ATIS has been deeply engaged over the past several months in a series of U.S. Government efforts focused on domestic competitiveness in critical and emerging technologies (CET).

• In May, ATIS participated in a high-profile White House event to announce the release of the Biden Administration’s much-anticipated National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology. The strategy aims to promote leadership in standards and innovation through R&D investment, increased participation and training in standards development activities, and improved coordination with industry and international partners to promote the integrity of the international standards system. ATIS has also been invited to participate on a federal advisory panel, the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), which is being established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), that will inform implementation of the standards strategy. 

• In April, ATIS participated in an invitation-only White House-sponsored event aimed at ensuring that the U.S. leads in the development and deployment of 6G wireless technology. The workshop entitled 6G: Open & Resilient by Design, was held in conjunction with the National Security Council (NSC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) and included presentations from members of Congress, senior White House officials, and the heads of NSC, NSF, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the FCC. Following the event, the Administration released two policy documents: a White House statement on Guiding Principles for 6G and an NSF roadmap for 6G research and development. It is expected that NTIA will be issuing a request for comment this summer to inform further federal government engagement on 6G.

• And as part of its Next G Alliance efforts, ATIS hosted a successful Capitol Hill event in May to educate policymakers on the need for immediate action to support 6G leadership. Attendees included congressional staff and representatives from several government agencies. The event highlighted the importance of government partnering with industry to drive a North American vision for 6G, including the critical need for Congress to fully fund the research and development programs authorized by the CHIPS & Science Act.

• Finally, ATIS is continuing to work with the Department of State and NTIA on visas to ensure the success of the November 3GPP meeting in Chicago, and with Hill staff on standards-related legislation. ATIS’ engagement on these issues of critical importance to the industry will continue.

Learn more in 6G: The Next Frontier of Innovation and Investment.

Contact Vice President of Technology Policy and Government Relations Glenn Reynolds for more information on ATIS' work in the policy arena.

Expanding 6G Innovation to Vertical Markets

Mapping the Future of 6G Vertical Applications

A pivotal 2022 Next G Alliance accomplishment advancing North American leadership in the 6G future was publication of the Roadmap to 6G, which establishes the North American vision for next generation communications systems. Building on the initial roadmap, the 6G Roadmap for Vertical Industries was recently completed and covers the demand side of the future 6G ecosystem. It explores how 6G can help meet the applications needs of a broad range of industries, including Agriculture; Automotive; Education, Gaming and Entertainment; eHealth; Industrial; Mining; Public Safety and Smart Cities.

Within the communications industry, expectations are high for new value-creation opportunities in the vertical domains with both 5G and 6G. Acting on its research from this new report, the NGA has shown what it will take to deliver on these expectations. This first-of-a-kind analysis focuses on vertical industry needs for both 5G and 6G with the aim of helping the ICT industry reach out to the broadest range of stakeholders for future application opportunities.

Realizing the North American 6G vision.

The Roadmap to 6G set forth Six Audacious Goals to help the industry comprehensively address the top priorities for North America’s contribution and leadership in 6G-related global standards, deployments, products, operations and services. Recently, the NGA marked completion of reports on all six goals with the recent completion of reports on Sustainable 6G Connectivity and AI-Native Wireless Networks. These, the last two in the Six Audacious Goals series, join reports on trust, security and resilience; cost-efficient solutions; digital world experience; as well as 6G distributed cloud and communications systems. (All are available in the 6G Library.) Here's more on the two new reports:

• Sustainable 6G Connectivity — A Powerful Means of Doing Good. Sustainability is deeply woven into the NGA’s mission. This paper surveys the research and technology directions required to make the vision of a sustainable 6G system a reality. The overarching mandate is to increase energy efficiency and to reduce energy consumption in the pursuit of significantly lower — ideally net-zero — greenhouse gas emissions.



• AI-Native Wireless Networks. Native support of artificial intelligence (AI) is projected to be one of the major features of the next generation wireless network. In addition to being woven in the NGA mission as is sustainability, AI-native networks are one of NGA’s research priorities that will require strong collaboration among industry, government and academia. The new white paper surveys the research and technology directions required to make the vision of an AI-native wireless network a reality.

