Here is my collection of relevant trend for 5G networks for 2019:
The most newsworthy stories in wireless today are all about 5G. In 2019, we enter a cautious, early-adoption phase of this next generation of wireless technology. 2019 will be the year when we see the first commercial networks turning on and first handsets arriving in the market. Only a small number of users will get a first taste of 5G in specific geographic locations, using specific applications, none of which are ubiquitous or cost-optimized.
5G promises a paradigm shift in throughput, latency, and scalability.We are not here yet, and may not reach those all those promises in 2019 because we might have to wait to 2020 to get a good selection of devices that can use 5G networks.The initial 5G market in 2019 might not be yet very big. The real business could start in 2020.
It is expected that by 2025, the emerging wireless 5G market is expected to reach a total value of $250B1. 5G is projected to be 100 times faster than 4G LTE. Ericsson forecasts over 1 billion 5G subscriptions for enhanced mobile broadband by the end of 2023, accounting for around 12% of all mobile subscriptions. By end of 2023, close to 50% of all mobile subscriptions in North America are forecast to be for 5G. For Western Europe 5G penetration is expected to be at 21%.
Plenty of publications are going to claim 2019 as “The Year of 5G,” but we are just seeing the first wave which could be seen as not meeting the 5G hype. 5G will arrive into this world as a marketing gimmick. When it does fully roll out, 5G has the potential to be a great but is in a risk that it is already oversold (like what happened to 3G initially). Sure, widespread use is still a few years away, but before handset manufacturers, embedded devices for industrial applications, connected cars, and the like begin to take hold, some infrastructure needs to be in place.
There will be exciting 5G applications coming in 2019. All of the hype and irrational exuberance of a few years ago are turning into initial pilot deployments. 5G is just now getting close to emerging into real wireless networks. Despite the hype, there’s still plenty of work to do and improvements to make. And there will be failed attempts to build those new networks and applications.
The main features of the 5G are high capacity, short delay and the ability to connect a massive number of IoT sensors to the network. 5G network can be used to implement customized network services that are suitable for different needs. The capacity of the 5G network serves to exponentially increase the amount of data.The short delay is important in many different industries. Delay is of great importance in the remote control of self-propelled vehicles and other machines and equipment. It is also seen as useful for AI applications.
Networks start up
Next year, it will be interesting, for example, when the first commercial 5G networks start up.
What is true 5G will be asked often. One question to consider is if these deployed networks will be “true 5G.” It will depend on how 5G is defined. An accepted definition of a 5G subscriber is a device supporting the New Radio (NR) protocol connected to an NR base station. This is independent of which spectrum band the network utilizes. We will see NR deployed across the entire spectrum range depending on what assets operators have available to support their strategy. For the sub-6-GHz infrastructure, Release 15 radio standards specifications are comprehensive. For mmWave the technology has not been defined so clearly yet.5G deployments have begun. Carriers have promised to begin rolling out the technology in the States early 2019. Most initial deployments may be on sub-6-GHz bands, but there will be some fixed wireless use cases using millimeter-wave (mmWave) technologies.
Initially, 5G will provide the ability to deliver mobile broadband at lower cost to operators, but as full NR capability emerges, there are some exciting applications and use cases forthcoming. Industrial automation is one of the promising use cases that may leverage the low latency and high reliability provided by future 5G networks. If you recall the original IMT2020 KPIs set out by the ITU, there are several requirements that will certainly be met, but don’t expect all of the KPIs to be achieved by any operator on Day 1.
Based on recent announcements from key industry players (i.e., Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile), the first 5G commercial deployments will likely commence during the second half of 2019, with a target to have 5G commercial service available in 2020.
One question to consider is if these networks will be “true 5G.” It will depend on how 5G is defined. AT&T’s 5G network goes live in 12 cities — but you can’t use it yet because 5G device sales don’t start until next year.
5G networks will be more or less cloud based. Mobile Operator DNA introduces Nokia’s cloud platforms in its upcoming 5G networks. With the new features, the degree of automation, capacity and programmability of today’s networks can be raised to a new level, according to DNA.
What is the indoor coverage of a 5G network compared to a 4G network? The 3.5 gigahertz frequency used by Telia behaves very similarly to the frequencies used so far, and the 3.5 gigahertz 5G networks are built on the same base stations as the 4G networks.
Once 5G uses mmWave signals, there will still be a lower-frequency (sub 6 GHz) “anchor” to handle data when there’s no mmWave service available. mmWave service will likely be used only when available and needed. Connectivity will be constant in sub 6 GHz bands. For example in Finland majority of first 5G activity will be at 3.5 GHz.We will need both mmWave and lower frequencies to provide what was promised. The very high frequency mmWave is needed to get enough bandwidth to fast data rates.
It seems that many network operators will be retaining all their 4G infrastructure for quite long time. When 5G wireless phone subscribers who don’t enable Wi-Fi end up in 5G dead spots, they’ll be connected via 4G instead. So the bright 5G future for an awful lot of mobile phone use will actually be Wi-Fi and 4G.
Chips
There will be many new mobile chips coming.Release 15 has provided SoC makers such as Qualcomm and Intel with what they need to get baseband processors out the door.
Qualcomm has unveiled the next generation of its Snapdragon family of processors, the 855 – the first chip optimized for bringing 5G connectivity to mobile devices. The 855 is manufactured with a 7-nanometer process. The Snapdragon 855, along with its X50 modem, position the company to dominate the first wave of 5G devices. Samsung and Verizon will partner to release a 5G smartphone using Qualcomm processors in the first half of 2019. AT&T says it’s getting that 5G Samsung phone, too. Currently, at least 18 major companies — including Samsung, Nokia / HMD, Sony, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, HTC, LG, Asus, ZTE, Sharp, Fujitsu, and OnePlus — are working with Qualcomm and its Snapdragon X50 5G NR modems.
Intel is putting bets on its new XMM 8160 5G modem. The XMM 8160 modem is set to be released to manufacturers sometime in the second half of 2019, with the first devices using the chip coming in early 2020. Intel says that the modem will support both millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum as well as lower-band parts of the spectrum. This Intel’s new 5G modem might power Apple’s first 5G iPhones because the company recently switched to using Intel modems exclusively for its 2018 iPhone XS and XR phones.
Huawei and Samsung are both also working on their own in-house 5G modems, too.
5G smartphones
Telia expects that the first devices will be routers, and tablets. It seems that in the first phase, 5G connections will be available to consumers in the form of broadband routers. Inseego has showed a mobile 5G hotspot it will launch at CES for Verizon’s network.
We’re going to see the first wave of 5G handsets appearing in 2019. At least OnePlus, Samsung, and Huawei will compete for the title of the first 5G smartphone.Huawei has promised 5G smart phone before summer. OnePlus and LG have committed to a handset and Samsung, being Samsung, has since committed to two. There will be possibly also other handsets available. It is expected that “flagship” high-end handsets will be the first to integrate some form of 5G radio. Apple is not expected to release a 5G handset until 2020.
