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:
Startup promises to change the wireless game with signal cancellation technology
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458607/Startup-promises-to-change-the-wireless-game?utm_content=buffer0dca0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
You want single-frequency full-duplex communications? You can have it. You want to use adjacent channels? Overlapping channels? No problem. You want to use this with Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G—any spectrum band, MIMO, gigabits, whatever? Sure thing. All those bandwidth and latency compromises? Much diminished. You can’t quite kiss contention goodbye in open bands, but nobody’s perfect.
Startup GenXComm has spent the last 5 years developing a proprietary self-interference cancellation technology it claims supports all of it. If it proves out, signal-cancellation technology could become an integral element of just about every communications system moving forward.
The company calls its technology S-Six, an almost-acronym of simultaneous self-interference cancellation. Vishwanath didn’t dive too deeply into the technical details, but provided this overview of what the S-Six does: “We take something at 100 watt power, and drop it all the way down to 100 picowatts. We exploit structure. We learn the structure—we estimate it, learn it, and exactly match it to cancel it. It’s a much, much more sophisticated process than traditional noise cancellation.”
The ability to cancel out a signal in this manner leads to the ability to communicate in full duplex mode, essentially doubling the bandwidth. The company has performed a demonstration of communicating from a base station to a user, and using the same frequency for backhaul.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Bytes: Beamforming Explained
http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/telecom/wireless/5g-bytes-beamforming-explained
Future 5G networks will transmit data through targeted beams and advanced signal processing that could speed up data rates and boost bandwidth
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. Beamforming is one of the burgeoning technologies that will help get us there.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Telia and Nokia demos 5G transfer – 1 millisecond delay
Telia and Nokia tested the prototype of 5G networks at a 3.5 gigahertz rate in Helsinki. The transfer was done in co-operation with the current 4G network. The test achieved a very low 1-millisecond delay in the 5G network. 3.5GHz is becoming the most important frequency range for commercial 5G networks in the future.
Future robots and self-styled cars require a lesser delay in data transfer. ” It is only possible to implement the 5G network. At best, the online network will be near a 1-millisecond delay, as is the case today, “said Telia’s Technology Director Jari Collin.
Telia’s test included Nokia’s R & D base station solutions for the 3.5 GHz band. The band is also believed to be used for the first 5G networks and subscriber devices. In Demo, the second base station acted as a subscriber station for the 5G network.
“5G brings dramatic improvements to network speed, capacity and delay. This enhances many applications and allows for new ones. Our joint test with Telia is a testament to how 5G is gradually moving from talking to real user experiences, “says Research Manager Lauri Oksanen (pictured left) from Nokia Bell Labs
The test also demonstrated how Nokia’s technical solution allows the 4G and 5G network to be shared and the network to fluctuate accordingly. The test was carried out with AirScale and AirFrame base station solutions placed on Nokia’s frame.
The 3.5 GHz frequency used in the test is not yet in use, but the area is likely to be commercially available after 2018. The test was carried out with a temporary radio license granted to Telia.
Source: https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/07/20/telia-ja-nokia-demosivat-5g-siirtoa-1-millisekunnin-viive/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Towards one millisecond: Telia and Nokia demoed the new 5G frequency
Telia had been granted a temporary license to test 5G connections at 3.5 GHz, which is expected to be the first significant new 5G frequency band. Yesterday, it demos, along with Nokia, how to link to the one-millisecond delay that is being sought.
According to Lauri Oksanen, Research Director at Nokia Bell Labs (pictured), the demo was as close to 5G as it is currently possible, standardization is still under way. In Demo, the link delay, i.e. latency, was reduced to 4G from 13 to 15 milliseconds to one millisecond.
The delay Oksanen holds as the most important part of 5G, even beyond the high data rates expected by consumers. – Managing Delay is the most difficult part for operators. How to ensure delay management, even though other applications are requesting resources at the same time, Oksanen described.
Oksanen believes that when one gets in time and the base station goes into the field, the user can also enjoy the same one-millisecond delay. This means virtually that virtually real-time applications run in real-time over wireless.
The VR link can not travel to the other side of the world in any 5G period. – Light speed limits. In one millisecond, data runs a hundred kilometers and back. The cloud has to be placed on the edge of the network, Oksanen said.
With a 5G connection, robots were controlled that balanced the ball with the camera’s camera in just a few seconds. The difference to 4G was remarkable. From the operator’s point of view, 5G can also mean that a millisecond delay can be sold at a premium price to those who want it.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6584-kohti-yhta-millisekuntia-telia-ja-nokia-demosivat-uutta-5g-taajuutta
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
Thomas said that Qorvo sees that as 5G approaches, there will be a fundamental shift in how mobile data is being used globally. For an entirely new generation, streaming video is the new baseline for entertainment, information, and much more.