The Path to Sustainable 6G

Establishing the essential KPIs to measure the sustainability metrics for future 6G networks.

Another new NGA report 6G Sustainability KPI Assessment – Introduction and Gap Analysis delivers insight into the scope of key performance indicators (KPIs) required to measure the environmental sustainability metrics for future 6G networks. The goal is to provide an overview of available sustainability KPIs for the ICT industry and their applicability to the 6G ecosystem components, including the radio access network (RAN), core network, cloud and edge data centers, the end-user communications devices and supply chain and manufacturing. This paper also identifies areas of potential research to develop a harmonized set of sustainability KPIs for benchmarking 6G ecosystem components. The report’s insights have far-reaching implications, as next-generation mobile networks will be major enablers helping other industries and verticals achieve their own sustainability objectives.

Also, as a major contribution to deliver expert knowledge to further industry sustainability goals in the 6G and beyond future, the NGA held the Social, Economic, and Environmentally Sustainable 6G webinar. Access the archived webinar proceedings.

Insight into the 6G Market

A proactive look at the market for 6G innovation.

While the NGA has been prolific in its technical work to map the 6G future, it is also looking ahead at the larger market for 6G innovation. 6G Market Development: A North American Perspective, outlines the strategic importance of 6G and the imperatives that will shape North America’s competitiveness, economy and global leadership. This white paper also presents the context for NGA’s work and priorities, explaining how 6G is different compared to prior generations. It provides insights into the 6G market, including prospects that will benefit society in exciting new ways and boost the digital economy.

NGA Working Group Contributions

Results published in key areas advancing North American 6G objectives:

Multi-Sensory Extended Reality (XR) in 6G. Four foundational activity areas — Everyday Living, Experience, Critical Roles, and Societal Goals — have been identified as applicable to the introduction of new digital immersive technologies for the 6G era. This paper identifies the promise of Multisensory Extended Reality (XR), surveys the current state of the technology and the XR’s evolution from 5G, and identifies requirements to advance XR applications. Potential research areas are also included.

Network-Enabled Robotic and Autonomous Systems explores how the integration of advanced communications technology in these systems will transform industries including logistics, transportation, manufacturing, education, healthcare and more. It provides an overview of the mobile technology poised to have the greatest impact on robotic and autonomous systems.

Wide Area Cloud Evolution. Advancing the work started in the Next G Alliance report 6G Distributed Cloud and Communication Systems, the 6G Technologies for Wide Area Cloud Evolution report takes a deeper dive into the concept of the 6G wide area cloud and provides a more in-depth analysis of some of the key aspects that need to be addressed when integrating cloud and communications. For each of these areas, the key research challenges are explored.

Access the 6G Library for all Next G Alliance publications

Future Voice Architecture

Helping the industry improve and optimize voice services for a future in which their use will only expand.

As the use of voice grows beyond human two-way communications, new approaches are needed that will deliver a high-quality experience across a broad range of new applications including voice assistants, smart devices, gaming and other machine-driven applications. The Future of Voice Architecture provides the technical groundwork to do this. It provides an architectural assessment for the next generation of voice services as the industry considers future voice and data platforms for 5G, 6G and beyond.

An innovative new industry resource to help 5G applications deliver the highest quality service and user experience.

Launched in May, ATIS' 5G Applications KPI Database is a first-of-its-kind industry resource for application developers and network engineers. The database provides essential key performance indicators (KPIs) linked to a wide range of 5G applications, including end-to-end latency, data rate, connection density, availability, mobility and security. Its purpose is to help users benchmark their 5G solutions against industry standards and best practices to optimize network configurations to achieve desired performance targets. Visit https://5gkpi.atis.org/.

Quantum



Insight into the threat quantum computing poses to communications services providers and how they can prepare for the quantum future.

