Want 5G? It’s going to take an IP anyhaul overhaul | EDN
Much of the ongoing discussion around 5G is focused on use cases: wireless broadband to the home, in-vehicle infotainment, immersive event experiences, truck platooning, remote health care, smart cities and smart factories to name a few.
Mobile networks and cloud packet core developers are working on the new mobile standards and technologies that will make this happen. Radio access network (RAN) technology is evolving from distributed to centralized to cloud architectures. Solutions are being developed to push content and some elements of core processing closer to users: Multi-access edge computing.
Operators will ultimately use a variety of architectures for 5G. Those new architectures are not going to work without an overhaul of what we call the anyhaul network: a mix of mobile transport technologies – including fiber, microwave, and GPON.Low latency is essential for centralized and cloud-optimized RAN architectures.
High-throughput IP routers with a variety of 1/10/100 GE, TDM, and SONET/SDH interfaces are required to provide high-throughput, secure, reliable routing for any-to-any connectivity over any network topology. Operators need 10 Gbps cell site and 100 Gbps network links, multi-terabit throughput capacity, and high port densities at every node. Carrier software defined networks (SDN) provide the functionality needed to provision end-to-end network services over multi-layer wide area networks.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
IMS: 5G is complicated
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458487/IMS–5G-is-complicated?utm_content=buffere0820&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
As has happened with every generation of wireless communications, the bandwidth of 4G, LTE, and LTE-Advanced is running out. While 2G, 3G, and 4G have created uses for mobile devices that changed the way we live and work, 5G could do that and more. Why? Because if 5G comes even close to the hype, it will go beyond simply providing more bandwidth for people to watch movies on the go. 5G could make its way into the overall network infrastructure in ways its predecessors haven’t.
Even though 3GPP will have radio standards in place by the end of 2017, there are many other aspects of the technology that will need to be worked out. It will take a worldwide effort to make that happen. Here are some of the issues still on the table for the physical layer that were presented on day 2 of the IMS 2017 5G Summit.
5G will likely first appear in fixed-access applications, in the form of front-haul home/business internet access. Typical range should run between 200 m and 300 m. Furthermore, wireless could take over from copper on the backhaul, especially where there isn’t fiber to the cell.
Power amplifiers are perhaps the most limiting factor in 5G implementation.
Although power amplifiers degrade signals, they’re not the only culprits. For example, an A/D converter’s effective number of bits (ENOB) drops as sample rates increase.
Currently wireless systems can work with 64 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) at 1 Gbit/s.
Locations of arrays in a phone need to be considered. Where do you put them?
Massive MIMO (much greater than 8×8) antenna arrays provide the means for beamforming and special multiplexing.
Power efficiency can be as low as 2% efficient.
Current carrier frequencies (below 6GHz) simply lack the bandwidth to carry the desired data rates. mmWave signals look attractive because of their higher bandwidth, but there are tradeoffs on range, and blockages, resulting in greater transmission losses.
5G is a worldwide effort. Frequencies will differ from country to country
Tomi Engdahl says:
Where will 5G appear first?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458454/Where-will-5G-appear-first
Earlier this month, T-Mobile announced its intention to be the first wireless carrier in the US to build a 5G network, one-upping AT&T, which a few weeks earlier announced its intention to be the first wireless carrier in the US to build a 5G network, an announcement intended to upstage Verizon, which was among the first in the world to announce plans to build a 5G network, upstaging most other carriers everywhere.
The thing about the Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile 5G statements is that it’s unclear what, exactly, they mean when they invoke “5G.” Each successive claim sounds more like marketing blather. A great many people, both inside and outside the communications industry, are getting jaundiced about 5G because of it.
South Korea has certainly participated in muddling expectations with fuzzy 5G claims. The country previously announced plans to have a trial pre-5G network operating during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Seoul, whatever “pre-5G” might mean.
Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile seem to be intimating that American cellular customers will be the first to get commercial 5G service, but if South Korea just announced it will have the first commercial 5G service, it can be inferred that South Korea believes that whatever the three US carriers are doing this year, it won’t be commercial 5G services.
AT&T had said all along that its plan was to upgrade its network in stages to gradually convert it to a 5G network. The company had been scrupulous about describing its plans as an evolution to 5G. But then, just a few weeks ago, AT&T announced details of the first step in that upgrade – it said it would be rolling out a commercial service (not just trials) in several US cities in coming months – and the service would be called “5G Evolution.”
people who don’t follow AT&T closely might be forgiven for inferring that “5G Evolution” means 5G. It does not. 5G Evolution will be an upgrade in 4G technology, to LTE Advanced.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere subsequently promised his company would start using the nearly $8 billion worth of spectrum it just bought at auction to offer a “truly mobile 5G” service. He gleefully ribbed AT&T and Verizon for their bogus claims of having 5G, and observed that strict definitions of 5G aren’t formalized yet anyway. Which means what for his own claims? Never mind that.
A lot of this can be dismissed as just PR brinksmanship, but it has real-world consequences. Creating standards is not a trivial task for many reasons, including the amount of preparatory engineering work required. But with some companies promising to introduce 5G before the standard is even finished, the standards organizations have felt compelled to push their schedules, first to 2018, now to the end of this year. To what effect?
Telefonica CTO Enrique Blanco recently told Mobile Europe that carriers in the US, Korea, and Japan risk merely extending 4G capabilities while neglecting the network transformation that 5G originally promised. “5G is not just about sub-millisecond latency and 1Gbps speeds – we can get close to that with 4G already. So what’s new?” he asks.
Will jumping the gun have real consequences, such as ending up with networks that simply can’t deliver what 5G promises? Blanco is not the only person concerned about this; he’s merely among the most vocal about it.
The worst-case scenario is probably not that bad, though. Networks will be improved to provide what’s needed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon 5GTF comes to life
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458466/Verizon-5GTF-comes-to-life?utm_content=buffer3fa60&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
In 2015, Verizon established the 5G Technical Forum (5GTF), with Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, LG, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung. The group’s primary purpose is to develop a wireless alternative to fiber to the home (FTTH) using mmWave spectrum—also called fixed wireless access (FWA).
The 5GTF draws largely from the LTE standard and adds concepts now being researched and proposed for 5G in 3GPP. The 5GTF extends the subcarrier spacing by a multiple of 5—that is, 75 kHz subcarriers versus 15 kHz, yielding 100 MHz bandwidth per component carrier—and reduces the subframe spacing by an inverse proportion to maintain timing consistency with LTE. The technical forum also added control signals and expanded the physical layer to include digital beamforming and precoding.
In March 2017, NI demonstrated a real-time working prototype of the Verizon 5GTF at the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) in San Francisco.
the full bandwidth and real-time processing of eight component carriers at 28 GHz.
the peak rate of the two users in the demo exceeded 5 Gbps and could be easily scaled to over 20 Gbps.
Although Verizon’s 5GTF specification may not technically be “5G” in a true mobility sense, it’s still an important milestone on the road to the 3GPP’s 5G new radio (NR) because many of the concepts incorporated in the 5GTF specification will likely be employed in the final 5G standard.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data Growth Drives 5G, Cloud
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331858&
Traffic to the cloud is doubling each year, driving demand for new technologies for everything from the RF front end of mobile phones to the architecture of data centers.
“5G is not like the other Gs — it’s an inflection from consumer to industry,” says Sree Koratala, vice president for technology and strategy at Ericsson, who will participate in a program on 5G and the cloud at SEMICON West 2017 on July 13 in San Francisco.
