What’s next for 5G and SEPs
Last month, we attended the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London for IPBC Europe, one of the premier gatherings of intellectual property and licensing professionals. During the three days event, we took part in intense discussions on innovation, licensing, and Standard Essential Patents (SEPs).
What is an SEP?
An SEP covers an invention that must be used to comply with a technical standard. These standards ensure interoperability, allowing products and services from different companies to work together—so your Samsung phone can connect to a Huawei cell tower, and your BMW’s infotainment system can sync with a Google-powered app.
Why does an SEP matter?
Without technical standards, we’d be stuck in a world of proprietary solutions—imagine needing a different set of headphones for every phone brand, or a car that only works with certain charging stations.
One of the busiest standard-setting bodies, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), is responsible for the mobile communication technologies we rely on daily. Right now, the key technology utilised in the cellular world is 5G.
How is 5G technology advancing?
With speeds over 100 times faster than the 4G network, 5G is key to other technological advances becoming a reality—autonomous vehicles for example. The data transfer rates possible with 5G mean that when sending messages to a vehicle travelling at 60 mph, the distance travelled by the vehicle in the time it takes for the messaged to be sent, received and processed, would be about 60cm. Compare this to the 6.5m it would travel if using 4G… That’s an improvement that could be the difference between life and death.
Another area where 5G is transformative, is remote surgery. In telemedicine, ultra-low latency is critical—every millisecond counts when a surgeon is controlling robotic instruments from miles away. With 4G, delays in transmitting movements could introduce enough lag to make precise procedures risky or even impossible. With 5G, real-time responsiveness allows doctors to perform complex surgeries remotely with pinpoint accuracy, bringing life-saving procedures to patients in remote or underserved areas.
5G is a gateway to many other emerging solutions, including smart homes, robotics, payment & security systems and the entire Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, so unsurprisingly the global licensing battles in these sectors are just getting started.
Where does Patently License with Questel come in?
In this rapidly evolving SEP landscape, having clear, reliable data is more important than ever—especially for implementers. Patently License with Questel (PLQ) gives you the most accurate, independent insight into the world of SEPs.
Access the most comprehensive manual study of declared SEPs. Our essentiality reviews have been conducted at an unmatched scale, giving users a clearer picture of true essentiality than ever before.
Trust the humans. PLQ is not AI-generated—but instead human-verified—unlike some automated tools, PLQ’s data is built on reviews performed by experienced subject matter experts, ensuring accuracy and trustworthiness.
Get instant SEP insights with our interactive charts and visualisations revealing top patent owners, essentiality rates, and global distribution at a glance—making complex SEP data easy to understand and act on.
Understand who owns what and where. With PLQ, you can identify which SEPs are truly essential, helping you negotiate more effectively and make informed licensing decisions.
We’d love to show the tool in action, if you’d like to know more contact us to schedule a walkthrough of the platform.
What is an SEP?
An SEP covers an invention that must be used to comply with a technical standard. These standards ensure interoperability, allowing products and services from different companies to work together—so your Samsung phone can connect to a Huawei cell tower, and your BMW’s infotainment system can sync with a Google-powered app.
Why does an SEP matter?
Without technical standards, we’d be stuck in a world of proprietary solutions—imagine needing a different set of headphones for every phone brand, or a car that only works with certain charging stations.
One of the busiest standard-setting bodies, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), is responsible for the mobile communication technologies we rely on daily. Right now, the key technology utilised in the cellular world is 5G.
How is 5G technology advancing?
With speeds over 100 times faster than the 4G network, 5G is key to other technological advances becoming a reality—autonomous vehicles for example. The data transfer rates possible with 5G mean that when sending messages to a vehicle travelling at 60 mph, the distance travelled by the vehicle in the time it takes for the messaged to be sent, received and processed, would be about 60cm. Compare this to the 6.5m it would travel if using 4G… That’s an improvement that could be the difference between life and death.