There has been already some test 5G smart phones showed on tech shows. Samsung has showed an early version of its first 5G smartphone streaming 4K video to a large-screen TV. Motorola has demoed a 5G upgrade module that attached to its LTE smartphone.
Will you be holding a 5G smartphone in your hands in 2019? If you pay attention to the news, there’s a good chance of that happening. Will You Own a 5G Smartphone in 2019? For most people maybe not. The first 5G service plan prices will be expensive and the speeds will be considerably slower than maximums. In the beginning your 5G handset will likely spend a lot more time using 4G for quite many years. It means that until 5G becomes more ubiquitous, you’re going to be paying a hefty premium for a feature you barely use
What’s the status of 5G standards?
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is defining the 5G standard, which needs to meet the following technical requirements, as defined by the International Telecommunication Union:
>10-Gb/s peak data rates for the enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)
>1 M/km2 connections for massive machine-type communications (MMTC)
<1-ms latency for ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC).
The 5G standard will be defined in two subsequent releases – Release 15 and Release 16.
The Non-Stand-Alone spec came out in 2017 with the stand-alone spec released in June 2018. 3GPP Release 15 is almost done. Updates will include dual connectivity, the ability to simultaneously support LTE and 5G New Radio (5G NR). Download links will likely have both LTE and NR, possibly in the same frequency band but upload could stick to using only one connection. For the sub-6-GHz infrastructure, Release 15 radio standards specifications are comprehensive. Release 15 has provided SoC makers such as Qualcomm and Intel with what they need to get baseband processors out the door. Most of the forward-looking features reside in the baseband and generally will be implemented in software. Release 15 laid down the foundation to enable initial SoCs to be defined and subsequent first user devices to be available in 2019. For mmWave, we are still early in the game.
Work for Release 16 will start with mobile V2x communications. IoT is another aspect of Release 16. We will have to wait for it to become ready.
Technogies
Lower latency, on the order of 1 ms, is an expected feature of 5G. It will be needed for industrial control applications and even more so in V2X communications needed for connected cars. This is the promise, but I expect that the first 5G networks might not be able to fulfill this 1 ms promise.
5G will also drive radio channel counts, whether it be for macro, massive MIMO, small-cell, or mmWave form factors. Macro base stations in the low bands will expand MIMO channel counts from 2T2R to 4T4R and possibly higher. Massive MIMO radios will have increased radio density per system ranging from 16T16R to 64T64R, and mmWave radios will have up to 256 RF channels in the analog beamformers.
Much of the work is still focused on infrastructure: the radios and networks that will carry all that data. There’s still plenty of R&D activity going on modems, antenna arrays, amplifiers, data converters, etc. Power amplifiers (PAs) are a critical component of 5G base stations and user equipment. Because 5G’s emphasis on power savings, engineers are designing PAs using GaN power transistors with some using the Doherty amplifier architecture. We need to continue to reduce size, weight, and power (SWaP) consumption while supporting wider bandwidths and higher operating frequencies.
5G systems claim to be more open than older telecom systems and they use open source components. The mobile industry’s equivalent of open source is Open RAN, which will enable a service creation environment that can help realize the more advanced 5G use cases.
There are hurdles that need to be cleared before full 5G deployment can be achieved. First, we need new spectrum. This is well underway globally with many countries allocating spectrum for 5G. Ideal spectrum allocations for 5G are on the order of 50 MHz or more of contiguous spectrum to take full advantage of NR.
Test equipment is showing signs of use outside the engineering lab as equipment manufacturers and network installers need 5G test equipment. If you design devices that will connect to 5G networks, you’ll probably need also simulations.
With 5G moving out of the lab and onto the street, we will see lots of announcements regarding collaborations the bring 5G design and test products to market. Anritsu and Qualcomm succeeded in testing the 5G-SA connection (Standalone) with the MT8000A testing system and the Qualcomm 5G terminal with 5G NR modem (Snapdragon X50). The commercial offering of these “genuine” 5G connections will begin in China next year.
New interface ODI could be important for 5G testing. Six companies along with the AXIe Consortium and the VITA trade industry group have endorsed a new standard called Optical Data Interface (ODI). ODI is a high-speed interface for instrumentation and embedded systems, supporting speeds up to 80 GBytes/s. ODI is now positioned to address difficult challenges in 5G communications, mil/aero systems, and high-speed data acquisition.
Changes to core network
Core networks need to evolve. Because 5G is expected to reduce latency and increase reliability over LTE, core networks will evolve into software-defined networks (SDNs) that will treat data differently depending on use case. The radio-access networks (RANs) will be modified first to handle 5G NR, but the data packets will route to the 4G core network. Over time, a 5G network core will roll out.
Deploying 5G will require distinct indoor and outdoor strategies. 5G base stations will have to be spaced more closely, necessitating more of them, especially in densely populated areas compared to 3G or 4G. Dual-mode operation (4G/5G + WiFi) is a blessing for operators evolving their networks to 5G. Indoor reception problems are guaranteed with 5G; higher-frequency millimeter wave signals in particular will not penetrate walls.
We will need both mmWave and lower frequencies to provide what was promised. The very high frequency mmWave is needed to get enough bandwidth to fast data rates. But the higher the frequency of a wireless signal, the less well it propagates and the less able it is to penetrate obstacles. Water vapor will cause signal loss at 24 GHz. Oxygen is an impediment at 60 GHz. Verizon and Samsung recently announced a successful data transmission using 800 MHz of bandwidth at 28 GHz, resulting in a maximum throughput of almost 4 Gb/s. A lot of traditional players now talk about how active antennas will become prevalent in mmWave.
There will be need for very many small 5G base stations. Maybe not in 2019, but some years later on urban networks. The strategy has been a combination of small cells with massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas to increase coverage. Wireless network operators have been considering small cells for more than 15 years, but if small cells were the best solution for anything we’d have them already. Maybe it is necessity for mmWave based 5G networks. Previous estimates have been that the average distance between 5G base stations might be 250m to 300m. But now most equipment designers are targeting 150 meters to 200 meters apart everywhere, simply to get adequate coverage.
Wireless operators are going to have to install more 5G base stations than they did to support 4G, they’re going to have to install more 5G base stations than they originally estimated. We need lots of new 5G base stations and innovation how to install them to our environment.There will be many different approaches. Manhole cover can server as antennas. 5G base stations will be integrated to street lights, bus stops and advertisement displays.
IoT and autonomous cars
The standards for 5G will be defined in large part by the direct integration of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices into global networks and devices. There is not yet ready 5G standards for those applications. So for 2019 IoT and IIoT will need to be pretty much stick to 4G technologies like NB-IoT and LTE-M. For 5G to shape industrial computing application in larger scale than just some small tests we will have to wait till 2020. Researchers seeking to impact 5G technologies are focused on how to properly introduce this new species of computing into the mobile networking ecosystem.