Ericsson’s research projects 29 billion connected devices by 2022, 18 billion of them industrial IoT devices in factories, transportation and the grid–surpassing consumer phones and laptops. This range of applications means a huge diversification of performance requirements for communication, with some use cases demanding a 5x improvement in latency, 100x faster data speed or 1,000x higher data volume.
“We need to develop next generation technology across the whole system, from the RF front end to the base stations to the cloud networks with 3D beam forming for coverage, multi-user MIMO for capacity and a key role for GaN and GaAs,” said Koratala. “5G will mean a shift in the core network architecture, from being based on nodes to a true intelligent platform for dynamically creating the network in the cloud,” she added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small Cells Help Keep 5G Connected
http://www.techonline.com/electrical-engineers/education-training/tech-papers/4458334/Small-Cells-Help-Keep-5G-Connected
As more users tap into wireless-communications services, the demand on wireless-network capacity intensifies in both indoor and outdoor locations. This is driving carriers to expand their cellular/wireless infrastructure with minimum cost or disruption of service to wireless customers. Many carriers are turning to small cells as the solution. Small cells and distributed antenna systems (DAS) enhance quality of service, offer carriers a simple solution for each application, and increase network efficiency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oulu has an international EUCNC2017 conference, which presents 5G’s latest development and research results. There are also dozens of companies in the industry. The event brought to Oulu more than 500 telecom chiefs and 5G specialists.
The 26th European Conference on Networks and Communications, to be held in Finland for the first time, is hosted by the Center for Wireless Communications (CWC) unit at the University of Oulu.
“Oulu is one of the key equipment manufacturers. The industry has a strong presence in the event, as well as a demo show that the keynote sessions and panel discussions, ”
“The theme of the conference” 5G – European Roadmap, Global Impact “highlights the global impact of the event. There are still five keynote speeches on Tuesday and Wednesday, three panel discussions and nearly 200 scientific lectures. The event will continue on Thursdays.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/06/13/eucnc2017-5g-teknologia-muuttuu-palveluiksi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Welcome to EuCNC 2017 | Oulu, Finland | June 12-15
http://www.eucnc.eu/
The host city, Oulu, is one of the leading wireless technology hubs globally. The first analog NMT network, the first GSM and WCDMA calls, the first open 5G test network are some of the highlights where the local wireless community have had key roles. Oulu has a vivid community of about 800 high-tech companies, employing 15 000 people. Most of the companies are located right next to University campus. It clearly shows that academic-industry collaboration is the root of industry competitiveness, economic growth and job creation.
As we are entering into the preparation of the next Framework Programme, EuCNC is a very timely event to further demonstrate the value of European research and innovation in the strategic domain of future communication and ICT services infrastructures. The theme for EuCNC’17 is “5G – European Roadmap, Global Impact”. It reflects well the systematic development of network connectivity technologies in Europe and provides a clear focus towards 5G technology validation and deployment, an area where Europe is a leader in the field. This role is a must to ensure a sustainable economy, to improve quality of life and jobs of European Citizens, and to successfully compete in a global digital economy.
Europe has to be active on 5G trials and pilot deployment and enable the new ecosystems and 5G business cases to arise in the area, such as the Internet of Things (IoT). To this end, on-going cooperation and partnerships with verticals industries are required, such as those initiated with the automotive industry.
Welcome to EuCNC 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p53kaY64A0s
Welcome to the 26th Edition of the European Conference on Networks and Communications EuCNC2017, hosted in Oulu, Finland. The conference will take place from 12 to 15 June 2017. We are certain that this EuCNC will be exceptional cornerstone event for showing the status of 5G research in advanced networks and associated topics, with multiple exciting sessions, workshops, exhibitions/demonstrations, as well as an outstanding social program.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Once Again, IMS Was Worth the Trip
http://www.mwrf.com/components/once-again-ims-was-worth-trip?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170613_MWRF-001_106&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11554&utm_medium=email&elq2=a740acfbc8bf48bcb658ab6bb72fe338
As evidenced by last week’s extravaganza in Honolulu, the International Microwave Symposium remains the premiere event of the RF/microwave industry.
Certainly, with its theme of riding the wave of the Fifth Generation (5G) of wireless technology, many of those personal interactions at the 2017 IMS will be about how to make something that was once one or two of a kind, such as millimeter-wave components, and make possibly tens and thousands of them for lower costs. With its dreamlike setting, the 2017 IMS marks a transition for this industry, towards potentially large-volume markets such as 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) that will require a rethinking of manufacturing and testing methods in order to remain competitive. 5G has taken the place of millimeter-wave technology as that next great thing that is “right around the corner.” Except now, millimeter-wave technology will be one of the enabling technologies for 5G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G news in Finnish
http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/?s=5G
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/component/search/?searchword=5G-&ordering=newest&searchphrase=all&limit=20
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Technology Director: Europe is behind the 5G development
For GSM and 3G, Europe was still at the forefront of technical progress. For 5G, this is not the case, estimates Nokia Hossein Moii MobileWorld’s interview with Nokia’s Technology Director. According to Moiin, the United States is currently at the forefront of 5G development. – The US Communications Commission FCC is 5G more enlightened than the European Commission. Also Korea and Japan are ahead of Europe, Moiin says.
- This is sad because European companies have traditionally been at the forefront of development. And Ericsson and Nokia are still European.
In order to strengthen Europe’s position, there should be 4-5 strong large operators here. – It should be possible to translate operators across borders. The United States has the same number of residents, but 4-5 major operators. In Europe, there are 70, Moiin complained.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6469&via=n&datum=2017-06-13_15:18:36&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia calls for Europe to step up on 5G
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/latest-stories/nokia-calls-for-europe-to-step-up-on-5g/
Hossein Moiin, Nokia Mobile Networks CTO (pictured), confessed he is pessimistic about Europe’s chances of emerging as a 5G leader, insisting the continent will be left behind unless sweeping changes are made at regulatory level.
In a frank exchange at a 5G press briefing in London, Moiin said the US regulator Federal Communications Commission was “more enlightened” than counterparts the European Commission (EC), as he tipped the US to lead initial 5G deployment, with South Korea and Japan following with mobile use cases.
“I’m not optimistic about Europe to be honest,” he said: “It’s kind of sad because Europe is traditionally the leader in developing technology, and it will also be this time because Nokia and Ericsson are European companies. But in terms of deployment, in terms of regulation, in terms of operator profitability and operators taking risks, these are non-technical issues, but Europe seems to be left behind.”
He noted the EC and the European Union had set “high ambitions” for 5G, but this was not being translated into policies which are investor friendly.
To ensure a better European playing field, Moiin suggested M&A should be allowed across borders to create “four or five strong operators”.
“Europe is roughly the same size as the US in terms of customers, but there are 70 operators here compared to four in the US, and even one of them is quite sick. Three operators there can do things and invest.”
November standards
Speaking about Nokia’s own opportunity, Moiin said the likely uptick from 5G would present itself gradually, with operators expected to increase their spend over time.
He predicted most of the standardisation for 5G should be completed by end-2017, with a first draft expected by November, which will then be finalised in 2018.
Today (13 June) at the 5G World Summit in London, Nokia announced it will hold demos of its AirScale radio portfolio. In a statement, the Finnish vendor said it will showcase how AirScale can leverage Nokia’s Flexi RF units, which are already deployed by operators: “ensuring that their existing investment in radio technology is protected, while preparing them for the path to 5G”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ADI Lays 5G Foundation with New Transceiver
Transceiver serves as new backbone for company’s RadioVerse development platform.
