Mobile operator Vodafone on Thursday announced it has inked a partnership with Dresden University to research and develop next generation 5G mobile technologies.
The German University will be joining the University of Surrey, King’s College London and Carnegie Mellon University in the US to work on developing the next generation technology along with Vodafone.
The 5G technology is expected to offer internet speed that will be thousand times faster than the current 4G technology with fibre-optic level data speeds that will allow for download of an hour long HD-quality movie in just six seconds.
As part of the research efforts, the mobile operator will team up with the German University to bring together academics, developers and technology companies to explore the capabilities of 5G and establish technical guidelines for its development.
Dresden has already opened doors of its first 5G lab for research on the new standard to focus on network hardware and software, computer chips, spectrum, and cloud computing.
Luke Ibbetson, Vodafone’s head of research and development, said 5G is in the very early stages of development but it’s very crucial to invest the time and effort to really understand the technology.
Ibbetson said that Vodafone is looking forward to work with Dresden and its other partners around the world to build a technical foundation for the next generation of mobile communications.