These are several, real-time questions impacting smartphone manufacturers today. Qorvo is helping solve RF complexities for the handset OEMs by addressing several key challenges:
Meeting rapidly changing standards including carrier aggregation and MIMO
Balancing size with performance
Enabling CA combinations with filters and multiplexers
Offering an RFFE solution option for premium and mid-tier smartphones
The challenge going forward is that the smartphone arena has a few categories with different design goals and priorities. Two important categories are flagship phones that are designed for super-regional/global usage and mid-tier and entry-level phones for regional usage.
A major change in smartphone RF filters and front ends as 5G approaches
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4442660/A-major-change-in-smartphone-RF-filters-and-front-ends-as-5G-approaches
The ongoing challenge of multiband/multistandard RF solutions for smartphones requires the addition of more bands into the same or smaller physical space in the handset. In addition, performance must improve in the next generation of smartphones.
In long-term evolution (LTE) carrier aggregation (CA) and beyond, the need for multiple bands operating simultaneously through one antenna necessitates so many added challenges for filters and duplexers. Isolation loss and linearity are probably the most difficult to achieve. Reconfigurable radios are also another path which can be investigated going forward. With the radio spectrum becoming more crowded, smart cognitive radios are being looked at. The problem is that mobile phone manufacturers do not like having to add new models to keep up with bandwidth needs. This is not very cost effective.
The coming carrier aggregation and multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) designs will be needed to meet the needs of both interim LTE-Advanced and the ultimate arrival of 5G. Smaller and lower cost filters are a necessity in these new systems
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.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Test Equipment Race Begins
https://semiengineering.com/tm-vendors-look-5g-business/
Next-gen wireless communications technology is still under development, but instrument suppliers are ready to test 5G in trial deployments.
Test and measurement vendors stand ready to help with the development and deployment of 5G wireless communications, as the technology is fine-tuned and tested in trials around the world.
Juniper Research forecasts 5G operator-billed service revenues will rise to $269 billion by 2025, compared with $851 million in 2019, for a compound annual growth rate of 161% during the first seven years of 5G service. The market research firm ranks the “most promising” 5G network operators as SK Telecom, NTT DoCoMo, KT Corp., China Mobile, and AT&T Mobility, in that order. North America, China and Eastern Asia, and Western Europe will dominate the 5G market, according to Juniper.
The key verticals in 5G will be augmented reality and virtual reality, automotive, digital health wearables, mobile broadband, smart cities, and smart homes, Juniper predicts.
The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, will see some of the first extensive use of 5G in covering the quadrennial games.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The funding of urban smart lighting could hinge on 5G
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2017/06/the-funding-of-urban-smart-lighting-could-hinge-on-5g.html?cmpid=enl_leds_smartlightingiot_2017-07-10
The boss of Holland’s Luminext believes that the next-generation cellular technology will give a much needed boost to the outdoor IoT business case, and will attract investors.
HAMBURG – While the lack of a business case is currently discouraging investors from backing streetlight-centric smart cities, the pending arrival of 5G mobile networks could help change all that, according to the boss of a Dutch software and systems firm.
“5G is very important,” said Henk Walraven, managing director of Luminext, speaking at the Smart Lighting Conference 2017 here this week. “The reason for 5G to be there is to actually to finance the whole thing.”
Many enthusiasts believe that urban outdoor lighting infrastructures are ready-made to form the backbone of smart cities. The idea is to outfit luminaires, or the poles that house them, with sensors and communication chips that gather data on crowds, traffic, parking, air quality, noise, weather conditions, and much more. This data, when connected to the Internet, can then help authorities operate cities more effectively, can help people make informed choices about how to use the city, can feed retailers and other businesses with useful information, and so on.
But claiming that a lot of this today requires expensive wired networks (even though many early examples also use some form of wireless), Walraven noted, “There’s no business case.” But in the near future, the huge leap in bandwidth and capacity augured by 5G will help support data transfer rates that will expand the capabilities of what wirelessly connected smart lighting can do.
“If you want to do fiberoptics to the lampposts every five lampposts, there’s nobody that wants to pay for it,” said Walraven. “But if I can then go to small cells and 5G equipment, then the investors in that will actually have a little bit more patience in waiting for their investment to pay back.”