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/adi-lays-5g-foundation-new-transceiver/134509460756958?cid=nl.x.dn14.edt.aud.dn.20170613.tst004t
Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) laid the groundwork for the move to 5G wireless this week, rolling out a transceiver that helps reduce the size, weight and power of future radios.
The AD9375 is said to be the first-ever RF transceiver to incorporate a technology known as digital pre-distortion (DPD), which dramatically reduces power consumption. By doing so, it serves as an enabler for the use of other technologies that could enhance wireless network coverage and capacity.
“In order to service the 5G challenge, you need densification in terms of the number of radios,” Peadar Forbes, product marketing manager for wideband transceivers at ADI, told Design News. “With this transceiver, we’re significantly reducing the size, weight and power of the radio, which enables that densification.”
The two technologies, however, also present a significant challenge for 5G developers. “Both of them put pressure on the radio’s size, weight and power,” Forbes said. “They’re trying to cram more radios into smaller areas without increasing the size of the boxes.”
“In order to minimize the size and weight of the box, you need to use those high-efficiency power amplifiers,” Forbes said. “They’re the best way to get the heat out of the box.”
The new transceiver will serve as the backbone of ADI’s RadioVerse platform. That platform, rolled out a year ago, consists of a transceiver surrounded by a design environment that offers board support, software and tools. The package was created in response to developer demand for simpler methodologies, in light of the fact that there are now more than 40 cellular bands worldwide and billions of connected devices. It’s being targeted at wireless applications in aerospace, defense, public safety, test and measurement and cellular base stations.
The need for such simpler solutions is expected to become even greater over the next few years, as the industry migrates to 5G wireless. 5G calls for wireless operators to meet the need for 1,000 times more traffic, up to 100 times more devices, and 0.1 millisecond latencies. It is expected to be in place by about 2020.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G hackaton’s victory: The robot navigates with the added reality
The first 5G hackathon in the world at Oulu went to India. The Navy-winning Indian Prize winning grand prix helps to navigate through the added reality. It also enables the delivery of robots, for example, to independent robots in large building complexes.
Oulu 5GFWD Hackathon is contributing to Oulu’s renown as an international center for new technology and especially for 5G technology. The Oulu 5GFWD Hackathon international participants agreed on the challenge of the 48-hour event at Telia, Nokia and the University Hospital of Oulu at the University of Oulu on a weekend.
An intense development contest gathered 70 coders and experts from different fields on three continents, and teams also had background resources to assist with the Internet. The teams developed and introduced solutions that enable super-fast wireless 5G technology for challenging companies.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6471-5g-hackathonin-voitto-robotti-suunnistaa-lisatyn-todellisuuden-avulla
Tomi Engdahl says:
How 5G is changing data centers
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/power-forward/4458412/How-5G-is-changing-data-centers
While there is perhaps a general perception to the contrary, 5G systems are no longer just the subject of research within major telecoms companies or the topic of conference presentations at industry forums. The reality is that major OEMs will be deploying 5G systems within the next few years, which means that developments are already advancing rapidly. For example, Ericsson, working with NTT DOCOMO, aims to launch 5G services in Japan in time to support the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In preparation, it will demonstrate the capability of 5G at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, in partnership with ST Telecom.
This impending availability of data services based on 5G network technology will provide online access to more data, even faster.
Such immediacy of information will allow many of today’s advanced technology applications, such as autonomous vehicles and virtual reality or augmented reality systems, to dispense with locally stored data and rely instead on the cloud.
For this to be effective, network latency needs to be less than 1ms. This not only requires 5G infrastructure installed in the data centers but also requires data centers to be located closer to the users and the cellular radio towers that serve them–having a data center 250 miles away isn’t going to cut it! While data will still need to reside upstream, it will also need to be readily available in more remote locations, at the edge of the network. This change potentially negates the trend for siting data centers close to power plants that can supply their massive energy demands, or in climates where the cooling requirement and consequent additional energy demand is reduced.
Part of the solution lies in the recent growth in micro-datacenters, whose lower capacity but higher numbers will be sufficient to support this more distributed cloud infrastructure.
That is why the other part of the solution, comes from deploying software defined power (SDP) based on a combination of hardware and software that can intelligently and dynamically allocate power throughout the data center.
The first, in tier 3 or tier 4 data centers, is the need to provide 100% redundancy for mission-critical tasks. This means that every element in the power supply path, from external utility supply and back-up generator, through the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and power distribution unit (PDU), to the server racks and individual servers is duplicated. This is typically the case even if not all servers are dual-corded because they don’t need to run mission-critical tasks.
As mentioned earlier, SDP provides a solution for the power management of all data centers whether for traditional cloud computing and storage requirements or the nimbler micro-datacenters that are needed to serve low-latency 5G applications. SDP supports everything from optimizing the voltages found in the distributed power architecture of server racks, through to dynamically managing power sources and implementing peak-shaving.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Where will 5G appear first?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458454/Where-will-5G-appear-first?utm_content=buffer3f945&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5GFWD Hackathon Grand Prix in Oulu
At Oulu 5GFWD Hackathon at the University of Oulu, participants attended the 48-hour event at Telia, Nokia and Oulu University Hospital on the weekend.
The teams developed and introduced solutions that enable super-fast wireless 5G technology for challenging companies.
The development competition was attended by 70 coders and experts from different field
Winners of Oulu 5GFWD Hackathon:
Customer Journey, OYS, 5000 €
Navify: Smarter access and navigation with the added reality of the smartphone screen. The jury chose among the finalists Navify’s € 5,000 prize winner and the winner of the entire hackathon.
Digital Factory, Nokia, € 5000:
SmartWorker 4.0: Virtual Reality Solution to Improve Wireless Production at the Nokia Mill.
Mobile Apps for 5G Age, Telia, 10000 €:
Classroom: A virtual learning platform for schools.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/06/14/sairaalasuunnistus-voitti-5g-kisan-apua-jakeluroboteille/
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G subscriptions in 2022 half a billion
The acceleration of 5G standardization enables broader experiments and deployment in 2019, believes Ericsson with many other telecom operators. In the year 2022, the world is expected to have half a billion 5G subscriptions, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report.
“In 2022 the majority – 90 percent – of all the connections are mobile broadband subscriptions. Currently, the proportion is 53 percent worldwide. According to FICORA, broadband subscriptions in Finland accounted for at the end of 2016, 88 per cent, “says President and CEO of Ericsson Finland Olli Sirkka.
The upcoming 5G technology will not only make mobile broadband faster, but will allow completely new networking applications. A large number of devices can be connected to the network and also guarantee critical reliability of applications, for example in traffic.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/06/15/5g-liittymia-vuonna-2022-puoli-miljardia/
Tomi Engdahl says:
IMS 2017: 10 Things Not 5G
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331872&
Honolulu — The 2017 International Microwave Symposium (IMS) took place last week in the Hawaiian capital. Billed as “Hawaii 5G, Catch the Wave,” IMS 2017 certainly had 5G all over the place: in demonstrations, high-end equipment, technical sessions, and a two-day summit. You might think that 5G completely consumed this year’s symposium, but you’d be wrong.