Work for Release 16 will start with mobile V2x communications. IoT is another aspect of Release 16, which should make IoT communications more efficient, reliable and lower the latency.
It is believed that 5G’s “big data pipe” will make vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technologies even more powerful than originally planned. Having a high-data-rate pipe is essential to allowing vehicles to exchange information with each other. Future safety technologies could get bigger with the advent of 5G cellular communications. 5G offers data rates measured in Gigabits per second, whereas the dedicated short-range communication system (DSRC) originally intended for V2X is measured in Megabits per second. More bandwidth could translate into more information and greater safety. There’s also a new evaluation methodology being defined for V2X use cases including vehicle platooning, advanced driving to enable semi-autonomous or fully-autonomous driving, and remote driving.
The 5G technology is first utilized in the industrial sector, where it has promised to have many applications. Addressing the issues behind Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices is important. Qualcomm, the largest supplier of modem chips used in smartphones, has introduced the X50 modem to give IIoT devices the ability to communicate over 5G networks.
Security
Is 5G Technology a Blessing or a Curse for Security? The answer depends who you ask it. There are conflicting schools of thought about 5G security. Ericsson asserts that security has been built into 5G from the ground up. Inverse report warns that 5G’s inevitable internet of things (IoT) wave could create massive security headaches. I think the technology is new and it is inevitable that there will be many security issues until most of them get sorted out.
Trade war hits 5G
The USA vs China trade war will have some effect on the 5G development. USA has claimed that Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE can use their telecom gear to spy on users. The Chinese telecommunications company Huawei is under scrutiny around the globe over concerns that its close ties with the Chinese government present national security threats to the U.S., Europe and allied countries.
Countries like the United States, Australia and Japan have blocked Huawei from building their next-generation, super-fast 5G internet networks. Over the summer, Australia barred Huawei from providing 5G technology for wireless networks over espionage fears. In New Zeland GCSB bans Spark from using Huawei gear for its 5G mobile upgrade. In UK BT plans to remove the Chinese firm’s gear from the core of its networks. Germany’s IT watchdog has expressed scepticism about calls for a boycott of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. German security authority BSI (Das Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik) had not found any evidence that Huawe’s equipment would in any way be less secure than its competitors.
The current situation has caused annoyance, even despair in Huawei’s leadership. Will there be any effect for 5G development of this? SoftBank Corp sees no tech impact from not using Huawei gear.
Applications
Social Automation with 5G: About 20 percent of smart phone users believe that 5G will make it easier to connect to different IoT devices, such as home appliances and many home appliances. I think that those believes are not to be realized by 5G in 2019, because making connections to IoT devices easier is not about 5G, but IoT systems development in general. Adding 5G to the IoT communications jungle had potential to first make configuring the devices harder (more networking options means more complicated settings on device).
Operators have claimed many different applications that 5G would make it possible. In many cases those could be made without 5G and even might have already done before 5G networks become live. Here are some examples:
Remote surgery: Ahmedabad Doctor Claims World’s First Telerobotic Heart Surgery on Patient 32 KM Away article tells that Dr Tejas Patel, an internationally renowned cardiologist, claims to have performed the world’s first cardiovascular stent surgeryoperating from a remote area. I did not seem any mention of 5G used there. I expect that this was performed using fixed network connections that are available now and are more reliable than wireless systems like 5G.
Self driving cars: They are already being tested without 5G. 5G could help here. For Self driving cars have multitude of challenges to get them run properly, and 5G will help to solve only few of them. We will need to wait for Release 16 standard to be implemented to network to see the benefits to autonomous traffic.
Artificial intelligence: We are already doing that without 5G. The current trends seems to be that the AI is made both at the edge device and in the cloud. Using this architecture 5G does not seem to do very much at the moment to help AI solutions.
Industrial applications: The short delay is said to be important in many different industries. And the 5G will be important for industrial applications. I am still waiting for real applications to appear. One question for critical industrial applications will be how reliable the 5G network will be. In the beginning there will always be issues in keeping the network reliable in changing wireless conditions and when the brand new devices have software bug in them. For industrial applications we need to find niches where benefits out-weight the potential risks that network might not be very reliable.
Be warned of “fake 5G”
5G will arrive into this world as a marketing gimmick. We will see lots of “fake 5G” marketing in 2019.
I expect we will see many first commercial 5G network press releases. Many marketers will try to frame their 5G offering to form in which they can claim it to be he “the first commercial 5G”. I expect that many of those news releases will be publishes in magazines as news that claim that 5G just started for real now.Was this really the first commercial 5g networks? Hard to say for sure and depends on criteria what is considered to be be “commercial 5G network”.
This can also mean that something that is not really still only 4G is rebranded as being 5G solution. Verge reports that AT&T customers will start to see a 5G logo appear in the corner of their smartphone next year — not because they’re using a 5G phone connected to a 5G network, but because AT&T is going to start pretending its most advanced 4G LTE tech is 5G.
Another example Forum Virium 5G test project in Helsinki Finland will use 4G LTE based NB-IOT and LTE-M technologies for IoT communications because 5G IoT standards are not ready yet and claims that those 4G solutions are 5G compatible (whatever it means). I think those are confusing and borderline deceptive moves designed to win the coming advertising wars around 5G.
Information sources:
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334056
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334049
https://www.securityweek.com/no-evidence-huawei-spying-says-german-it-watchdog
https://www.securityweek.com/under-fire-huawei-agrees-uk-security-demands-report
https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/18/18146246/att-5g-us-launch-hotspot-service-plan-price
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/bencardwell/articles/the-5g-future-begins-now
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8873-huawei-vastaa-syytoksiin-avoimuudella
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/12/21/dna-perustaa-tulevan-5g-verkon-nokian-pilveen/
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12167798
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/12/21/dna-perustaa-tulevan-5g-verkon-nokian-pilveen/
http://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2018/06/27/worlds-first-commercial-5g-network-now-open-in-finland/
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/12/21/huawei-listasi-5g-voittonsa-kesaan-mennessa-5g-puhelimen/
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/04/att-says-its-getting-that-5g-samsung-phone-too/
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8823-android-lippulaivat-saavat-merkittavasti-lisaa-tehoa
https://www.te.com/usa-en/industries/data-center/insights/mass-connectivity-5g-era.html?acctid=6055
https://www.controleng.com/articles/how-recent-iiot-developments-are-shaping-5g-wireless/
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/04/att-says-its-getting-that-5g-samsung-phone-too/
https://forumvirium.fi/urbansense-5g-haaste-1-tarjouslomake-massive-iot-nb-iot/
https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/21/18151764/att-5g-evolution-logo-rollout-fake-network
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8891-2019-on-5g-n-vuosi
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https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334064
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/12/20/5g-verkko-nakyy-pian-paremmin/
https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/12/18087860/intel-5g-modem-apple-iphone
https://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/wireless/design-and-optimization-of-fbar-filters-to-enable-5g
https://beebom.com/ahmedabad-doctor-telerobotic-heart-surgery/
https://www.itweb.co.za/content/Gb3Bw7WoYZA72k6V
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/bencardwell/articles/the-5g-future-begins-now
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608 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
MWC: 5G, Foldables, & Connected Cars
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334368&page_number=5
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Vendors Step on the Gas at MWC
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1334367
5G acceleration sped up at Mobile World Congress this week. One analyst tracks the history of how we got here and what it means for 5G in smartphones and beyond.
