The IEEE 5G Initiative was launched by the IEEE Future Directions Committee on August 29, 2016, in Princeton, NJ, USA. Currently there are 21 IEEE societies contributing to this initiative.
The primary objectives of the IEEE 5G and Beyond Initiative are as follows:
- Foster collaboration and connect technical and business communities to IEEE 5G experts and resources;
- Act as the catalyst for IEEE cross-society activities on 5G;
- Establish IEEE as a thought leader essential to the 5G community;
- Be recognized as the go-to resource for engineering and technology professionals in industry, academia, and government working on 5G;
- Develop and promote valued programs, products, and services for the 5G community;
- Present a single IEEE face/voice to the 5G marketplace;
- Be a true global 5G initiative, capturing the needs of all global regions;
- Create a neutral platform/forum where those interested in 5G can engage and collaborate.
The IEEE 5G and Beyond Initiative is governed by a steering committee that includes steering committee co-chairs, representatives from contributing societies, and co-chairs from various working groups, namely Standards, Education, Publication, Conferences, Content Development, Community Development, Industry Outreach, and Technology Roadmap. Each of these working groups consists of a committee of 10–20 members chaired by two working group co-chairs. Similarly, the Technology Roadmap Working Group consists of nine focused technical working groups: Standardization, MIMO, mmWave, Hardware, Security, Edge Automation Platform, Applications, Satellite, and Testbed. More details about the IEEE 5G and Beyond Initiative, including how one can contribute, can be found at 5g.ieee.org.
Dr. Ashutosh Dutta is Lead Member of Technical Staff at AT&T, New Jersey. He also serves as an IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer and is Co-Chair for the IEEE 5G Initiative. In the past, he worked as the CTO of Wireless Solutions at NIKSUN, a Cyber-security company located in Princeton, Telcordia Research, and Columbia University.