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Context:
- The next video codec standard, currently unnamed, is expected to be operational from 2029-2030 and will define the digital media landscape for the following decade. Current standards, such as Versatile Video Coding (VVC), will continue to play a key role in the market until then.
- As Nokia Technologies announced it had reached the landmark of 7,000 high-quality patent families declared as essential to the 5G standard in January, its President Patrick Hammarén said its active pre-standardization work put it in a leading position for 6G standardization (January 7, 2025 ip fray article).
What’s new: Nokia and Ericsson today announced a joint submission in video codec technologies they made to the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) has been positively evaluated. The new video codec, which they have been researching together with Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), has considerably higher compression efficiency than the current standards – H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, and H.266/VVC – without significantly increasing complexity, while also improving energy efficiency and scalability.
Direct impact and wider ramifications: The new standard – Ericsson, Nokia, and Fraunhofer said – will lead to better immersive media and mobile video user experiences in the 6G era. It will be essential for a wide range of video-based applications, including mobile communication and streaming, as well as immersive and low-latency experiences. Some use cases that the companies specified include the coding of professional-, user-, and AI-generated content, coding of gaming and 3D content, coding of content for machine consumption, and automotive and industrial use.
In a statement today, Ericsson’s Head of Research, Magnus Frodigh, said Ericsson is proud to partner with Nokia and Fraunhofer in video coding. The partnership not only shows the ability of European technology leaders to come together and pioneer breakthroughs, he notes, but also flags their “combined determination and commitment to shape the next generation of standards”.
While Ericsson’s strongest areas are cellular and WiFi technologies, the company is evermore active in video codecs. The company joined Avanci Video as a licensor earlier this year (April 8, 2025 Avanci press release).
Nokia’s Head of Multimedia Technologies, Ville-Veikko Mattila, also said in a statement today that the company’s inventors have been “instrumental” in the development of all market-adopted video codecs for the last 30 years, including H.26x video compression technologies. He added:
“We are excited about shaping the next generation of video standards. By working together at the very start of the standardization journey, we will ensure that the values of openness, excellence, and sustainability are embedded in the next generation of digital media experiences.”
Nokia is presently very active in video licensing. Today, it announced the signing of a new patent licensing agreement with U.S. pay-TV provider Starz (October 27, 2025 ip fray article), marking its sixth video streaming deal (including one with Amazon: (March 31, 2025 ip fray article).
Also today, Professor Thomas Wiegand, the Executive Director of Fraunhofer, said video technologies are central to the digital experiences of tomorrow. The research conducted with Nokia and Ericsson demonstrates Europe’s “strong competence in advanced media technologies” and its active role in global standardization efforts, he noted.
Fraunhofer, which is famous for its work in the audio codec space that dates back to MP3, has long been one of the leaders in video technologies, too. Today, it licenses its video patents through several patent pools, including Access Advance’s HEVC program, Via Licensing Alliance’s AVC program, and Avanci Video.