5G is still years away, but at least it has a logo now

The next generation of cellular data networks has been colloquially referred to as “5G” for a while now, but 3GPP — the organization that governs cellular standards — has made that name official with an announcement of new formal 5G branding, as noted by TelecomTV.

The 5G branding is a step away from the more complicated 4G / LTE days, where carrier marketing and changing specifications oftentimes made it unclear what exactly you were talking about. For example, when AT&T and T-Mobile decided that they’d rename HSPA+ 3G data as “4G” to better keep up with Verizon’s 4G LTE back in 2011, or the various flavors of LTE, LTE Advanced, and LTE Advanced Pro that we now have. The logo is also designed to appear similar to the various LTE logos to show a consistent evolution of the product.

5G is still years away from actual implementation on the devices you use in your day-to-day life, with 3GPP’s release of the initial 5G Phase 1 specifications not planned until late 2018. But at least it has a logo now.