Another area where 5G is transformative, is remote surgery. In telemedicine, ultra-low latency is critical—every millisecond counts when a surgeon is controlling robotic instruments from miles away. With 4G, delays in transmitting movements could introduce enough lag to make precise procedures risky or even impossible. With 5G, real-time responsiveness allows doctors to perform complex surgeries remotely with pinpoint accuracy, bringing life-saving procedures to patients in remote or underserved areas.
5G is a gateway to many other emerging solutions, including smart homes, robotics, payment & security systems and the entire Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, so unsurprisingly the global licensing battles in these sectors are just getting started.
Where does Patently License with Questel come in?
In this rapidly evolving SEP landscape, having clear, reliable data is more important than ever—especially for implementers. Patently License with Questel (PLQ) gives you the most accurate, independent insight into the world of SEPs.
Access the most comprehensive manual study of declared SEPs. Our essentiality reviews have been conducted at an unmatched scale, giving users a clearer picture of true essentiality than ever before.
Trust the humans. PLQ is not AI-generated—but instead human-verified—unlike some automated tools, PLQ’s data is built on reviews performed by experienced subject matter experts, ensuring accuracy and trustworthiness.
Get instant SEP insights with our interactive charts and visualisations revealing top patent owners, essentiality rates, and global distribution at a glance—making complex SEP data easy to understand and act on.
Understand who owns what and where. With PLQ, you can identify which SEPs are truly essential, helping you negotiate more effectively and make informed licensing decisions.
We’d love to show the tool in action, if you’d like to know more contact us to schedule a walkthrough of the platform.
What is an SEP?
An SEP covers an invention that must be used to comply with a technical standard. These standards ensure interoperability, allowing products and services from different companies to work together—so your Samsung phone can connect to a Huawei cell tower, and your BMW’s infotainment system can sync with a Google-powered app.
Why does an SEP matter?
Without technical standards, we’d be stuck in a world of proprietary solutions—imagine needing a different set of headphones for every phone brand, or a car that only works with certain charging stations.
One of the busiest standard-setting bodies, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), is responsible for the mobile communication technologies we rely on daily. Right now, the key technology utilised in the cellular world is 5G.
How is 5G technology advancing?
With speeds over 100 times faster than the 4G network, 5G is key to other technological advances becoming a reality—autonomous vehicles for example. The data transfer rates possible with 5G mean that when sending messages to a vehicle travelling at 60 mph, the distance travelled by the vehicle in the time it takes for the messaged to be sent, received and processed, would be about 60cm. Compare this to the 6.5m it would travel if using 4G… That’s an improvement that could be the difference between life and death.
Another area where 5G is transformative, is remote surgery. In telemedicine, ultra-low latency is critical—every millisecond counts when a surgeon is controlling robotic instruments from miles away. With 4G, delays in transmitting movements could introduce enough lag to make precise procedures risky or even impossible. With 5G, real-time responsiveness allows doctors to perform complex surgeries remotely with pinpoint accuracy, bringing life-saving procedures to patients in remote or underserved areas.
5G is a gateway to many other emerging solutions, including smart homes, robotics, payment & security systems and the entire Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, so unsurprisingly the global licensing battles in these sectors are just getting started.
Where does Patently License with Questel come in?
In this rapidly evolving SEP landscape, having clear, reliable data is more important than ever—especially for implementers. Patently License with Questel (PLQ) gives you the most accurate, independent insight into the world of SEPs.
Access the most comprehensive manual study of declared SEPs. Our essentiality reviews have been conducted at an unmatched scale, giving users a clearer picture of true essentiality than ever before.
Trust the humans. PLQ is not AI-generated—but instead human-verified—unlike some automated tools, PLQ’s data is built on reviews performed by experienced subject matter experts, ensuring accuracy and trustworthiness.
Get instant SEP insights with our interactive charts and visualisations revealing top patent owners, essentiality rates, and global distribution at a glance—making complex SEP data easy to understand and act on.
Understand who owns what and where. With PLQ, you can identify which SEPs are truly essential, helping you negotiate more effectively and make informed licensing decisions.
We’d love to show the tool in action, if you’d like to know more contact us to schedule a walkthrough of the platform.