From the very beginning, when the standardization was advanced by almost a year, 5G has always been on the accelerated path. The acceleration is visible across the board–in prototyping, operator adoption, deployment and OEM adoption.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DesignCon 2019: 5G and High-Speed Connectivity Showcased at TE Connectivity Innovation Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU_-pCu4erg&t=34s
Tomi Engdahl says:
Trump Wants ’5G’ and ‘Even 6G’ Wireless Technology ‘As Soon As Possible.’ What’s He Talking About?
http://time.com/5534983/trump-5g-6g/
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he wants U.S. companies to more quickly implement what’s called 5G wireless technology, the latest and greatest tech when it comes to mobile broadband.
“I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible,” tweeted Trump, who went on to imply the U.S. was falling behind due to policies preventing the adoption of wireless technology from companies abroad. While 6G doesn’t yet exist, 5G is just starting to be deployed around the U.S. and elsewhere.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Could 5G Be the Missing Puzzle Piece for Self-Driving Cars?
https://www.electronicdesign.com/automotive/could-5g-be-missing-puzzle-piece-self-driving-cars?sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=24121&utm_medium=email&elq2=32ac6c17cc5e4fbd81a32bbce3b317a3
At the Consumer Electronics Show this year, 5G took the spotlight as the next big technology paradigm shift. What does that mean for self-driving cars hitting the market in the near future?
Ever since the Internet of Things (IoT) became part of our world, the promise has always been that the number of connected devices would be in the billions. According to Statista.com, by 2025 there will be at least 75 billion devices connected to the internet. In an attempt to help manage those devices, to ensure each one has the required speed and data bandwidth, telecommunication companies and organizations have begun investing in 5G, the new generation of wireless communications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cellular-V2X (vehicle-to-everything) is a developing communication platform that leverages LTE and, in the future, 5G communications. C-V2X provides an integrated solution for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-network (V2N) using cellular networks.
5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global cross-industry organization of companies from the automotive, technology, and telecommunications industries working together to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/automotive/could-5g-be-missing-puzzle-piece-self-driving-cars?sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=24121&utm_medium=email&elq2=32ac6c17cc5e4fbd81a32bbce3b317a3
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anritsu and Samsung Verify Industry’s First 5G NR Protocol Conformance Test in Sub-6 GHz Frequency Range
https://markets.financialcontent.com/pennwell.cabling/news/read/37916951/anritsu_and_samsung_verify_industry%27s_first_5g_nr_protocol_conformance_test_in_sub
Anritsu Corporation is pleased to announce the submission of the industry’s first Protocol Conformance test in the Sub-6 GHz Frequency Range 1 (FR1) to 3GPP RAN5 working group for approval. The test defined by 3GPP TS38.523 has been verified with Exynos modem 5100 5G New Radio (NR) modem developed by Samsung’s System LSI Business on the Anritsu ME7834NR Protocol Conformance test system.
The ME7834NR is a test platform for 3GPP-based Protocol Conformance Test (PCT) and Carrier Acceptance Testing (CAT) of mobile devices incorporating Multiple Radio Access Technologies (RAT). It supports 5G NR in both Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) mode, in addition to LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-A Pro, and W-CDMA. When combined with Anritsu’s new OTA chamber MA8171A and RF converters, the ME7834NR covers the Sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G frequency bands.
https://www.anritsu.com/en-us/test-measurement/products/me7834nr
Tomi Engdahl says:
Complementary Up/Downconverter ICs Hit 44 GHz for 5G (and More)
https://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/complementary-updownconverter-ics-hit-44-ghz-5g-and-more?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20190315_ED-003_717&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=24078&utm_medium=email&elq2=e93eba11a2a74ee9b96ce84c7634292b
These highly integrated RF up and downconverters minimize board space and BOM, and can be used for IF or direct-to-baseband architectures.
Whether your multi-gigahertz RF architecture is using an IF stage or a direct conversion to/from baseband approach, you’ll need upconversion and downconversion functions.
That’s where the ADMV1013 upconverter (Fig. 1) and ADMV1014 (Fig. 2) downconverter from Analog Devices can help, especially with (but not limited to) products and test/measurement-related design-in activity focused on the 5G mmWave bands at 28 GHz and 39 GHz. The ICs cover 24 GHz to 44 GHz with a 50-Ω impedance match, thus reducing the time, effort, and cost of developing a single platform that can support multiple bands.
The converters can be used for direct conversion to/from baseband (from dc to 6 GHz) or to an IF (800 MHz to 6 GHz), due to their I (in-phase) and Q (quadrature-phase) mixers with an on-chip programmable quadrature phase-shifter configurable for either mode.
Based on SiGe process technology, these highly integrated, complementary devices are more than just up/downconverter cores. They also include voltage-variable attenuators, a transmit PA driver (upconverter) or a receive LNA (downconverter), local-oscillator (LO) buffers with ×4 frequency multiplier, and programmable tracking filters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
China Does Not Ask Firms to Spy on Others: Premier
https://www.securityweek.com/china-does-not-ask-firms-spy-others-premier
China will “never” ask its firms to spy on other nations, Premier Li Keqiang said Friday, amid US warnings that Chinese telecommunications behemoth Huawei poses security risks.
The United States has launched a global campaign to convince Western allies to shut Huawei out of next-generation 5G technology over fears the company could be used by Beijing for espionage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://yhteiso.telia.fi/t5/Blogi/Mita-5G-tarkoittaa-ja-mita-se-mahdollistaa-sinulle-osa-2/ba-p/181775?utm_source=some&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=aspa&utm_content=someid_as10180&utm_term=100
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gaps In 5G Test
https://semiengineering.com/gaps-in-5g-test/
Millimeter wave technology will require a whole new approach to ensuring reliability.
Add one more industry to the long list that analysts expect 5G technology to disrupt—test. While the initial versions of this wireless technology will be little more than a faster version of 4G, concern is growing about exactly how to test the second phase of this technology, which will be based upon millimeter wave.
The test industry has made some strides. But where tests do exist for 5G technology the process today is manual, which means slow and costly. So while the United States’ FCC 28GHz spectrum auction fired the starting gun on chipmakers racing to release the first commercial millimeter-wave chips, no commercial, manufacturing-ready test-and-verification systems are yet able to do the work.