There was a lot more than 5G communications here. Attendees saw the usual contingent of microwave components: antennas, filters, couplers, waveguides, amplifiers, and so on. Many engineers work on military, aerospace, and automotive radar systems, while others design RF energy systems. Here are 10 items that have nothing to do with 5G but have their place at IMS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gallery: Everything We Saw At IMS 2017
http://www.mwrf.com/components/gallery-everything-we-saw-ims-2017?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170615_MWRF-001_825&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11614&utm_medium=email&elq2=09546ba8893d42fb9f0a813a7b6ac012
Last week, Microwaves & RF chronicled the the 2017 International Microwave Symposium in Hawaii, the annual powwow for companies and engineers in the high-frequency industry. Here are some views of the show floor, taken by our editors, where we got the inside track on the latest products and trends.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ericsson: 5g saves energy
Energy consumption is sluggish with the 5G networks.
This is believed in Ericsson’s 5G Development Department.
Ny Teknik magazine that existing masts and transmitters are like the fans, who are on all the time. In a 5G network, transmission only occurs if someone receives the signal.
Current networks are not able to distinguish what kind of activity they have in their coverage area.
According to Ericsson’s estimate, 5G’s energy consumption would only be one-hundredth of the current network.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/ericsson-5g-saastaa-kasapain-energiaa-6657832
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ericsson: The 5g network consumes much less energy
More data than ever learning is sent over the 5g network. In return, Ericsson announces a significantly lower energy consumption.
Energy consumption will be 100 times lower with 5g, compared with today’s radio communications. That means Joakim Sorelius, Head of 5G Architecture at Ericsson.
“Today, all the master and transmitter are on all the time. They send data and control information, whether needed or not. With 5g, you will only send control information when there is someone there to receive it, “says Joakim Sorelius.
He takes an example: a coverage area that is empty on people at some point, but there are a number of connected heat pumps. Today, radio masts and transmitters do not make any difference to what activity is on the surface the mast covers.
When data is transmitted over the telecommunications network, the shipment is surrounded by two types of control information. One type ensures that data is delivered efficiently and securely, as well as confirming that it has reached the recipient.
The second type relates to how communication between a device and a radio mast is to be established: They must know each other’s proximity to begin a dialogue.
With 5g, these two types of control information will be divided. Ericsson calls it “ultra lean design”, which translates into very sleek design.
- The type of control information that ensures that data is displayed will be put in the same beam as the data. You only send it where it really is needed. The other type still has to be sent out over the coverage area, but we make it as small as possible, as slim as possible, “says Joakim Sorelius.
By “ray”, Sorelius means what the industry calls “beamforming” or beam direction. Instead of transmitting signals over a full coverage area, the power can be directed towards active users.
The technology becomes possible at higher radio frequencies with shorter wavelengths.
- But the size of the antenna depends on the wavelength you use, so these thousand antennas can be a thousand times smaller than the ones before. Thus, the total antenna size in 5g becomes approximately the same as with older technology.
Source: https://www.nyteknik.se/digitalisering/ericsson-5g-natet-forbrukar-mycket-mindre-energi-6855175
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Bell Labs makes Espoo smart city: 5g base stations every ten meters
There may be a solution for light columns to move the information masses required by smart cities. This is how nine Finnish companies believe that they will launch a joint three-year smart city project under the leadership of Nokia Bell Labs.
The LuxTurrim 5g network will be built at Nokia’s headquarters campus in Karamalmi, Espoo. The first pilot applications are due to be completed already this year.
The total budget for the project financed by Tekes and the companies is EUR 15 million.
At the heart of the research is the 5g network enabling the data capacity required by smart cities. According to the research group, it is most naturally built on the urban lighting network. The idea is to develop a new kind of lighting column that, in addition to various sensors, is integrated with the small base station of the mobile network.
The higher the frequencies of the 5g network rise, the shorter the base range reaches.
“For example, 76 GHz to 50 meters is suitable spacing”
The network thus forms a lamp quite naturally adequate coverage of the mobile network.
“For Nokia, this is purely a research project. The actual commercial product targets have been set for the 2020s, “emphasizes Salmelin.
A mobile network based on light columns is an abnormal solution compared to the present
The construction of the mobile network would also involve cities that are currently building a lighting network.
“Cities are very interested in the smart city concept, and they also have an interest in designing and building such infrastructure that will enable moving larger amounts of data over the 5G networks,” Salmelin says.
It would be a good idea for cities to provide lighting posts as columns and their associated infrastructure for the 5G network, so there would be no need to negotiate the base stations with many property owners, for example.
“In the current model, each operator will build their own base station network. This may not be economically feasible when the number of base stations in one network is growing strongly.”
VTT and Aalto University are responsible for the commercial side of contemplation. The key questions are the relationship between exploitation and ownership of the 5g network; How the network can be utilized economically and what are the roles of the mobile operator and city in the future.
In addition, Tampere University of Technology is involved in the development of composite materials and structures and 5g technology with Aalto and VTT.
Source: http://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/tekniikka/ict/nokia-bell-labs-tekee-espoosta-alykaupunkia-5g-tukiasemia-muutaman-kymmenen-metrin-valein-6652289
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Next Gen Core has a cloudy outlook!
https://blog.networks.nokia.com/5g/2017/04/25/5g-next-gen-core-cloudy-outlook/
Of all the industry talk around 5G, most of the discussion has focused around radio evolution. But what about the other pieces of the puzzle? Let’s not forget the access, transport and core network that ensure our devices can connect to the services and applications being desired.
In particular the core network will play a central role as it will be the intelligent interconnection hub residing in the heart of the network – an anchor point, so to speak, for all the different wireless and fixed access types. This interconnection hub needs to deliver a seamless service experience across these access technologies, with the advanced 5G New Radio (NR) being an important new access technology in our interconnected world.
What it means to go cloud-native
However, along with the radio, the core network, which is often a 3GPP Evolved Packet Core (EPC), needs to undergo a transformation to the cloud. And while some organizations, such as communication service providers, may consider the virtualization of their core networks (or EPCs) as sufficient in this cloud transformation, the reality is that this step alone is inadequate to support the multitude of service and applications of our interconnected world. Instead, what’s required is a re-architecture of the core network EPCs to be cloud-native. This isn’t yet another piece of marketing jargon. Cloud-native is about taking full advantage of what cloud and web technologies have to offer, to truly realize the economics of supporting these diverse services and applications.
Much of what’s required to support 5G will already be needed today in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks to deliver ultra-broadband and the Internet of Things (IoT)/Machine Type Communications (MTC) services. So, a cloud-native architecture is imperative for today’s EPCs, and moving forward to a 5G Next Generation Core (NGC).
Standards work is well underway for 5G in 3GPP as reported last week from the Brooklyn 5G Summit in the blog “5G may arrive faster than you think…”. It’s been split into two phases. Phase 1 includes specifications needed primarily for enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), but recently items to support low latency aspects of Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) have now been defined in phase 1. Phase 1 also includes the specifications for the overall system architecture that encompasses the 5G NG core. Phase 2 will include specifications for massive IoT and further enhancements to URLLC. The first pre-5G commercially defined offers will be available in 2017. 3GPP 5G Phase 1 standards will be available in 2018, and 3GPP 5G Phase 2 and full standardization will be available in 2019, with phase 1 being fully compatible with phase 2. The transformation to a cloud-native core network architecture is fundamental, and not something that can be achieved by simply virtualizing the EPC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cloud-Native Architectures Will Be Key to 5G NG Core
http://www.lightreading.com/webinar.asp?webinar_id=851
The networking industry is pushing the pace of 5G development. Service providers, and other organizations in the enterprise and public sector, must then determine how best to support their current or planned mobile broadband and IoT/MTC services while providing a path to 5G. The evolution of today’s network core will be central to this transformation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G may arrive faster than you think – good news or bad news?
https://blog.networks.nokia.com/mobile-networks/2017/04/21/5g-may-arrive-faster-think-good-news-bad-news/
We’ve all been talking about 5G for years, but the standards needed to make it a global commercial reality have yet to appear. That has been seen by many as a potential point of delay. And who wants to wait when something as good as 5G is being promised?