5G represents the next major advance over today’s 4G in mobile networking speeds and capacity. It is expected to be generally ready by around 2020. Some pundits believe the leap will be necessary to support the billions of devices such as lights that will connect to the Internet of Things (IoT) — estimates vary wildly but several prognosticators expect around 20–30 billion devices to be part of the IoT by 2020, up from several billion today. As LEDs Magazine wrote earlier this week, lighting companies such as Finland’s Helvar are experimenting with it.
For Luminext, 5G would help support smart city systems and applications, such as an “aggression detection” system that Luminext has deployed in a small pocket of Eindhoven. In that project, 22 “sound cameras” are mounted on light posts, anonymously detecting sound and converting it into a graphic that can alert police of yelling and screaming.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Frequency Bands Will Roll Out The Carpet For 5G?
http://www.mwrf.com/software/what-frequency-bands-will-roll-out-carpet-5g?code=UM_NN7TT1&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12116&utm_medium=email&elq2=e6ba8bb1227d44b8838125579845d018
Lots of new frequency bands will factor into the official 5G standard scheduled for publication in September next year. These include lower bands neighboring 4G frequencies to higher millimeter waves with enough breathing room to enable better coverage and capacity, experts say.
The 3GPP – which sets communication standards – is drafting an intermediate standard that shifts 4G networks into higher and lightly-used frequency bands. If all goes according to plan, the Non-Standalone standard will be published months before the new 5G radio, giving companies additional space for mobile traffic with little more than a software upgrade.
“Many LTE bands will be redeployed for new radio,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Turkcell, Huawei jointly achieve 5G mmWave speed of 70 Gbps
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2017/07/turkcell-huawei-5g.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-07-20
On June 16, Turkcell (Istanbul), the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, and Huawei announced that the companies had joinly broken a record by carrying out their first 5G mmWave [millimeter wave] speed test together in line with their respective network capabilities. In the test performed using real 5G equipment in the 71.5 – 73.5 GHz frequency band, the companies reported that a new speed record of 70 Gbps was reached. According to a press release, “In this regard, Turkcell has become one of the few mobile operators in the world that can reach a speed that is impossible with current technologies, using the technology of the future, 5G.”
With the support of the Information Technologies and Communications Corporation (BTK), the announcement signifies how Turkcell has taken another step in its partnership with Huawei, with which it set off to deepen work in 5G technologies and intensify joint R&D work together. The tests, carried out at Istanbul Turkcell Küçükyalı Plaza, used 5G equipment in the 71.5073.5 Ghz frequency band, known as mmWave.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fast-Switching Synthesizer Keeps Noise Levels Low
http://www.mwrf.com/components/fast-switching-synthesizer-keeps-noise-levels-low?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170706_MWRF-001_381&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11876&utm_medium=email&elq2=b5433306d4a64a3b8825a860265db939
This fast-switching frequency synthesizer keeps the spurious and phase-noise levels low across a total frequency tuning range as wide as 50 MHz to 21 GHz
The Luxyn frequency synthesizer features high-speed tuning from 50 MHz to 21 GHz in frequency steps as small as 0.001 Hz in a package that is only 4.0 × 3.6 × 0.9 in. and weighs only 15 oz. It is literally a fit for a wide range of applications, from broadband communications systems to test-and-measurement equipment. It provides spectrally pure output signals that can feed most measurement applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Manual Probe System Positioned for THz Testing
http://www.mwrf.com/test-measurement/manual-probe-system-positioned-thz-testing?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170718_MWRF-001_53&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12070&utm_medium=email&elq2=313a008a4d3d4cbf819f91494846588e
This stable, precise probe station and companion test probes provide the capabilities to make measurements at the limits of commercial VNAs, and well into the THz frequency range.
Practical semiconductor devices at millimeter-wave frequencies will be needed to enable the realization of the many small cells with high-data-rate capacities for Fifth Generation (5G) wireless communications networks. Part of developing those high-frequency, high-speed devices will be testing them during design and development and then in production. The TS150-THZ manual probe system from MPI Corp. has been designed for on-wafer measurements not just through the entire millimeter-wave frequency range, but at terahertz (THz) frequencies as well.