Widespread application of quantum computing (QC) will not take place for up to 10 years in the future; however, the security implications will be far-reaching, ATIS’ Implications of Entropy on Symmetric Key Encryption Resilience to Quantum examines the security implications of quantum computing and the potential impacts on communications services providers. It covers the risk posed to devices, applications and services when planning transition strategies for the quantum era. Transition strategies involve assessing their ability to adapt to new cryptographic techniques and standards as they emerge. The goal for communications services providers is to take a long view and protect against potential vulnerabilities that QC capabilities may expose. Through this work, ATIS offers insight into the threats that quantum computing introduces and builds a case for why now is the time to start preparing to make communications services systems quantum safe.

Revolutionizing privacy and consumer data protection.

ATIS’ white paper Self-Sovereign Identity in Telecommunications Services examines the need for traditional identity systems to adapt to regulations surrounding personally identifiable information (PII) and data privacy. The paper explores the potential for a new self-sovereign identity (SSI) standard to be applied across various use cases and how it can aid communications service providers in complying with new data privacy laws. The paper also discusses how SSI can be integrated into a service provider’s business model to create value for customers and generate new business opportunities for communications service providers.

The work is timely as a growing number of IoT devices and decentralized networks, combined with increasing concerns about data privacy, have led to a need for secure and reliable digital identities and personal data management. Advancement of technologies, such as the metaverse, presents new challenges for portable identity and authentication across both physical and virtual domains. Recent innovations have now made portable identities and authentication possible through SSI, a user-centric digital identity that gives people and businesses complete control over their data. SSI allows anyone to share their data easily and prove their identity reliably without sacrificing privacy. The innovations covered in this new white paper show how SSI can unlock personal data in a way that fosters greater trust between consumers and businesses. Both providers and consumers will benefit from the enhanced consumer trust this refined focus on trust, security and privacy will bring.

Cooperative Efforts with O-RAN ALLIANCE

MoU advances North American input in an important global interoperability forum.

ATIS has executed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the O-RAN ALLIANCE to further both organizations’ mutual objectives to advance the industry towards more intelligent, open, virtualized and global standards-compliant mobile networks. The MoU notes that ATIS and the O-RAN ALLIANCE will collaborate on advancing the state-of-the-art of open radio access network, including Open RAN security and stakeholder requirements for Open RAN. It also addresses the opportunity for ATIS translation of O-RAN ALLIANCE specifications to Open RAN standards to advance the adoption of Open RAN in North America. The agreement brings the power of ATIS’ 3GPP leadership and its contributions to the continued evolution of 5G, coupled with ATIS’ leadership for 6G and beyond driven by its Next G Alliance, to advance the development of Open RAN technologies.

Service provider participation in SHAKEN ecosystem grows.

In May 2023, the Secure Telephone Identity Policy Administrator registered its 1,000^th service provider. In the five years since 2018, the STIR/SHAKEN framework has gone from a paper plan to a fully functioning and growing ecosystem, a critical piece in the battle against illegal caller ID spoofing and scammers. While there is still much work to do, most measures show the industry and the FCC beginning to turn the tide against the bad guys. ATIS has played no small part in the initial success of STIR/SHAKEN in both publishing the key standards on which the STIR/SHAKEN implementation is based and in helping to coordinate the Secure Telephone Identity-Governance Authority, the STIR/SHAKEN framework’s governance body.

Addressing Industry Priorities in Diverse Areas

ATIS Standards Committees are addressing leading priorities in areas critical to industry solution development and transformation. These include:

• Completion and presentation to the FCC of the final report Final Report and Recommendation of the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Task Force. This document outlines a path toward 100% HAC compliance for wireless handsets. ATIS also filed a Petition for Waiver seeking limited, interim adjustments of certain HAC requirements on behalf of covered entities on the Task Force. The FCC recently opened a new docket on HAC recommendations and extended the deadline for transition to new HAC requirements. This extension will allow manufacturers to continue to produce innovative, accessible handsets for consumers with hearing loss.

