Apple earlier this month joined the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance (NGMN), as the organisation gears up for 5G.

The NGMN staged a 5G workshop in Beijing attracting more than 100 experts from leading operators, vendors and research bodies. And it welcomed on board three new partners, including Apple. The other two were Dutch operator Ziggo and Peking University.

The inclusion of Apple was mentioned in a release about the Beijing event from earlier in September but has only made headlines now.

The announcement said the three are expected to “significantly contribute” to the upcoming work of the NGMN 5G initiative.

The alliance announced the launch of its 5G initiative at Mobile World Congress earlier this year.