Testing routines under 5G will require new techniques and automation to deal with the idiosyncratic requirements of 5G systems. Other changes will be organizational to deliver more testing officially. Others will require changes in attitude to acknowledge the increasing importance of 5G in the day-to-day lives of customers—although it is still too early to know whether 5G will fulfill the incredibly high expectations for its service.
Test providers don’t want to “be in a position where capabilities of ATE are holding the market back,” Hall said. Announcements about automatic test equipment (ATE) products show progress, but so far no fully functioning, commercially viable ATE designed for 5G exists, let alone one able to handle OTA as well as the other challenges, he says. “Customers want to know when we’re going to have a manufacturing-ready test solution that addresses a lot of issues—over-the-air testing being one of them.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
USA painostaa brittejä hylkäämään Huawein
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9242-usa-painostaa-britteja-hylkaamaan-huawein
Tomi Engdahl says:
RF Test Vendor As 5G Design Partner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQNa7zOsZhg
5G RF design is surely challenging, but designers aren’t alone. Andreas Roessler discusses the cutting edge of RF design and how Rohde & Schwarz stays ahead of the curve to develop solutions to simplify RF calibration and test to speed 5G innovation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Telecom Crimes Against the IoT and 5G
https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/telecom-crimes-against-the-iot-and-5g/
Telecommunications or telecom technology is the underpinning of the modern internet, and consequently, the internet’s growing segment, the internet of things (IoT). Likewise, the global telecommunications network we enjoy today has been greatly influenced by the existence and growth of the internet. Between telecom and the internet is a two-way relationship, even an indistinguishable divide for users. We experience this since the very same telecom carriers we subscribe to allow us to connect to the internet. At its best, this relationship is exemplified as advances in network connectivity as we move to 5G. In our paper with Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), “Cyber-Telecom Crime Report 2019,” we explore how this relationship can also be used to threaten and defraud the IoT.
The SIM Connection
A common and well-known link that communication devices and internet devices have is the use of a SIM card. For IoT devices to have a unique presence and connection to the internet, they should have a SIM in the same way a phone does. This could be a familiar white SIM card, or something smaller attached to the circuitry of the device. A phone makes or receives calls, SMS, or data. Identically, an IoT device has a SIM to allow it to receive and make calls, SMS, or data.
SIM cards can serve like credit or debit cards in that they are used to initiate billing or connections that have corresponding fees. That’s why SIM cards, unfortunately, can be subject to many of the same frauds and risks credit cards are. In addition, the use of SIM cards — and telecom in general — in fraud appeals to criminals, perhaps because the telecom sector is not under regulation for money laundering controls.
Large IoT Infrastructures
The scalability of IoT is one of its greatest assets, which, in the case of telecom fraudsters, is something of an opportunity as well. Depending on the number of deployed IoT devices and supporting technologies like dedicated servers, its environment can scale from one entire home to an entire city. The larger the scale, the more challenging it would be to monitor each connected device.
Even smaller-scale environments like smart homes, buildings, and factories do not escape the risk of being used for telecom fraud. Although smart factories are typically isolated from the internet, they do still require some form of cellular data connection to perform backups to an offsite location or undergo remote maintenance. Through this connection, cybercriminals can use cyber-telecom vulnerabilities against them and use them for outbound fraud.
Even smart and autonomous vehicles can be subject to the same attacks as mobile phones. Telephony denial of service (TDoS), for example, could cause a smart car to become lost due to a broken internet connection.
Securing Telecom and the IoT
Keeping in mind the connection between IoT and telecom should help in creating defenses against threats that shift from one to the other. Getting a grasp on common channels used by IoT devices can uncover hidden telecom capabilities in them. For IoT devices, simple measures like changing the default settings and credentials of the device can already prevent some of the mentioned telecom attacks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
OpenSignal: AT&T’s “5G E” phones get average speeds of 28.8Mbps, compared to T-Mobile’s 29.4Mbps and Verizon’s 29.9Mbps which use similar 4G LTE-Advanced tech — AT&T’s so-called “5G E” lost to Verizon and T-Mobile 4G in new speed tests. — AT&T’s “5G E” service …
AT&T’s “5G E” is actually slower than Verizon and T-Mobile 4G, study finds
AT&T’s so-called “5G E” lost to Verizon and T-Mobile 4G in new speed tests.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/03/atts-5g-e-is-actually-slower-than-verizon-and-t-mobile-4g-study-finds/
AT&T’s “5G E” service is slightly slower than Verizon’s and T-Mobile’s advanced 4G LTE networks, a study by OpenSignal has found.
As Ars readers know, AT&T renamed a large portion of its 4G network, calling it “5G E,” for “5G Evolution.” If you see a 5G E indicator on an AT&T phone, that means you’re connected to a portion of AT&T’s 4G LTE network that supports standard LTE-Advanced features such as 256 QAM, 4×4 MIMO, and three-way carrier aggregation. All four major carriers have rolled out LTE-Advanced. But while Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile accurately call it 4G, AT&T calls it 5G E.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Red Hat Supports Rakuten Mobile Network’s End-to-End Cloud-Native Mobile Network with Open Source Technologies
https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/red-hat-supports-rakuten-mobile-networks-end-end-cloud-native-mobile-network-open-source-technologies
Mobile market disruptor lays core-to-edge network foundation with Red Hat’s open hybrid cloud technologies, including Red Hat OpenStack Platform and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Seeing the opportunity presented by 5G, Rakuten Mobile Network sought to build its mobile infrastructure with next-generation services in mind and tapped Red Hat to help the company do so.
Entering a Japanese mobile market comprised primarily of three main players, Rakuten Mobile Network wanted to not only prepare for a 5G reality but also use software innovation to speed up the delivery of mobile services to end users. To do this, they wanted to build a flexible, scalable and cloud-native telecommunication network infrastructure
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G-verkot edellyttävät virtualisointia
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9265-5g-verkot-edellyttavat-virtualisointia
VMware.
Yhtiössä tietoliikennedivisioonan markkinakehityksestä vastaavan Nigel Stephenson menee jopa niin pitkälle, ettei usko 5G-verkon toteutuksen olevan mahdollista ilman virtualisointia, ts. NFV-tekniikkaa (Networks Functions Virtualization).
- Näemme, että virtualisointi tulee vaiheittain eri osiin verkkoa. Verkon rungossa eli ”coressa” on paljon kiinnostusta virtualisointiin, samoin asiakaspalveluissa kuten SDWAN ja IoT. Jotta voisi tukea 5G-verkon mahdollistamaa palvelujen skaalaamista, tiheyttä, sujuvuutta ja personointia tarvitaan automatisoitua, ohjelmistovetoista verkkorakennetta, Stephenson muotoilee.
VMwarella on palveluntarjojissa yli 70 globaalia NFV-asiakasta, jotka ovat toteuttaneet yli 120 erillistä NFV-ratkaisua.