The TS150-THz manual probe system (Fig. 1) is designed for benchtop use, with easy access to a device under test, such as a semiconductor wafer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
mmWave Channel Modeling with Diffuse Scattering in an Office Environment
https://www.rfglobalnet.com/doc/mmwave-channel-modeling-with-diffuse-scattering-in-an-office-environment-0001
The millimeter wave frequencies being planned for 5G systems pose challenges for channel modeling. At these frequencies, surface roughness impacts wave propagation, causing scatter in non-specular directions that can have a large effect on received signal strength and polarization. To accurately predict channel characteristics for millimeter wave frequencies, propagation modeling must account for diffuse scattering effects. This example uses Wireless InSite’s diffuse scattering capability to perform simulations of an indoor wireless network.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New System Design Tools a Must for 5G RF Front-Ends
5G networks will pose challenges to RF front-end (RFFE) design in mobile devices.
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/new-system-design-tools-must-5g-rf-front-ends?code=UM_NN7TT2&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12133&utm_medium=email&elq2=0e783862710847fc87b07f9d983401be
While 5G wireless standards are still under development, it’s not too early to predict that 5G device designs will be more complex, have more components (particularly filters), and be expected to deliver higher networking and processing performance. At the same time, they will be smaller and less expensive. The 5G networking standards now under development intend to accommodate a wide variety of use cases that are now served with disparate technologies. These range from low-bandwidth Internet of Things (IoT) to high-bandwidth video.
The challenges that come with accommodating these use cases will impact every part of 5G deployments, but perhaps will add the most complexity and challenge to the RF front-end (RFFE) in mobile devices—if for no other reason than there is very little space to accommodate this complexity. A full understanding of the impact of 5G networks on RFFE starts with the network environment in which the devices will work.
5G RAN
The 5G radio access network (RAN) is expected to be a combination of technologies, nodes, and frequencies, and this mix will result in one of the biggest challenges for 5G deployment. Densification of the network will require:
New models that make deployment economically viable.
Dynamic and adaptable allocation of resources to maximize performance, increasing automated software control.
Multiple and dynamic use of different modulation schemes.
Device-to-device communication facilitating network capacity off-load.
Given the technical challenges outlined above, we can draw some conclusions about end-user wireless devices, particularly mobile broadband phones. These devices will exist in an environment that includes:
More complexity.
More components, particularly MIMO and carrier aggregation (CA) filters.
More demands on performance. High isolation between bands, low insertion loss (especially at band edges).
Smaller size and lower cost. Overall phone size will not change significantly, nor will overall mobile device margin requirements. Thus, even though there will be more components built into the unit, they will have to be smaller and cheaper.
Dual connectivity between cellular and Wi-Fi networks.
Higher frequency components (>6 GHz) will be introduced as these components drop in size and cost.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple granted license to test 5G wireless technology
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/07/apple-granted-license-to-test-5g-wireless-technology.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-07-31
The FCC has granted Apple a license to test next-generation 5G wireless technologies, as reported by DSLReports. In May, Apple submitted an application for an experimental license to test wireless technology on millimeter wave spectrum bands
Apple Granted License to Test Next-Generation 5G Wireless Technology
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/27/apple-granted-5g-wireless-license/
In May, Apple submitted an application for an experimental license to test wireless technology on millimeter wave spectrum bands. Millimeter wave bands provide higher bandwidth and throughput up to 10Gb/s, but they are limited by line of sight issues that can cause problems in dense urban areas.
Apple will use the 28 and 39 GHz bands, which were among those opened up by the FCC last year for the purpose of next-generation 5G broadband.
It’s not entirely clear why Apple is planning to test millimeter wave performance, but it will join the likes of Google, Facebook, and major U.S. cellular carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, who are testing 5G networks in preparation to deploy the next-generation technology in the coming years.
Apple could perhaps be preparing its future iPhones to take advantage of 5G technology, or the company may have some other purpose in mind. The 28GHz band in particular has been earmarked for earth-to-space transmissions, an area Apple has been exploring based on recent hires with satellite expertise.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Through the Ethernet Looking Glass
https://www.thefastmode.com/technology-and-solution-trends/9902-5g-through-the-ethernet-looking-glass
Today’s networking headlines are frequently grabbed by “5G” – the fifth generation of mobile technology. While it is true that 5G will go beyond 4G in terms of speeds and users that it will support, the true ambition of 5G is the vision of a new end-to-end system that provides a seamless and consistent user experience over a multitude of networks, devices, and user interactions. So, while many think of the mobile aspect of 5G, the reality is that underlying wired infrastructure will play a critical role in enabling the success of 5G.
Higher bandwidth Ethernet single-mode fiber solutions ranging from 25 Gb/s to 400 Gb/s will be deployed throughout mobile networks providing “fat pipes” enabling metro reaches up to 40km.
Data centers will see a boost in their server interconnect infrastructure. Today’s typical deployment of top-of-rack switch configurations using a copper twin-axial cable server interconnect will be upgraded to 25GbE. Blade servers will leverage 25GbE backplane technology, as will end-of-row switch architectures using multi-mode fiber optics.