• Completion of a new Operational Report of the Network Reliability Steering Committee (NRSC). The 2021-2022 Report covers NRSC’s work on outage reporting, network resiliency and cybersecurity. The NRSC Best Practices Subcommittee has continued its advocacy for actionable, voluntary recommendations that can improve network reliability. To this end, NRSC continues to update its Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness and Response Checklists to reflect new lessons learned in response to the pandemic, hurricanes and other events.

• Development of best practices for Location Based Routing (LBR) by the Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ESIF). ESIF is also developing checklists and guidelines for Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to use to request services to support LBR and IP connectivity. Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) continue to enable LBR within their networks, and PSAPs and Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) are implementing LBR for routing emergency calls based on the device location within their jurisdiction boundaries. It is important for the industry to understand how networks route using LBR, how PSAPs/ECCs may benefit from its adoption, and how the industry can collaborate to reduce transfers to better ensure emergency call routing to the appropriate PSAP/ECC. The new Best Practices document can be used by Originating Services Providers (OSPs), those in the field of public safety, and third-party vendors when implementing LBR. The checklists and guideline documentation can be used by PSAPs to request LBR, and IP connectivity from CMRS OSPs and covered text providers.

• Advancing solutions for critical issues regarding the smart management of the nation’s toll-free numbering resources: 833 Telephone Numbers (TFNs) - Opened in 2017, the 833 area code developed by the FCC identified nearly 18,000 (17,638 to be exact) TFNs that had multiple requests – these numbers were to be auctioned. However, in the auction, only 1,660 of the 17,638 TFNs received bids; the 15,978 TFNs that received no bids are still being held by the Toll-Free Numbering Administration (TFNA) pending further instructions from the Commission. ATIS' SMS/800 Number Administration Committee (SNAC) asks the Wireline Bureau to instruct the TFNA to release these 15,978 TFNs into the spare pool as soon as possible so they can be available to those small and large businesses who wish to use the numbers. TFNA has received multiple inquiries about the release of these numbers.

• 800 TFNs - There are also a great number of unallocated true “800” TFNs. At the request of the Wireline Bureau, the TFNA has set aside over 30,000 such numbers, pending a decision by the FCC on whether or not to use a market-based approach to number assignment. This includes more than: 9,900 numbers in 800-855 NPANXX and more. ATIS SNAC believes that there is great demand for these TFNs and, given that there are no numbers currently available in the 800 NXX, ATIS SNAC expects that the more than 30,000 numbers held aside by the TFNA in the 800 NXX would be put to immediate use. Therefore, SNAC has recommended that the Commission consider an equitable allocation method under which these unassigned 800 TFNs would be made eligible for allocation but with an allocation limit of 125 numbers per Resp Org (with all affiliates counted as a single Resp Org). After the one-day allocation limit ends, the remaining 800 numbers would be placed back into the spare pool and would be available to all Resp Orgs, and the allocation limits would be restored to their previous limits. This fair and equitable option would allow almost every Resp Org interested in fresh 800 numbers to obtain them.

• Developing a revision to a major industry Technical Report on Human Contact Fault Analysis to address changes addressing industry feedback on initial implementation of these requirements. Some of these items include the addition of a short circuit test requirement and the expansion of power cable parameters. This work is being done by the Sustainability in Telecom: Energy and Protection (STEP) Committee.

• The Ordering and Billing Forum (OBF) released the Access Service Ordering Guidelines (ASOG) Version 67, a major industry operations support resource. ASOG Version 67 includes a new field for identification of the quantity of Ethernet Virtual Connection (EVC) circuits.

Save the Date | May 7 - 9, 2024 | San Diego

Next G Alliance showcases its North American 6G vision at major industry event.

ATIS and Informa Tech partnered to present the 3rd Annual 6G Summit, which took place on Monday, May 15, at the Austin Convention Center, Austin Texas. Event keynote: Next G Alliance’s vision for North American 6G global leadership. The 6G Summit was collocated with the 2023 BIG 5G Event, one of the ICT industry's most-highly attended events.

Mark your calendars for the 2024 6G Summit, which takes place May 21-23, 2024 at the Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas, Texas.