Ericsson on ollut virtualisoinnissa VMwarelle tärkeä kumppani ja yrityksellä on oma sertifiointilaboratorio, jossa VMware-pohjaisia ratkaisuja voidaan validoida. Stephensonin mukaan Ericsson ja Nokia ovat virtualisoinnissa tällä hetkellä hieman eri linjoilla. – Nokia haluaa olla ainoa toimittaja verkon core-ratkaisuille, Ericsson on lähtenyt hakemaan virtualisoinnista täyttä hyötyä eli käytännössä irrottaa palvelut radiosta, Stephenson kuvaa.
5G-verkoissa tavoitteena on puristaa radiosta-radioon -linkin latenssi eli viive 1 millisekunnin luokkaan. Käytännössä tämä tarkoittaa, että prosessoinnin pitää tapahtua lähellä verkon reunaa. NFV-pohjaisen ratkaisun taipumista tähänkin VMware demosi helmikuussa Barcelonan Mobile World Congress -messuilla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G poised to disrupt the network edge
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4461505/5G-poised-to-disrupt-the-network-edge?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=link&utm_medium=EDNFunFriday-20190301
By now, we’ve all become familiar with 5G’s promise of data rates, with peak speeds of over 10 Gbits/s. This is commonly referred to as eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband) and includes today’s familiar internet services such as email, web browsing, and video streaming. But, 5G is more than that and the wired networks will have to adapt to handle the increased traffic and low latency we hear about.
5G includes massive machine type communication (mMTC). This service is focused on limited bandwidth access of remote sensing devices, such as gas, water, and electric meters. Another service is ultra reliable low latency communication (URLLC). URLLC promises to deliver new services where low latency is critical, including remote surgery, autonomous vehicles, factory automation, and numerous tactile applications. URLLC is poised to disrupt the network edge, changing the fundamental network topologies we are familiar with for internet service.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm rolls out 7Gbit/s 5G chip aimed at new wireless networks
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2019/02/qualcomm-rolls-out-7gbit-s-5g-chip-aimed-at-new-wireless-networks.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2019-02-25&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2376471
For Qualcomm, the largest maker of chips that run smartphones, 5G can’t come soon enough. The chip maker introduced a new chip on [Feb. 19] that will connect to 5G high-speed data services. It’s the company’s second such component and will bring faster downloads of information and speedier connections with existing networks. The X55 modem will start to appear in devices by late 2019, Qualcomm said in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Viavi to showcase 5G network validation, verification, visibility tools at MWC 2019
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2019/02/viavi-showcasing-5g-test-tools-mwc-2019.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2019-02-25&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2376471
Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) announced that it will showcase its Lab To Field 5G network testing and assurance portfolio in a live demonstration at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 25-28, 2019. Per the company, “Recognized as the foremost solution set to facilitate 5G network evolution and speed time to market, VIAVI Lab To Field includes testing systems that are in use with leading base station manufacturers and network service providers worldwide.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The role of fiber in 5G networks
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-26/issue-7/features/design/the-role-of-fiber-in-5g-networks.html
Regardless of the wireless technology employed, fiber will be the supporting infrastructure for 5G networks.
The stringent requirements for 5G heavily rely upon the interconnected backbone in the short term. Intensive 5G fiber-optic backhaul is necessary to seamlessly stream bandwidth-intensive applications such as 4K video. For a while it seemed this technology was in the future, but with the most recent World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) already allocating some of the millimeter-wave spectrum to 5G and major U.S. telecommunications companies such as Verizon and AT&T already announcing plans to launch 5G service by late 2018, it seems gigabit high speeds, and low-latency cellular capabilities are fast approaching. This invariably requires the use of fiber optics to minimize the time-to-market of massive small cell deployments—a major milestone for the roadmap to 5G. The benefits of low cost and reliability combined with major advancements toward 40-Gbit/sec and 100-Gbit/sec speeds have made fiber optics a default option for many leading mobile operators.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G cellular networks: 6 new technologies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQvHNVRv_ms
5G cellular or mobile technologies are the focus of this video. It includes a brief history of the four generations of cellular technologies. Then I will talk about six new technologies possibly used in the 5G cellular network: millimeter wave, massive multi-user MIMO, small cell stations, beamforming, NOMA, and Mobile Edge Computing.
keyword: 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G. Cellular technologies, HSPA, HSPA+, LTE- long term evolution, millimeter wave, massive multi-user MIMO, small cell stations, beamforming, NOMA, and Mobile
Tomi Engdahl says:
Beginners: 5G Terminology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYzdun9beMk
Beginners: 5G Terminology (Updated – Feb 2019)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTLpWu5Kf5E
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everything You Need to Know About 5G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEx_d0SjvS0
Millimeter waves, massive MIMO, full duplex, beamforming, and small cells are just a few of the technologies that could enable ultrafast 5G networks. Read more:
Everything You Need to Know About 5G
https://spectrum.ieee.org/video/telecom/wireless/everything-you-need-to-know-about-5g
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Will Be Ultrafast, but the Roll Out Will Be Anything But
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gi_0KR80TQ
The FCC recently announced a plan to encourage a blazing fast wireless service called 5G. But what is 5G? And how far is the U.S. from rolling it out?
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G NR Webinar_Erik Dahlman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDD7OGAO4tc
Apis IP-Solutions Training is a leading technology training provider to the mobile telecom industry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Basics of Antennas and Beamforming – Massive MIMO Networks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGkyZw98Tug
The author Emil Björnson of the book “Massive MIMO Networks” explains and visualizes the basics of antennas, radiating elements, and beamforming in multiple antenna communications. Mathematical details are available in the book, which can be freely downloaded from:
https://massivemimobook.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How will wireless 5G technology handle 1 000 times more data?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN7_npagPHY
Popular Science talk about 5G, the basics of digital communications, and its applications. The speaker is Associate Professor Emil Björnson, Linköping University, Sweden. Download slides:
http://www.commsys.isy.liu.se/~ebjornson/bjornson_popularscience_2017.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Detailed Introduction to Beamforming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKpQP8H4JRc
An introduction to Radio Beamforming, including the basic mathematical expressions that allow to predict the how antenna arrays behave.
Just plain trigonometry and basic linear algebra is used.
How arrays are able to focus radio signals on the target and filter-out interference.
An Intuitive Introduction to Beamforming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH5nqLfNVCA
A gentle introduction to Radio Beamforming, without using Maths.
How Beamforming acts.
Its potential to steer energy from transmitter to receiver.
Its capability to reduce interference.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G New Core
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxIYKPWYPl4
This presentation will give you a quick overview of the new 5G Core, and the basic functions.
