The Broadband Forum is completing development of two new 5G standards. One is the 5G Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) Architecture (TR-470). The other covers Access Gateway Function (AGF) Functional Requirements (TR-456).

Both standards build on the Broadband Forum’s previous 5G work to provide a practical roadmap to deliver 5G.

TR-456 describes the functional requirements of the AGF. The AGF resides between fixed access networks and the 5G core network to support 5G and wireline Residential Gateways, creating what the Broadband Forum calls “a truly converged deployment.” TR-470 describes the 5G FMC architecture aimed at providing a high-level guide for network architects and planners.

The specifications will be published as Broadband Forum’s other 5G initiatives continue. These include ongoing work to standardize and enhance the transport network to ensure it can meet the demands of 5G. “Normative work” on Broadband Forum’s joint FMC project with 3GPP is beginning, the forum said.

“When it comes to deploying 5G, all operators will have different starting points which means any transformation steps need to be independent and not require co-ordination,” said Gavin Young, Vodafone Group Technology head of Fixed Access Centre of Excellence, in a prepared statement. “Deployment flexibility is also needed – and it is these challenges, and more, that TR-470 and TR-456 address.”

“Broadband Forum’s latest specifications are key pieces of the very big jigsaw that must be created and completed to deliver on 5G – and we are working with operators to define those pieces quickly, efficiently, and, most importantly, together as an open collaborative effort, preventing fragmentation and misalignments between stakeholders,” said Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh, in a prepared statement. “The breadth of our ongoing work and how much of that has 5G at its core is significant and the holistic approach we can take is unique to the broadband industry and critical to the ongoing development of 5G.”