It’s an issue that 3GPP is tackling with a proposed accelerated schedule for 5G standardization that could see large-scale trials and deployments as early as 2019. That’s good news of course, but there are also risks. Let me explain.
The accelerated introduction of 5G capable networks will make specifications available earlier, helping vendors to firm up their platform designs. It also means that operators who have not conducted pre-standard 5G trials won’t be at a disadvantage to those who have, and avoids the ecosystem fragmenting into too many proprietary offerings.
Standalone vs non-standalone approach
The new accelerated schedule relies on the non-standalone approach, or NSA. This has the 5G NR connected to an existing LTE network that serves as an “anchor” using the dual-connectivity approach. With this method, all the control functions of the 5G radio are performed by the LTE network – the 5G radio is just an extension of the LTE network, a capacity boost. This initial phase omits the disruptive elements of 5G.
This eMBB-related capacity boost allows new spectrum to be used in the most efficient way to ease capacity shortages in dense areas.
Another focus is low latency – potentially coupled with ultra-reliability – URLLC. Low latency functionality can become a true differentiator that can power a huge number of applications. URLLC has been included in the first phase Work Item (3GPP Release-15) and needs a standalone (SA) deployment of 5G.
But this accelerated approach for NSA carries some risks. Some vendors want to copy most technology components directly from LTE. Although this ramps up the speed, it hinders the notion of a stronger differentiation for 5G.
The six-month gap between the finalization of non-standalone and standalone specifications also means a non-standalone-only ecosystem could proliferate.
Lacking some of the truly game-changing capabilities of 5G, this would put a serious dent in the credibility of the grand 5G vision.
Despite these risks there is a good deal of optimism that everything will be ok
Tomi Engdahl says:
Getting to the core of 5G
https://pages.nokia.com/2563.Designing.Cloud-Native.5G.Core.Network.html
New Heavy Reading white paper delivers the goods on designing cloud-native 5G Core networks
The networking industry at large is making rapid progress on 5G. Service providers, and other organizations in the enterprise and public sector, must then determine how best to support their current or planned mobile broadband and IoT/MTC services while providing a path to a 5G. The evolution of today’s network core will be central to this transformation as it is the connection hub.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Bytes: Massive MIMO Explained
http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/telecom/wireless/5g-bytes-massive-mimo-explained
With massive MIMO, future 5G networks will be able to cram more data onto the same amount of spectrum
Today’s mobile users want faster data speeds and more reliable service. The next generation of wireless networks—5G—promises to deliver that, and much more. Right now, though, 5G is still in the planning stages, and companies and industry groups are working together to figure out exactly what it will be. But they all agree on one matter: As the number of mobile users and their demand for data rises, 5G must handle far more traffic at much higher speeds than the base stations that make up today’s cellular networks.
Today’s 4G base stations have a dozen ports for antennas that handle all cellular traffic: eight for transmitters and four for receivers. But 5G base stations can support about a hundred ports, which means many more antennas can fit on a single array. That capability means a base station could send and receive signals from many more users at once, increasing the capacity of mobile networks by a factor of 22 or greater.
This technology is called massive MIMO.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Keysight achieves 12Gbps at 28 GHz
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458523/Keysight-achieves-12Gbps-at-28-GHz?utm_content=buffer75a62&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Keysight Technologies and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have demonstrated the ability to communicate at double-digit gigabit speeds at 28 GHz, a swath of spectrum that eventually will be used in 5G networks.
The achievement is one of the incremental steps necessary to get to gigabit wireless service in just one of the higher frequency spectrum bands likely to be used for 5G communications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Struggling towards 5G
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458307/The-struggle-to-5G
5G is developing so fast it’s hard to get a handle on it, whether you’re responsible for building 5G systems or writing about them.
Part of the problem is that 5G is not one proposed standard, it’s a growing set of them. For example, the frequencies where 5G systems will operate have expanded from several bands at 6 GHz and below into both the centimeter wave and millimeter wave portions of the spectrum. That of course has serious ramifications for technology development and opens questions of interoperability.
Every new proposal of this sort complicates the ability of standards bodies to keep up. The original timeline was to have a specification ratified by 2020. While several intermediate deadlines remain set, the schedule for final ratification is now in question.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Drone “Fireworks,” 5G communications, and Streaming VR Coming to Olympic Games
http://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/consumer-electronics/audiovideo/drone-fireworks-5g-communications-and-streaming-vr-coming-to-olympic-games
As for 5G, Intel vice president Asha Keddy, along with the company’s 5G development team and Olympic three-time gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, pushed a symbolic button to turn on Intel’s 5G test network in Silicon Valley, and promised a 5G network would be running throughout the venues of the 2018 Winter Olympics. That part of the announcement was live-streamed using the technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qorvo helps advance 5G efforts with RF filter innovations for smartphones
http://www.edn.com/5G/4458537/Qorvo-helps-advance-5G-efforts-with-RF-filter-innovations-for-Smartphones?utm_content=buffer9aadc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
With RF front-end (RFFE) complexity increasing, the insertion loss and link budgets will increase. Plus, HPUE/Power Class 2 requirements will add more complexity to the designs. Here is what designers need to know in order to design a robust RF front-end for the coming mobile devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Wireless Communications
https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/fi/solutions/wireless-communications/5g/5g-overview/5g-overview_229437.html?WT.mc_id=site_com_mc_WC-141_edn_16-17_fundamentals_channel-wireless
The next major step in mobile communications beyond LTE/LTE-Advanced (4G) sets challenging requirements.
Researchers all around the world are investigating possible concepts and technologies for the fifth generation of mobile networks (5G). Many use cases have been summarized in various white papers and reveal challenging requirements. The possible technologies and concepts under discussion to meet these requirements are quite diverse. Beyond doubt there is a need to improve the understanding of potential new air interfaces at frequencies above current cellular network technologies, from 6 GHz right up to 100 GHz, as well as advanced antenna technologies such as massive MIMO and beamforming.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ADI helps blaze path from 4G to 5G
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458577/ADI-helps-blaze-path-from-4G-to-5G?utm_content=bufferbddeb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Analog Devices (ADI) has introduced a new RF transceiver designed to spark the transition to 5G wireless technologies. The new AD9375 pulls a critical new capability on-chip, leading to power savings that are a necessity to make new wireless infrastructure practical.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G – new dream network?
http://1ot.mobi/blog/5g-new-dream-network
2G, 3G and 4G/LTE represent the evolution of mobile networks. We are all using mobile internet on daily basis and are well aware of the disturbing problem regarding the network coverage and data transfer speed, especially at crowded events or indoors. Even today we still have areas where only GPRS, EDGE or 3G coverage is available. If you are used to 4G/LTE network, older generations feel painfully slow. But, all of this is about to change in near future when 5G will be launched
Tomi Engdahl says:
Channel Modeling for 5G Demonstration
http://www.techbriefs.tv/video/Channel-Modeling-for-5G-Demonst%3bSponsored-Videos-from-Remcom?eid=325267006&bid=1794949
This demonstration shows how Wireless InSite meets 3GPP and METIS channel modeling requirements for 5G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Importance of Hand-held Vector Network Analyzers in 5G Trials
http://www.mwrf.com/webcasts/importance-hand-held-vector-network-analyzers-5g-trials?partnerref=MWRF3&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11736&utm_medium=email&elq2=c9e378a9935e41b7bca7b85b75552abb
This webinar describes how designers, engineers, and technicians can use VNAs during 5G network trials, as well as challenges they will face and solutions that are available.