Enterprise mobility will be given a speed boost by the deployment of the IEEE 802.3bz-based 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T solutions that will provide wired access to the network for the massive amounts of data driven by the proliferation of wireless access points.
The Ethernet community is also targeting IoT and industrial applications requiring low Mb/s bandwidth solutions with new single pair copper based solutions that are currently in development within the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group.
In 2007 the Ethernet community decided to do both 40GbE and 100GbE. Ten years later, this decision continues to resonate, as the multitude of new solutions
Tomi Engdahl says:
Top 5 RF Technologies for 5G in the IoT
Key players Qorvo, Yole, and Keysight weigh in on the leading and disruptive RF technologies in this space.
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/top-5-rf-technologies-5g-iot?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170801_MWRF-001_65&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12282&utm_medium=email&elq2=822500e406f74ba1974b72ae489047ae
This next wave of connectivity technology (including 5G) consists of a seemingly endless variety of use cases and applications, from wearable devices to smart homes. One of the biggest implementation obstacles is the number and variety of competing RF connectivity standards (Fig. 1). The key trade-off among these standards is how much data the designer needs to transmit vs. the distance to transmit—all balanced against the battery life of the system.
New standards open new application fields for the end users. For example, the emerging 5th generation mobile networks (or 5G) aims for lower latency than 4G equipment and lower battery consumption, enabling better implementation of the IOT (Fig. 3). Troadec pointed out that the emerging 5G radios will be built upon millimeter wave, new radio access networks (RAN), and radio access technologies (RAT).
The timeline for full 5G implementation is still a few years away. According to a recent report by Dell’Oro Group, RAN revenues will be at their weakest between 2017 and 2021. Initial 5G RANs will be deployed as macro base stations, to be followed by 5G small cells for urban settings. Millimeter-wave services will initially account for less than 5% of carrier spending on the 5G market by 2021.
Disruptive and Enabling 5G
What will be the key disruptive technology trends enabling 5G? It depends upon who you ask. At the recent IEEE IMS 2017 event, a Keysight presentation listed the following as key enabling technologies:
–New Radio (NR) Standard for 5G – separate from LTE. This is the 3GPP standard.
–Spectrum – Other 5G or “pre-5G” air interface specifications including:
Verizon Pre-5G spec (fixed wireless mm-wave)
AT&T Pre-5G Trial (fixed wireless mm-wave)
KT Spec (mobile wireless mm-wave)
–mm-wave and phase array antenna – Complexities will require 20 dB of base-line additional link-budget (or a factor of 100× more power)
–Multiple-Input/Multiple-Output (MIMO) – Will offers significant gains in wireless data rates and link reliability.
–Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core Network – How will legacy and new 5G network architectures interact?
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Proposals Jam 3GPP Channels
Cellular group reacts, expands, says Q’comm
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332089
5G cellular has a problem with its signal-to-noise ratio, but it’s still expanding and even moving ahead at an accelerated pace.
The problem is some companies have started measuring their progress by the number of contributions they make to the 3GPP group defining 5G specifications. The practice has gotten so out of hand that some engineers are actually splitting a proposal into multiple papers, forcing some work groups to set a limit of one paper per company per agenda item.
“Certain companies have been trying to game the system,” said Lorenzo Casaccia, a vice president of technical standards responsible for 3GPP work at Qualcomm.
“In the last few months, two of most important work groups put a cap on the number of proposals engineers can submit because the chairs got fed up with people splitting contributions,”
Qualcomm’s success with the so-called non-standalone (NSA) version of the 5G new radio lets carriers deploy enhanced mobile broadband services in 2019, a year ahead of original targets. It uses carrier aggregation techniques now part of LTE to pair separate services running in 4G and 5G bands.
The NSA specs will be finished later this year with carrier trials and interoperability testing extending through next year. The full specs needed for a standalone 5G service should be done late next year.
“Everybody is frantically working to keep up with progress on 3GPP” with separate prototypes for sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave systems in lab and field tests, said Casaccia.
The NSA prototypes are still based on FPGAs.
As 5G speeds up, the cellular market also is expanding with new variants for cars, broadcasting, factories and public safety.
