LIVE FROM HUAWEI GLOBAL MBB FORUM 2018, LONDON: The GSMA announced the formation of an industry-wide initiative to support the development of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications delivered over the cloud.

The GSMA Cloud AR/VR Forum is backed at launch by some of the largest operators and vendors in the industry including: China Mobile; China Telecom; China Unicom; Deutsche Telekom; Huawei; HTC; KDDI; KT; Niantic; NTT Docomo; SK Telecom; Telefonica; Telenor; TIM; Turkcell; and Vodafone.

Members will work together on business models related to the technology, in addition to technical development areas. These include research into ultra-low latency codec compression, graphics processing unit rendering in the cloud, and virtualisation technologies.

Cloud-based AR/VR applications offer the potential to lower the amount of storage needed on devices such as VR headsets, in turn decreasing the cost of entry for consumers.

In a statement, the GSMA said 5G networks would be able to deliver the speed and low latency to offer an ultra-high resolution 4K or 8K viewing experience from a cloud platform.

GSMA CTO Alex Sinclair explained: “Both VR and AR are disruptive forms of immersive multimedia that, combined with operator edge cloud and 5G connectivity, will transform the cost structures of the enterprise and entertainment fields.”

“Mobile operators will play a key role in its development, but without a common approach and industry-wide collaboration we risk fragmenting the market from the beginning. The establishment of this forum will overcome this hurdle and ensure we can scale compelling solutions faster.”