OVERVIEW

IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) Workshop on Next Generation Connectivity provides an opportunity to deep dive into the standards that are gaining prominence in offering optimal communication solutions to architects, integrators and service providers catering to urban and rural communities. The wireless networks in the 5G, 6G and beyond are evolving into a heterogeneous network with coexistence of one or more access technologies, e.g., 6G, 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi and technologies that may emerge in future. While the 5G system has defined a converged core to manage different access technologies, there is a need for unification of Radio Access Technologies (RAT) at RAN level to better harness diverse RAT in beyond 5G networks. Mobility is not a major driver for designing such systems, rather fixed primary broadband access is becoming one most important requirement.