On August 26, 2020, the 5G bearer working group of the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group officially released the second edition of the 5G bearer optical module white paper at the 2020 China Optical Network Seminar, focusing on the application scenarios and development of key technical solutions for the front-haul and mid-return optical modules, the industrialization level of optical modules and core optoelectronic chips, the evaluation of optical module industrialization capabilities, and technical industry development suggestions of 5G bearer optical modules.

The 5G bearer network provides the basic network connection for the 5G wireless access network and the core network. The optical module is the basic unit of the 5G bearer network. In recent years, with the increase in speed, the cost of the optical module in the system equipment has been increasing and it has become one of the key elements of 5G low cost and wide coverage. Compared with 4G, 5G bearer puts forward new and differentiated requirements for optical modules in terms of rate capacity, transmission distance, working environment, fiber resources and synchronization characteristics. At present, the industry has proposed a variety of solutions for 5G bearer optical modules, some of which have gradually matured and moved towards large-scale applications. At the same time, with the continuous advancement of 5G construction in stages and the vigorous development of the 5G bearer optical module industry chain, some new optical module needs have emerged, and the industry is conducting research on these new needs.

In January 2019, the 5G bearer working group of the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group released the first edition of the 5G Bearer Optical Module White Paper. The second edition of the white paper is based on the first edition and takes the new requirements of 5G bearer optical modules, Research solutions and basic common issues of industrial development into considers; it continues to evaluate the industrialization capabilities of 5G bearer optical modules and core optoelectronic chips, and propose follow-up development suggestions, and further promote the gradual maturity and industrial application of the 5G bearer optical module industry chain, providing 5G deployment  with strong support.