5G Non Standalone Access Architecture – Mpirical
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Network Overview (Core)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPNTueMiOI
This covers the 5G Core network as it is today (after June 2018′s publication of Rel 15 stage 3).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
EU shuns US calls to ban Huawei, asking member states to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks and produce measures to tackle them by the end of 2019
EU demands scrutiny of 5G risks but no bloc-wide Huawei ban
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-security-eu/eu-demands-scrutiny-of-5g-risks-but-no-bloc-wide-huawei-ban-idUSKCN1R71VK
EU nations will be required to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks and produce measures to tackle them by the end of the year, the European Commission said on Tuesday, shunning U.S. calls to ban China’s Huawei Technologies across the bloc.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU Presents Plan for Safe 5G Amid Huawei Suspicions
https://www.securityweek.com/eu-presents-plan-safe-5g-amid-huawei-suspicions
The European Commission on Tuesday presented its plan to ensure the secure introduction of 5G telecoms networks, with suspicions hanging over Chinese giant Huawei.
The United States has accused the firm of posing a security risk to western networks, because of its alleged ties to Chinese intelligence.
But some European countries are in negotiations with Huawei to deploy its advanced technology to power the faster wireless networks of the future.
The Commission has not yet urged European countries to follow the example of the US, Australia or Japan in banning deals with the firm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sertifiointitilastot: 5G lähdössä liikkeelle, GSM katoaa
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9276-sertifiointitilastot-5g-lahdossa-liikkeelle-gsm-katoaa
5G on lähdössä liikkeelle samalla, kun GSM hiipuu pois.
GCF:n mukaan sertifioitujen laitteiden määrä kasvoi viime vuonna 23 prosenttia edellisvuodesta. LTE- eli 4G-radio oli mukana 548 laitteessa eli 85 prosentissa kaikista laitteista.
Keskimäärin jokainen mobiililaite tuki viime vuonna 17,3 taajuusaluetta ja 2,6 eri mobiilitekniikkaa (kuten GSM, 3G, LTE tai 5G).
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G-puhelimia on nyt 12, tässä ne ovat
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9271-5g-puhelimia-on-nyt-12-tassa-ne-ovat
Listattuihin laitteisiin kuuluu 12 puhelinta, viisi laajakaistareititintä, kahdeksan kuluttajapäätettä, viisi moduulia, kaksi sovitinta ja yski USB-liitäntäinen pääte. Nämä kaikki laitteet perustuvat viidelle 5G-piirisarjalle, joista vastaavan Huawei, Intel, Mediatek, Qualcomm ja Samsung.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why It’s Almost Impossible to Extract Huawei From Telecom Networks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVUUspncf4E
Allies are under U.S. pressure to shun Huawei. But the company’s prevalence in existing telecom networks and dominance in 5G technology make that nearly impossible.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9286-nokia-todellinen-5g-tulee-vuoden-lopulla
Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa 5G toteutetaan NSA-versiona (non-stand-alone), jossa data kulkee 5G-linkin yli ja verkon ohjaus LTE:n yli. Todelliset 5G-ratkaisut ovat valmiita tämän vuoden lopulla.
Tyypillisesti LTE- ja 5G-verkot yhdistetään NSA-mallissa X2-yhteyden yli. Nokialla on kuitenkin tarjota yksinkertaisempi vaihtoehto, jossa vanhan LTE:n päälle tulee uusi Nokia LTE -kerros. Tämä toimii saumattomasti yhteen 5G-taajuusalueen kanssa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU ei estä Huaweita 5G-verkoissaan
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9279-eu-ei-esta-huaweita-5g-verkoissaan
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brittitutkimus: Huawein koodissa satoja haavoittuvuuksia
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9288-brittitutkimus-huawein-koodissa-satoja-haavoittuvuuksia
OFFICIAL This information is exempt under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and may be exempt under other UK information legislation.
OFFICIAL HUAWEI CYBER SECURITY EVALUATION CENTRE (HCSEC) OVERSIGHT BOARD ANNUAL REPORT2019
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/790270/HCSEC_OversightBoardReport-2019.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK cyber security officials report Huawei’s security practices are a mess
Huawei never delivered on changes promised years ago, National Cybersecurity Centre reports.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/03/uk-cyber-security-officials-report-huaweis-security-practices-are-a-mess/
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK report blasts Huawei for network security incompetence
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/28/uk-report-blasts-huawei-for-network-security-incompetence/
UK watchdog slams Huawei over ‘serious’ cybersecurity vulnerabilities
Report comes weeks before UK selection of 5G vendors
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/28/18285185/huawei-uk-government-cybersecurity-report-5g-rollout-security-concerns
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei’s equipment poses ‘significant’ security risks, UK says
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/28/huawei-equipment-poses-significant-security-risks-uk-says.html
The findings give weight to warnings from U.S. officials who have argued Huawei’s networking equipment could be used for espionage by the Chinese government.
British officials stopped short of calling for a ban of Huawei’s 5G telecommunications equipment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU calls for increased security, but doesn’t ban Huawei 5G products
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/26/eu-calls-for-increased-security-but-doesnt-ban-huawei-5g-products/
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Won’t Impact How You Use Your Phone, But It Will Impact Everything Else
https://blog.hackster.io/5g-wont-impact-how-you-use-your-phone-but-it-will-impact-everything-else-ea3d6166af0b
The term “5G” has been commonly used by the media to mischaracterize many upcoming wireless technologies.
The term “5G” has been commonly used by the media to mischaracterize many upcoming wireless technologies.
One of the most important distinctions between 5G and the now-commonplace 4G LTE is increased frequency allocations.
5G NR specifies two network bands creatively named Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2)
FR1 encompasses the current spectrum that we all know and love: frequencies below 6 GHz.
The new addition, FR2, includes “millimeter wave” frequencies above 24 GHz.
The IMT-2020 5G standard demands maximum speeds of 20 Gbps (billion bits per second), or around 20 times faster than “gigabit” (1 Gbps) broadband connections. The LTE standard demands maximum speeds of 300 Mbps, but even if you’re a few hundred meters away from a cell tower you can expect maybe a tenth of that in practice.
As such, 5G’s increased speed and this added speed’s benefits for things like self-driving cars is completely over-hyped. You can’t expect more out of the “mobile-broadband” part of 5G than you can out of traditional residential broadband, which itself isn’t much better than 4G LTE.
5G will still have a major impact on society, although you likely won’t witness it directly. The most exciting part of the 5G standard is its focus on new applications of fast, secure, and reliable communications.
Specifically, the 5G NR standard breaks down target use cases into three groups:
Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB): This is the traditional cell service that we’ve been discussing so far.
Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC): The name of this segment suggests physically large machines, but think of this more as a network of small, inexpensive connected devices.
Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (uRLLC): This segment is comprised of connections demanding unparalleled reliability and response times.
These three categories have typically required separate network infrastructure: traditional cell service for eMBB, services such as LoRaWAN and Sigfox for mMTC, and dedicated ethernet/fiber links for uRLLC. 5G represents the grand unification of all these disparate parts into one network structure.
Massive Machine-Type Communications
This segment represents what many traditionally consider the “Internet of Things.”
Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications
We now enter the arguably more sexy segment of 5G service, which is enhanced network capabilities for reliability-focused devices.
