the upcoming release of new 5G standards by three months due to the coronavirus. The Rel-16 Stage 3 and Rel-17 standards will now be released in June 2020 and December 2021, respectively. These two releases will establish sets of 5G standards for standalone networks, industrial IoT devices, and vehicle-to-everything systems.
For instance, after the 3GPP finalized the standards for non-standalone 5G networks three months early, research firm CCS Insight its 5G subscriber forecast to 60 million, up 50% from the forecast it had published just months earlier. However, it is possible that delaying the release of standards could have the opposite effect and lead to lower consumer uptake of 5G.Networking equipment-makers won't be able to finalize next-generation equipment designs.
5G device-makers working on industrial IoT devices or wearables won't have a clearly defined set of standards to build their devices around. Without standards, 5G device-makers may have to reassess project timelines to ensure that the eventual products won't be incompatible with newer 5G devices made after the standards are set.
The resulting delay to equipment production could in turn push network operators to delay launching their 5G SA networks, which promise improved performance over NSA 5G. And without 5G SA networks there won't be a market for 5G SA-enabled devices like smartphones and wearables, thus affecting device-makers.
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