A key element of this process is performing trials in the field for evaluating developmental 5G systems, which has already begun and requires test equipment with the highest possible performance. In many cases, it is highly desirable to use hand-held, portable RF and microwave instruments rather than racks of benchtop test equipment for this purpose.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Imagine Life Without Interference
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/imagine-life-without-interference?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170627_MWRF-001_897&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11758&utm_medium=email&elq2=397628d45f664f9182b31666898f05fe
One startup company is aiming to overcome the ever-present issue of interference that plagues wireless communications.
Interference is undoubtedly a major problem with regard to today’s wireless communications. That being said, one startup company claims to have developed technology for enabling “life without interference.”
Earlier this year, GenXComm unveiled its simultaneous self-interference cancellation (S-SIX) technology. This technology is the result of several years of R&D efforts at the University of Texas at Austin. The company is targeting Wi-Fi, backhaul, and 5G markets, with the technology being intended for handsets, tablets, laptops, and more.
With S-SIX technology, the objective is to enable simultaneous transmission and reception of signals—in the same channel. Thus, radios can essentially listen and talk at the same time. In essence, GenXComm believes its technology can enable true full-duplex communications.
S-SIX technology allows channels to be located directly next to one another without any unused spectrum between them. This allows spectrum to be shared more efficiently.
S-SIX technology is intended to satisfy stringent size, weight, and power (SwaP) requirements. The technology is chip-scalable
GenXComm expects a full product launch following its next round of funding.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Software Predicts How Millimeter Waves Bounce Off Walls
http://www.mwrf.com/software/software-predicts-how-millimeter-waves-bounce-walls
New simulation software can project how millimeter waves scatter off walls and buildings as well as the effects of that scattering on signal power.
On Wednesday, Remcom announced that the newest version of its radio propagation software would now include diffuse scattering prediction. With it, the software can better analyze the behavior of millimeter waves,which can be tightened into narrow beams and steered around everything from buildings to trees.
The base software, called Wireless Insite, can simulate large numbers of wireless channels using MIMO – also known as multiple-input, multiple-output – which like millimeter waves are considered vital for 5G networks. It allows multiple antennas to send out signals to multiple devices simultaneously to increase how much traffic can fit into spectrum bands.
Remcom said that the software can handle the intense calculations required for ray tracing. The new software can measure complex impulse responses and show cross-polarization of received signals in greater detail than older tools. It also supports normal, backscatter, and forward scattering options.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Transceiver IC Eases Transition from 4G to 5G
http://www.mwrf.com/semiconductors/transceiver-ic-eases-transition-4g-5g?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170629_MWRF-001_851&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11792&utm_medium=email&elq2=e556f51e5393451eb4eba66aed992ed8
Expectations are high for Fifth-Generation (5G) cellular wireless networks, even though they are still several years in the making. Until then, 3G and 4G networks are and will be in service, requiring RF hardware that can provide reliable 3G and 4G performance while enabling a transition to the performance levels needed for 5G systems.
The latest member of the RadioVerse family of highly integrated transceivers from Analog Devices, the AD9375, provides the performance and flexibility to make the transition, stacked as it is with a fully integrated digital pre-distortion (DPD) solution, multiple receivers and transmitters, on-board frequency synthesizers, and a broad RF range from 300 MHz to 6 GHz for signals from a number of different wireless standards. In spite of the extensive functionality, it is a low-power-consumption device (5 W) well suited for use in small wireless base transceiver stations (BTS) where power and size must be conserved, such as those employing large numbers of antennas in massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) configurations.
Radio designers are facing some severe challenges for 4G wireless networks, let alone for eventually emerging 5G networks.
The AD9375 (Fig. 1) includes an impressive number of transmit and receive functions in a single 12 × 12 mm BGA packaged device with a tunable frequency range of 300 MHz to 6 GHz. Fabricated with a 65-nm silicon CMOS semiconductor process, it contains dual differential transmitters, dual differential receivers, an observation receiver with two inputs, a sniffer receiver with three inputs and, most importantly, the on-chip capability to linearize a connected high-power transmit amplifier with a digital-predistortion (DPD) algorithm.
The AD9375 transceiver is similar to its predecessor, the AD9371, with two 100-MHz receivers, two 250-MHz transmitters, a two-input observation receiver, and a three-input sniffer receiver, with system-level interconnections via a 6-Gb/s JESD204B interface.
The AD9375 features fully integrated and independent fractional-N frequency synthesizers to generate the local oscillators (LOs) required for transmit, receive, observation receiver, and clock functions.
The AD9375’s differential transmitters produce large-signal bandwidths as wide as 250 MHz from 300 MHz to 6 GHz. When used for a 3G system such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), the LOs offer signals at 700, 2600, 3500, and 5500 MHz with as much as +7 dBm output power at 700 and 2600 MHz, as much as +6 dBm output power at 3500 MHz, and as much as +4 dBm output power at 5500 MHz.
This highly integrated radio solution contains a DPD engine for power amplifier linearization along with multiple wideband transmitters and receivers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Local governments uneasy over rollout of 5G wireless networks?
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/06/local-governments-uneasy-over-rollout-of-5g-wireless-networks.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-06-26
5G could be fast enough to replace home Wi-Fi a few years from now. But carriers will need to add new antennas much more densely than the current system – building on existing utility poles and street lights.
Local governments want to negotiate carriers’ use of that infrastructure.
Local Governments Voice Concerns Over Rollout Of 5G Wireless Networks
http://www.capradio.org/97601
Wireless carriers eager to roll out faster 5G technology want the California Legislature to streamline the local approvals process. But local governments argue the proposal would take away their powers of oversight and negotiation.
5G could be fast enough to replace home Wi-Fi a few years from now. But carriers will need to add new antennas much more densely than the current system – building on existing utility poles and street lights.
Local governments want to negotiate carriers’ use of that infrastructure. But Democratic Senator Ben Hueso says in some cases, cities and counties want too much money – potentially thousands of dollars for each “small cell” facility.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data Growth Drives 5G, Cloud
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331858&_mc=RSS_EET_EDT
Traffic to the cloud is doubling each year, driving demand for new technologies for everything from the RF front end of mobile phones to the architecture of data centers.
“5G is not like the other Gs — it’s an inflection from consumer to industry,” says Sree Koratala, vice president for technology and strategy at Ericsson, who will participate in a program on 5G and the cloud at SEMICON West 2017 on July 13 in San Francisco.
Ericsson’s research projects 29 billion connected devices by 2022, 18 billion of them industrial IoT devices in factories, transportation and the grid–surpassing consumer phones and laptops. This range of applications means a huge diversification of performance requirements for communication, with some use cases demanding a 5x improvement in latency, 100x faster data speed or 1,000x higher data volume.
“We need to develop next generation technology across the whole system, from the RF front end to the base stations to the cloud networks with 3D beam forming for coverage, multi-user MIMO for capacity and a key role for GaN and GaAs,” said Koratala. “5G will mean a shift in the core network architecture, from being based on nodes to a true intelligent platform for dynamically creating the network in the cloud,” she added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IMS: Phased-array antennas and beamforming
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458534/IMS–Phased-array-antennas-and-beamforming
Beamforming, based on multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) phased-array antennas, looks to make up a component part of the overall 5G cellular technology. While phased-arrays have been the basis of radar for generations, they’re finding new applications in wireless communications. At the 2017 International Microwave Symposium held in Honolulu from June 6-8, 2017, Analog Devices and Keysight Technologies had demonstrations of the technology, albeit on a small scale.
