Time-Sensitive Networking in 5th Generation Cellular Networks - Current State and Open Topics

New degrees of flexibility regarding the communication infrastructure are necessary to realize the vision of Industry 4.0, i.e., the further advancement of digitalization in factories. The 5G standard will push into this new area of industrial communication with Release 16. In this paper, we explore ongoing standardization activities related to the integration of 5G and time-sensitive networking as a fundamental building block for flexible production. We provide a condensed summary of recent developments in 3GPP standardization and identify open issues that still need to be addressed in the future. We discuss the aspect of time synchronization in detail and make a recommendation for a way forward from the perspective of vertical applications.