IEEE 5G & Beyond Testbed: Journey for Industry Collaborations
The IEEE Future Networks Initiative has begun a newly funded project to create a virtual testing and experimentation platform to accelerate network innovations. This platform will host an end-to-end 5G network in the form of a private network that incorporates all segments from RAN through core network. The platform is meant primarily to help industry emulate the functionality and behavior of 5G and Beyond 5G networks. This project comes on the heels of a global financial downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, where many innovation projects were dropped for cost-saving reasons. The goal of this project is to develop a collaborative platform that brings value to individual member companies while encouraging and facilitating reduced-cost industry-centered innovation in collaboration with academia, governments, etc. The current inaugural members are EXFO, AT&T, VMware, China Mobile, and Samsung, who will provide oversight of the deployment of the platform's basic infrastructure over the coming 12 months. Long term, the platform will encourage participation from academia to stimulate next-generation network advances and easy collaboration opportunities between academia and industry. The discussions and presentations from member companies will provide an overview of the platform design, evolution plan, relevance to industry, 5G and 6G advancement opportunities, transformation of knowledge, and adoption of new innovations by standards. The project members recognize that IEEE GlobeCom is the most relevant venue to this initiative and so have written this proposal for consideration by industrial panel committee.