Analog Devices created a demonstration for its analog beamforming ICs. The demonstration consisted of 12 receive antennas, each connected to an 8-LED bar graph to indicate signal strength
The demonstration, given by ADI’s Radar and Phased Array Applications Manager Peter Delos, also used a pair of RF transceivers to generate the signals. Analog beamforming was accomplished using eight transmit elements driven by two four-channel analog beamforming ICs. As the single beam, operating in the X-band (8 GHz to 12 GHz) steered across the transmit antennas, you could see the bars illuminate relative to signal strength
Tomi Engdahl says:
Calibrating the Test Needs of 5G Networks
http://www.mwrf.com/test-measurement/calibrating-test-needs-5g-networks?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170622_MWRF-001_769&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11696&utm_medium=email&elq2=dbad994259b24ce59d7b3d81990cb352
A new NIST facility is devoted to creating new measurement solutions for emerging 5G wireless communications networks.
The almost addictive reliance on wireless communications devices such as smartphones has spurred the planning and development of Fifth Generation (5G) wireless networks, so as to support the constantly increasing need for additional wireless data. Part of building those networks will be testing and characterizing them, and this will mean the evaluation of components and systems with many new technologies, including multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna arrays and the use of millimeter-wave frequencies.
Lead by Kate Remley, Dylan Williams, and associates, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at Boulder, Co. has launched a new Communications Technology Laboratory with a mission of identifying new measurement requirements and solutions related to the expected operational needs of 5G wireless communications networks. Since 5G networks and equipment are still in their formative stages, NIST faces a wide open challenge of preparing for high-frequency systems and technologies that may or may not be applied in the future.
What appears to be an inevitable extension of the technology in current 4G and 4G LTE networks will be the use of signal frequencies at millimeter-wave bands. NIST is developing a traceability path to millimeter-wave modulated communications signals through at least 70 GHz in frequency, with the need for test solutions capable of fully characterizing such signals in terms of amplitude, phase, and frequency using S-parameters.
Current research is evaluating calibrating methods for sampling oscilloscopes and vector network analyzers (VNAs) at 50 GHz and beyond.
Robots are helping with these new levels of measurement precision for 5G systems. NIST has developed a robotic antenna range called the Configurable Robotic Millimeter-Wave Antenna (CROMMA) facility that combined robotic control with optical spatial metrology for antenna positioning
Tomi Engdahl says:
A big part of Intel’s 5G strategy: Altera FPGAs and the mobile trial platform
http://www.edn.com/5G/4458509/A-big-part-of-Intel-s-5G-strategy–Altera-FPGAs-and-the-mobile-trial-platform
My esteemed colleague, Max Maxfield, reported on October 6, 2016 that Intel’s Stratix 10 FPGAs, SoCs were Sampling. Intel had acquired Altera in 2015.
The good news for 5G is that pre-standard 5G technology testing and field trials are forging ahead of schedule for early commercialization coinciding with the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Also, it was just announced days ago that Intel is seeing fast adoption of its 5G Mobile Trial Platform (MTP) product by major network infrastructure vendors which include some of the big guys like Ericsson and Nokia. Even more recently, NTT DoCoMo started 5G ecosystem trials with Intel and Nokia also using the Intel 5G MTP. In that interoperability testing the system is using the 4.5 GHz radio spectrum as part of the 5G end-to-end solution.
The FPGA
The 5G MTP system that Nokia and Ericsson are interested in is Intel’s third generation 5G MTP, which will be operational in the second half of this year. That one is based upon Intel’s 14 nm Stratix 10 FPGA. Intel made a very calculated decision to acquire Altera because they saw the imminent growth of both cloud data centers and 5G due to the Internet of Things (IoT) rapidly fostering many, many more devices online. Their acquisition of Altera enabled Intel to incorporate FPGA reprogrammable chips within MTPs in order to respond rapidly to emerging 5G air interface requirements for chipsets, and rapidly update the MTP’s processing layer.
The fact that Intel has a 14nm tri-gate process technology also figured into this Intel/Altera success. The process has a new architecture known as HyperFlex2 that will serve the needs of high-end computing as well as data-intensive applications like data centers and cloud computing, network infrastructure (as evidenced in their 5G MTP), plus RADAR and imaging systems such as in new automotive safety and autonomous electronics; a winning trifecta.
The 5G MTP
Intel’s small, but powerful 5G MTP brings manufacturers, operators, and other types of ecosystem players capability for rapid development and testing of LTE Advanced Pro and mmWave technologies, devices, and network capabilities. This platform is a necessary aid to technologists around the world to address emerging requirements for the IoT, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). In addition, it will enable the higher data rates, lower latency, and increased capacity that 5G demands.
Intel’s first generation MTP was the industry’s first for 5G and supported sub-6 GHz as well as mmWave. This system was fully operational in February 2016 and gave field testing teams rapid test results regarding interoperability. That system is presently being used by Tier-1 service providers.
Second generation MTP3
In generation two, five powerful next-gen Arria 10 FPGA signal processors were employed for on-going flexibility in meeting emerging changes as 5G evolved. This design employed advanced RF Unit to support sub-6 GHz and 28 GHz mmWave bands with four-stream MIMO within the RFIC. This enabled accelerated spectral capacity optimization.
In this second generation effort, Intel integrated 2×4 and 4×4 dual-polarization (POL) array configurations directly into the front-end RFIC, incorporating observations Intel had already gathered about the behaviors of mmWave spectrum and massive MIMO, both indoors and outdoors, in early field tests with Verizon. This brought them closer to a real product, with excellent link and system capacity.
Nokia, Ericsson and Intel’s MTP
Why do Nokia and Ericsson want Intel’s third generation 5G MTP? Well, all of the above, which I have mentioned plus the MTP, supports multi-gigabit capability over-the-air speeds and addresses key aspects of 5G such as:
Multi-carrier and multi-device operations
Advanced scheduling
4×4 and 8×8 arrays
Broad RF support up in high-capacity millimeter wave frequencies
This system will support these frequency bands:
600 to 900 MHz
3.3 to 4.2 GHz
5.1 to 5.9 GHz
The MTP will support 28 GHz and 30 GHz as well and have early interoperability with 3GPP NR in Q4 ’17. The 5G MTP has mmWave array capabilities for 2×4, 4×4, and 8×8 dual-polarization arrays.
MTP, vehicle safety, and autonomous vehicles
Intel also has a version of this trial platform specifically for automotive use cases including very fast transmission of in-vehicle LIDAR, camera, and other sensor information directly to the data center. This system has machine learning functionality and V2X connectivity.
Nokia and Intel’s MTP
In conjunction with Finnish vendor Nokia, Intel has established innovation labs in Espoo, Finland, and Murray Hill, New Jersey; these facilities combine the MTP with Nokia’s portfolio of network gear. Areas of research cover 5G, NB-IoT, data centers, and software platforms. Underlying 5G tech being jointly developed includes massive MIMO, small cells, network slicing, software-defined virtual RAN, and edge and cloud computing,
I am sure we will see further adoption of Intel’s MTP in the coming months by other key service providers and developers. 5G development and evolution is moving along at high speed and we will see so much more progress leading up to the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Keysight achieves 12Gbps at 28 GHz
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458523/Keysight-achieves-12Gbps-at-28-GHz
Keysight Technologies and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have demonstrated the ability to communicate at double-digit gigabit speeds at 28 GHz, a swath of spectrum that eventually will be used in 5G networks.