Bringing it All Together
In summary, 5G is more than just an incremental bump in speed; 5G represents the grand unification and expansion of network infrastructure that will connect our society for years to come.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fixed Wireless Broadband is a Loser
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334496
Verizon has said little about its introduction of 5G fixed wireless broadband service, so the good folks at MoffettNathanson Research traveled out to Sacramento to see what they could find for themselves. Their conclusions after a “laborious process” of evaluating Verizon’s first commercial 5G service are that Verizon installed minimal infrastructure, the cells it did deploy are disappointing in terms of coverage, and customer take-rates are miserably low.
The report focuses entirely on Verizon’s commercial trial in just one market, but the report’s findings are discouraging for any company planning on rolling out 5G services any time soon, and disappointing for any wireless customers who let themselves be caught up in the industry’s relentless 5G hype the past few years.
The top line summary of MoffettNathanson’s report reads: “Our analysis suggests that costs will likely be much higher (that is, cell radii appear smaller) and penetration rates lower than initially expected. If those patterns are indicative of what’s to come in a broader rollout, it would mean a much higher cost per connected home, and therefore much lower returns on capital, than what might have been expected from Verizon’s advance billing.”
Verizon is being extremely conservative when it comes to determining whether it can offer fixed wireless broadband service to homes nominally in the radius of one of its cells.
As of now, 5G fixed wireless broadband looks like a bad business.
But that is news only inasmuch as the analysis confirms what A&T told the world almost a year ago: it is going to be hard to make money with 5G fixed wireless broadband.
Take rates are a critical factor in calculating the economic viability of FWBB. The service is supposed to be cheaper than fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), a business that Verizon and AT&T have both tried, and which neither wants to invest much in anymore. But wireless broadband won’t be cheaper than FTTH if take rates are low; low adoption rates will mean the total cost per connected home will be high. According to MoffettNathanson, Verizon FWBB is currently far more expensive than FTTH.
“It would be cheeky to suggest that, at 27 homes per cell, it would take something like 5.1 million small cells to bring FWBB to all of America,” MoffettNathanson cheekily wrote. “[O]r even that it would take 1.1 million to cover the 30M homes Verizon has indicated is their addressable market, but… well, the numbers are the numbers.”
Furthermore, more than a year go, AT&T did the math and figured out that FWBB was a bad business.
What can 5G wireless phone service deliver that is so substantially better than 4G that the average user will pay for the difference? Nobody has a good answer for that. Downloading a movie really, really quickly 1 minute before your flight takes off instead of just merely quickly 15 minutes before your flight takes off does not seem like a profoundly compelling use case.
The AV/IoT Fizzle
But what about the commercial industrial/enterprise 5G services that are intrinsic to 5G standards?
These use cases tend to be placed in generalized categories – low-latency applications, or high-bandwidth applications, for example
5G coverage is so far from the required ubiquity that it isn’t even close to a practical option (except, perhaps, for the narrowest of applications).
Most IoT applications make do with 4G, Wi-Fi, or some other existing connectivity option.
AT&T chose to introduce wireless telephony based on what it called “5G Evolution” – something everyone else correctly identified as advanced 4G – and it got mocked heartily for it.
Literally the only potentially mass-market thing a wireless carrier could do in 2018 with 5G was what Verizon did – roll out FWBB – a service Verizon had to have known was going to be “challenging” because AT&T knew it.
As of today, 5G is a solution in search of a problem, and that’s all it might be for a few years yet.
Wireless carriers are going to have to install many more 5G cells than 4G cells to get the same coverage. Estimates have ranged from four times as many to 30 times as many; MoffettNathanson in its recent report calculated it is likely to be at least seven times as many.
Whatever the actual number is, that number is roughly the factor by which the pole attachment fees that wireless companies are subject to would have increased.
The Actual Bottom Line
So as a practical matter, based on everything that has actually happened to date, the rush job that Verizon and AT&T put on 5G has served one purpose, and one purpose only. It convinced the Federal government and some state governments to undermine municipal governments’ ability to charge fair fees.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Needs More Memory to Compute
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334512
Today’s cellphone networks aren’t your dad’s cellphone networks. In fact, 5G not only represents a vast leap in communications compared to the flip phone days of 3G, it’s also going to be more memory hungry.
Telecom infrastructure is now networking and compute infrastructure—flash and DRAM are supplanting SRAM and TCAM, and there might be room for emerging memories, too.
A high speed TCAM (ternary content-addressable memory) can search its entire contents in a single clock cycle and is faster than RAM. It’s a mainstay of networking gear, such as high-performance routers and switches, to increase the speed of route look-up, packet classification, packet forwarding and access control list-based commands. Despite its longevity, it is “exotic” in that it’s quite expensive and there are limited suppliers, according to Jim Handy, principal at Objective Analysis, but there’s solid payback from using them. “They streamline the routers. They make them far faster with less other processing hardware,”
Conventional SRAM-based TCAM circuits are usually implemented with 16 CMOS transistors, which limits the storage capacity of TCAMs to tens of megabytes in standard memory structures.
One alternative might be ReRAM; late last year, research institute Leti demonstrated RRAM-based TCAM circuits can match the performance of CMOS-based SRAM circuits for multicore neuromorphic processor applications despite the performance and reliability tradeoffs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Juha Saarinen: The real reason Huawei shouldn’t be in 5G networks
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12218590
Big clues as to the real reason for Western countries’ reluctance and outright bans on Huawei supplying equipment to 5G networks dropped last week when a report that’s hugely embarrassing for the Chinese tech giant was published in Britain.
The report from oversight board for Britain’s Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre makes it clear that clever, secret backdoors in the Chinese company’s equipment is the least of anyone’s worries.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ericsson Wins 5G Commercial Deal With KT
https://markets.financialcontent.com/pennwell.cabling/news/read/37952389/ericsson_wins_5g_commercial_deal_with_kt
KT (formerly known as Korea Telecom) has awarded Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) a 5G commercial contract to enable the nationwide launch of commercial 5G services in Korea starting early April 2019.
Tomi Engdahl says:
U.S. Cellular Selects Ericsson for 5G Deployments
https://markets.financialcontent.com/pennwell.cabling/news/read/37832007/u.s._cellular_selects_ericsson_for_5g_deployments
U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM) and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced a multi-year contract for Ericsson to support U.S. Cellular’s 5G network deployment. Under the contract, Ericsson will provide U.S. Cellular with 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Opinion: ‘A government-mandated wholesale network won’t win 5G’
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2019/03/opinion-a-government-mandated-wholesale-network-won-t-win-5g.html?cmpid=&utm_source=enl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cim_data_center_newsletter&utm_content=2019-04-02&eid=289644432&bid=2409383
Newt Gingrich recently posited a real problem: that China wants to control wireless networks and technologies worldwide to advance its geopolitical goals. He then proposed an unreal non-solution: that the U.S. should mandate a wholesale-only market for the next generation of wireless broadband, popularly known as 5G (for fifth-generation).