5G wireless is already being hyped by AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon as their next-gen tech trials get underway, even though the term is often taken more lightly by industry observers (including us), who tone it down as just a marketing term. The 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project), which oversees cellular communications standards, has now taken a step to further rein in 5G marketing before it really gets out of hand by establishing an official logo for it that comes with some rules.

3GPP 3GPP's official 5G wireless logo

The logo, whose waves borrow from the existing LTE logo, will initially be used on 3GPP 5G specifications from Release 15 onwards. We're talking about initial specs expected to be complete in late 2018 and then 5G Phase 2 specs slated for completion in 2020.

The 3GPP has laid out a set of rules for vendors and partners looking to use the logo for products and services that comply with 3GPP specs. So, we might not be seeing a lot of it anytime too soon.

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