“For a long time, 3GPP membership was stable, but in the last three or four years we’ve seen a massive increase because each expansion area has new requirements and members such as Bosch, GE and Siemens in industrial,”
The 3GPP Release 15 coming late next year is expected to contain support for low latency links. It will be followed by Rel. 16 a year later with specific support for the industrial Internet of Things.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GaN: A Critical Technology for 5G
http://www.techonline.com/electrical-engineers/education-training/tech-papers/4458508/GaN-A-Critical-Technology-for-5G
Carrier providers walk the thin line of providing an optimum user experience while keeping operating costs down. The onset of 5G will bring many new challenges for carriers, such as lower latency, high data rates, high capacity and low energy costs. New technologies like GaN have the capability to address these challenges.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Putting 5G to the Test
https://forums.ni.com/t5/NI-Blog/Putting-5G-to-the-Test/ba-p/3665596
As the 3GPP standardization body moves toward finalizing the first 5G specifications in December of this year, several challenges lie ahead on the road to making 5G the transformative catalyst industry experts have been predicting. 5G proposes faster data rates, lower latency, and increased capacity while addressing new use cases. Unlike prior wireless evolutions, 5G proposes radically different architectures to meet these objectives. Perhaps overlooked in the 5G excitement are the daunting challenges instrumentation companies face to meet the commercialization timelines.
Why mmWave test systems must differ from previous generation architecture
Taking all of this into consideration, it’s clear that mmWave test systems must differ from previous generation architectures in at least three important aspects: beam control, test time and access. mmWave test systems must include a beam control function alongside standard measurement and signal generation capabilities. This integration must be seamless or test time will suffer. Beam characterization will increase the number of measurements and test scenarios by an order of magnitude putting pressure to minimize test time. And lastly there is a question of access. mmWave RF front ends include the antenna and will be packaged as a monolithic unit. Unlike LTE devices, there is no cable or connector access. Possible solutions proposed by the 3GPP RAN4 working group include over-the-air (OTA) testing, which presents its own set of challenges.
Tomi Engdahl says:
England is already testing fixed 5G connections
In Finland, operators have introduced 5G technology in very small, closed demos. In England, we go straight away. The device manufacturer Arqiva fielded together with Samsung the so-called ” Fixed 5G connections at 28 gigahertz frequencies.
Arqiva installs six routers in the central London area. For four months, willing users can test their gigabit wireless connection at home with their own terminal.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6618-englannissa-testataan-jo-kiinteita-5g-yhteyksia
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dual Mixer Enables A Compact, Wideband MIMO Receiver for 5G LTE Service
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQtLDEcC23g&index=2&list=PLDglzuv1g_h-Ch5QlzRzj_cRTY-zWnNr1
This video describes the application of the LTC5566, a dual mixers integrated with programmable gain IF amplifiers that enable a 3.6GHz compact, wideband MIMO receiver for 5G LTE service. The receiver provides superbly robust performance that can handle stronger blockers, while supporting 100MHz bandwidth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Needs Mmwave Regs—Pronto
Designs waiting for key channel decisions
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332108&
Regulators need to deliver guidance as soon as possible for millimeter wave services in 5G cellular networks, said one of the many engineers with designs waiting for the details. His call comes as carriers in the U.S. and South Korea are gearing up to deliver the broadband wireless services for mobile and home workers.
Specifically, engineers need to know what limits regulators will set on channel allocations, out-of-band spurious emissions and other “nuts and bolts of channel bandwidth,” said Ian Gresham, a technology Fellow at mmwave specialist Anokiwave.
“Strict limits could restrict what we can do, so [delivering detailed regulations is] critical and has to happen in a short period to make sure there’s not a hiccough in deployment,” said Gresham, who has spent 30 years in the field. “We’ve seen ongoing submissions and discussions with the FCC and others about what those limits should be but until there’s a ruling, it’s open for interpretation.”
The regulations will determine whether incidental radiation is “problematic or can be ignored and what level of performance we can achieve,” Gresham added.
At this stage the rules may not dramatically affect chip designs. They are more likely to impact board-level design decisions, Gresham said.
Verizon has announced it will roll out fixed wireless services over mmwave bands later this year, and rival AT&T said it is interested in similar services. Carriers in South Korea aim to conduct high profile demos of 5G services for the Winter Olympics that start there in early February, including enhanced broadband mobile over mmwaves.
For its part, Anokiwave launched a CMOS chip to implement 28 GHz radios last year and followed up this year with one for 39 GHz links.
The mmwave sector is at “a point of explosive growth. The original cellphone industry was a point of inflection for microwave technology below 5 GHz and the establishment and wide use of those technologies,” said Gresham.
5G represents a technological “paradigm shift…[that started with 60 GHz] WiGig and 80 GHz automotive radar. Now we can take mmwave apps and drive the cost/performance for commercial adoption to commercial prices” for smartphones, he said.
