success of V2X and promote LTE-V2X for V2V and V2I communication Active Antennas Review and Update of White Paper published in Q1/2017 Evaluation Test and Proof of Concept Results Trial and Testing Initiative Technology Building Blocks Proof of Concept Interoperability Pre-commercial Networks Collection of 5G Building Blocks and corresponding test cases and test result Definition of a PoC approach by reviewing scenarios, system dependencies and testing strategies Testing of key interfaces for ensuring that there are no different interpretations of the standard between solutions of 2 to 3 different providers Development of a testing framework for 5G NR (3GPP) allowing the harmonization of the testing methodologies between the different parties conducting trials 11

13 A Deliverable by the NGMN Alliance NGMN 5G WHITE PAPER next generation mobile networks On the end-user side, a key requirement for 5G will be that a consistent customer experience is achieved across time and service footprint. NGMN envisages a 5G eco-system that is truly global, free of fragmentation and open for innovations. Innovative mobile devices and the availability of spectrum and global roaming will be key to fulfil this ambition. The commercial introduction of 5G is expected to vary from operator to operator; however, NGMN encourages all ecosystem players to work towards availability of one common global standard and the resulting technology to enable commercial solutions by Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Defnition of requirements, performance targets for SDOs; analysis of business principles, establishing collaboration platform Tracking and driving of standardization and certifcation, alignment on critical issues Development of deployment use-cases, implementation guidelines NGMN 5G WP Evaluation of technical solutions, tests, and proof of concept with regards to gaps, feasibility, consistency Analysis of trial results and pre-commercial implementations, sharing of experiences Commercial, standards-based systems ready for deployment Timeline of the 5G Development and the role of NGMN Publications and Deliverables 2017 Recommendation on Base Station Antenna Standards v10.0 NGMN IPR Forum Recommendations to Improve SEP Declarations 5G Network and Service Management including Orchestration Test and Technology Building Block (TTBB) 5G End-to-End Architecture Framework 5G Extreme Requirements: Operators views on fundamental trade-offs Spectrum licensing and other regulatory issues for 5G Architectural Proposal for the Handling of Network Operations Data with Specific Focus on Virtualized Networks Service-Based Architecture in 5G 12