The achievement is one of the incremental steps necessary to get to gigabit wireless service in just one of the higher frequency spectrum bands likely to be used for 5G communications. Portions of the 28 GHz band were originally set aside for what was called local multipoint distribution service. LMDS was to be the basis for wireless digital TV service. Barely used for the original purpose, there’s a common desire to use those bands now for 5G communications.
Licenses had been held by a number of companies, including EchoStar, Sprint, Straight Path, T-Mobile, and XO Communications until a furious amount of wheeling and dealing in high-frequency, millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum in the past year, most of it in just the last six months. Dish Network ended up with EchoStar’s licenses in an asset swap, and Verizon bought XO Communications. AT&T announced its acquisition of Straight Path, but then Verizon swooped in and outbid AT&T.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: AT&T sets XGS-PON trial for later this year
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/06/report-at-t-sets-xgs-pon-trial-for-later-this-year.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-07-03
AT&T will conduct a 10Gbps XGS-PON field trial in late 2017 as part of its plan to virtualize access functions within the last mile network, reports Light Reading. The next-generation PON trial will aim to give consumer and business customers multi-gigabit per second (Gbps) internet speeds. The goal is to support the merging of all services on a single network, including 5G wireless infrastructure.
AT&T Sets XGS-PON Trial for 2017
http://www.lightreading.com/gigabit/fttx/atandt-sets-xgs-pon-trial-for-2017/d/d-id/734111
AT&T will conduct a 10Gbps XGS-PON field trial in late 2017 as part of its plan to virtualize access functions within the last mile network.
The next-generation PON trial will aim to give consumer and business customers multi-gigabit per second (Gbps) internet speeds. The goal is to support the merging of all services on a single network, including 5G wireless infrastructure.
Customers are requiring faster internet speeds because of bandwidth-heavy applications like virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. XGS-PON helps networks handle the bandwidth from these cutting-edge technologies.
“Software-defined networks and XGS-PON are a natural step along the evolutionary path of PON technology,” said Eddy Barker, assistant vice president, Access Architecture and Design, AT&T. “This is another way we’re enhancing our network and staying ahead of changing consumer and business needs.”
XGS-PON is a fixed wavelength symmetrical 10Gbps passive optic network technology. It also can coexist with the current GPON technology. It can provide 4X the existing downstream bandwidth. And it’s as cost-effective as GPON.
AT&T’s vision is to put some of XGS-PON in the cloud with software. Open hardware and software designs speed innovation. It will save time needed to manage, deliver, monitor, troubleshoot and provide care services to customers.
AT&T worked with ON.Lab to develop and test ONOS (Open Network Operating System) and VOLTHA (Virtual Optical Line Terminator Hardware Abstraction) software. It hides the lower level details of the silicon. AT&T also submitted several open white box XGS OLT designs to the Open Compute Project (OCP) and are working with them for approval.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Teams with AT&T, Ericsson on 5G Trial
https://www.eeweb.com/news/intel-teams-with-att-ericsson-on-5g-trial
Intel is collaborating with AT&T and Ericsson on a second trial using millimeter wave (mmWave) technology to deliver an ultra-fast 5G network experience to more locations in Austin, Texas. Announced by AT&T, this trial allows participating residential, small-business and enterprise customers to stream premium live TV via AT&T’s DIRECTV NOW service and experience faster broadband services over a fixed wireless 5G network.
The Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform, designed for faster integration and testing of 5G devices and wireless access points, is being used in this trial along with Ericsson’s 5G radio access network.
“This trial, part of our long-term collaboration with AT&T, builds on the success of our first 5G Austin trial and provides business and consumer participants a chance to experience the type of services and market opportunities they can expect in their daily lives with enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-fast speeds and reliable network capabilities,”
This announcement is part of Intel’s ongoing work with industry leaders – from networking to wireless communications – to define standards and deliver products that will make 5G a reality.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G frequency rangers and users:
3.3-4.2 GHz: NTT Docomo, KDDI, S8M, CMCC, China Unicom, China Telecom, KT, ST Telecom, LC Uplus, Etisalat, Orange
4.4-4.99 GHz: NTT Docomo, KDDI, S8M, CMCC, China Unicom, China Telecom
24.25-29.5 GHz: NTT Docomo, CMCC, KT, Verizon, T-Mobile, Telecom Italia, BT
31.8-33.4 GHz: Orange, Italia Telecom, British Telecom
37-40 GHz: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile
Other bands that companies are toying with the first phase
of Release 15 include the 52 GHz and 70 GHz, which Nokia
targeted as far back as 2012 with a prototyping system it built
with National Instruments for 5G. AT&T has also been testing
out the 28 GHz band,
“The 3GPP will study how these bands work together
because depending on how you put them together you might
have harmonics,” said Kundargi. “Non-standalone 5G will pair
an LTE and a new radio band. The anchor, [for instance], will
be the 3 GHz band while your data connectivity resides in the
28 GHz band.”
Source:
Microwave & RF magazine
http://www.penton.com/digitaleditions/MRF/706MRF_DE.pdf?utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11540&utm_medium=email&elq2=de84c27a01b7460c926ddd05390cb4a7
Tomi Engdahl says:
The fiber leads to 5G networks
Elisa takes a new step towards 5G technology by building a 4G mobile base station using the fiber optic net in the first area of the small area to Espoo Nuotaniemi. The solution brings faster and higher-quality mobile broadband connections and underpins the introduction of 5G technology in the future.
Elisa improves its fixed network by introducing fiber optic networks into small area areas as part of the FTTC / VDSL network construction. FTTC Block Fiber Technology can also be used to connect 4G mobile base stations to the fiber optic network in the small area.
“With our ongoing fixed network improvement projects, we are creating the capabilities for the future 5G network,” says Elisa’s Business Manager Matias Castrén . The construction of new base stations requires flexible cooperation between operators and authorities.
Elisa takes a new step towards 5G technology by building a 4G mobile base station using the fiber optic net in the first area of the small area to Espoo Nuotaniemi. The solution brings faster and higher-quality mobile broadband connections and underpins the introduction of 5G technology in the future.
Elisa improves its fixed network by introducing fiber optic networks into small area areas as part of the FTTC / VDSL network construction. FTTC Block Fiber Technology can also be used to connect 4G mobile base stations to the fiber optic network in the small area.
“With our ongoing fixed network improvement projects, we are creating the capabilities for the future 5G network,” says Elisa’s Business Manager Matias Castrén . The construction of new base stations requires flexible cooperation between operators and authorities.
Source: https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/07/06/korttelikuituverkko-vie-kohti-5g-verkkoja/
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://h.analog.com/5G-Paperff?ADICID=PDSR_EMEA_P1414_RMK—186774762909-pt-media.org-m-d&ECID=70132000001AQmm&gclid=CP2tu9TT-dQCFQ5DGAod89YAeA
Designing for 5G Mobile Systems
The New 5G cellular networks promise to deliver ultra broadband services, including HD and ultraHD video streaming. 5G technology will also enable cellular to enter the world of machines. Designing 5G Mobile Systems, however, poses countless challenges for design engineers.
Download this 5G Mobile article to learn:
How 5G designs must overcome unfavorable propagation characteristics
Why a segment of 5G is likely to operate on much higher frequencies than 4g
Where the interdependency of the mechanical design and RF IC partitioning is needed