It isn’t the first time radar technology made a run at mainstream markets.
Decades ago, LMDS failed to carve out a space as a last-mile network due to the still-high costs of custom components at the time. Since then, Moore’s Law has shifted the decimal point on those costs.
Today, 65nm CMOS is adequate for short range, low power systems. Other processes including BiCMOS SiGe also have plays. WiGig products from multiple companies now sell for less than $10, thanks in part to researchers who drove CMOS RF to high performance levels.
You don’t need a “state-of-the-art exotic process, there’s a glut of identifiable candidates depending on your target.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Needs Mmwave Regs—Pronto
Designs waiting for key channel decisions
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332108&
Regulators need to deliver guidance as soon as possible for millimeter wave services in 5G cellular networks, said one of the many engineers with designs waiting for the details. His call comes as carriers in the U.S. and South Korea are gearing up to deliver the broadband wireless services for mobile and home workers.
Specifically, engineers need to know what limits regulators will set on channel allocations, out-of-band spurious emissions and other “nuts and bolts of channel bandwidth,” said Ian Gresham, a technology Fellow at mmwave specialist Anokiwave.
“Strict limits could restrict what we can do, so [delivering detailed regulations is] critical and has to happen in a short period to make sure there’s not a hiccough in deployment,” said Gresham, who has spent 30 years in the field. “We’ve seen ongoing submissions and discussions with the FCC and others about what those limits should be but until there’s a ruling, it’s open for interpretation.”
The regulations will determine whether incidental radiation is “problematic or can be ignored and what level of performance we can achieve,” Gresham added.
At this stage the rules may not dramatically affect chip designs. They are more likely to impact board-level design decisions, Gresham said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
People are ready to pay for 5G
5G brings significantly faster data connections and, above all, a lot of shorter-time delay connectivity. According to Gartner’s survey, we are ready to pay for 5G benefits.
As many as 75% of organizations using 5G connections are willing to pay for more connections. Only 24 per cent said directly that 5G would not want to pay any more than 4G.
Of all the more expensive to pay for 5G connections are telecom companies. There is less willingness in the service sector. There is no desire to pay more for the authorities.
While many are willing to pay more for faster connections, few believe 5G connectivity will bring cost savings or revenue growth. 5G is seen above all as the evolution of mobile technology (59 percent of respondents). Only 37 percent believe that 5G enables new forms of digital business.
Gartner’s research also states that it is commonly thought that 5G services will be widely available in 2020. In fact, the technology is largely available in 2022 at the earliest.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6647&via=n&datum=2017-08-09_14:50:46&mottagare=30929
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building 5G networks from the core up
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458706/Building-5G-networks-from-the-core-up?utm_content=buffer0b2b1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
The world’s appetite for connectivity, bandwidth, and advanced high-speed, low latency networks is growing fast. The networking industry is in a race to stay ahead of the demand curve being set by consumers, enterprises, and government regulators.
5G will be a key technology service providers will use to meet customers’ expectations and government policy goals, as well as to diversify beyond traditional connectivity into lucrative new business opportunities based on network performance characteristics not provided by 3G and 4G. Delivering that performance will require a different network approach not just for the access network but also for the next-generation core. The core will need to be designed and built using all the capabilities of the cloud, and adopt a more distributed architecture than today’s networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s Vision: The 5G network could be purchased as a service
The consortium, led by the Nokia Bell Labs Research Center, is developing a solution in which the 5G network could roughly be purchased as a ready-made service. Included in the NGPaaS project are, for example, BT and Orange posters.
The NGPaaS consortium (Next Generation Platform-as-a-Service) aims to work on a completed solution over the next two years. The goal is a service that can drive clouded operator-level virtualized networking features. These services would respond to the reliability, capacity and latency expectations of the 5G network.
Bell Labs co-ordinates the project with Nokia, the Spanish Atom, the BT and Orange operators, the French Open Virtualisation Systems, Vertical M2M, B-COM, English ONAPP and the University of Milan, the Danish Technical University and the Belgian Microelectronics Research Institute IMEC.
It would be possible to combine virtual network functions (NVFs) developed by third parties for the service to be developed.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6653-nokian-visio-5g-verkon-voisi-ostaa-palveluna
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Proposals Jam 3GPP Channels
Cellular group reacts, expands, says Q’comm
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332089&
5G cellular has a problem with its signal-to-noise ratio, but it’s still expanding and even moving ahead at an accelerated pace.
