Huawei and Telefnica are set to work together to define the standards and architecture of 5G.
The mobile operators signed a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this month to commit to collaborating on issues including air interface technology, how to evaluate 5G network performance, and verifying 5G prototypes.
Telefnica Group CTO, Enrique Blanco, said in a statement: "We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Huawei to cooperate on the next generation of mobile communications technology.
"5G will have a massive impact on the telecommunication industry and in society as a whole. Telefnica doesnt want the 5G networks start-up to be a specific single event, but rather a process which we want to begin right now."
David Wang, president of Huawei Wireless's product line, added: "Our collaboration with Telefnica is at the very heart of this commitment: to help build better connected societies, businesses and economies, and ensuring 5G success is essential in achieving this."
The partnership was announced as plenty of other organisations investigate what standards and infrastructure will be necessary to support the development of 5G, while others try to create the technology itself.
Nokia has teamed up with NTT Docomo to develop a 5G service boasting speeds of up to 2Gbps by using previously unused spectrum, while the University of Surrey has set up a 5G innovation centre to explore the potential of the technology.
Meanwhile, Ericsson's latest Ericsson Mobility Report predicts there will be 150 million 5G subscriptions by 2021, after the technology's expected launch in 2020.