The problem is some companies have started measuring their progress by the number of contributions they make to the 3GPP group defining 5G specifications. The practice has gotten so out of hand that some engineers are actually splitting a proposal into multiple papers, forcing some work groups to set a limit of one paper per company per agenda item.
“Certain companies have been trying to game the system,” said Lorenzo Casaccia, a vice president of technical standards responsible for 3GPP work at Qualcomm.
“In the last few months, two of most important work groups put a cap on the number of proposals engineers can submit because the chairs got fed up with people splitting contributions,” Casaccia said in an interview.
Tomi Engdahl says:
In DARPA’s Colosseum, the Combatants are RF Signals
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332076&
DARPA’s testbed replicates RF-spectrum chaos, taking test and algorithm evaluation beyond basic link testing.
Times have changed, and among the combatants in the world we now inhabit are the many RF signals fighting each other for slices of the electromagnetic spectrum. Testing how a product works in this RF-laden environment is a major challenge to which almost all design, test, and evaluation engineers can attest.
There are actually are two kinds of RF test. The first assesses if the device meets basic, point-to-point and network requirements, as well as regulatory EMI mandates for unwanted emissions. Those are the relatively easy tests.
The much-harder test scenario is to verify and then optimize performance of the unit in a spectrum swamped with interfering signals (many often stronger than the desired ones), poor SNR, multiple modulation schemes, and worse. It’s the equivalent of driving a car in a traffic zone populated by lots of crazy drivers piloting everything from bicycles and motorcycles to long-haul trucks and hefty construction vehicles, each determined to get where they are going, and get there first or nearly so. Even if the RF-related circuitry is working as intended, the complex algorithms which manage that hardware is severely challenged as it tries to both send out an optimum signal and also extract the desired receive signal.
That’s where DARPA — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — is playing a role. To address this real-world RF test environment, their Colosseum installation is a next-generation emulator of RF sources, and lots of them. It is housed in a modest 20 × 30-foot (6 × 9 m) server room at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. Engineers at APL constructed it with 128 two-antenna, software-defined radio (SDR) units built by National Instruments. The system can emulate tens of thousands of possible interactions among hundreds of wireless communication devices, including cell phones, military radios, IoT devices, and more, all operating at the same time.
The DARPA press release gives some additional facts: “By the numbers, the Colosseum testbed is a 256-by-256-channel RF channel emulator, which means it can calculate and simulate in real-time more than 65,000 channel interactions among 256 wireless devices. Each simulated channel behaves as though it has a bandwidth (information content) of 100 MHz, which means the testbed supports 25.6 GHz of bandwidth in any instant.” Within the Colosseum environment, the RF emulation can be set to represent an open field, a dense city, a suburban shopping mall, a desert, and more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding Benefits Of MIMO Technology
http://www.mwrf.com/markets/understanding-benefits-mimo-technology?code=UM_Classics08117&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12407&utm_medium=email&elq2=e24f21a601e442cfa98e2def2637e9c9
Multiple antenna configurations can be used to overcome the detrimental effects of signal multipath and fading when trying to achieve high data throughput in limited-bandwidth channels.
Multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems are used in modern wireless standards, including in IEEE 802.11n, 3GPP LTE, and mobile WiMAX systems. The technique supports enhanced data throughput even under conditions of interference, signal fading, and multipath. The demand for higher data rates over longer distances has been one of the primary motivations behind the development of MIMOorthogonal- frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) communications systems. For years, engineers assumed that the theoretical channel capacity limits were defined by the Shannon- Hartley theorem
MIMO communications channels provide an interesting solution to the multipath challenge by requiring multiple signal paths.
Using this channel knowledge, a receiver can recover independent streams from each of the transmitter’s antennas. A 2 x 2 MIMO system produces two spatial streams to effectively double the maximum data rate of what might be achieved in a traditional 1 x 1 SISO communications channel.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Channel Modeling for 5G Demonstration
https://www.remcom.com/video-center/2017/6/13/5g-demo?utm_source=pardot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5g-drip
This demonstration shows how Wireless InSite meets 3GPP and METIS channel modeling requirements for 5G, including:
Very high bandwidths and wide frequency range
Wide range of propagation scenarios with full three-dimensional modeling and accurate polarization
Massive MIMO with extremely large array antennas
Spatial consistency as points move or are in close proximity
Diffuse scattering at mmWave
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dual Mixer Enables A Compact, Wideband MIMO Receiver for 5G LTE Service
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQtLDEcC23g
This video describes the application of the LTC5566, a dual mixers integrated with programmable gain IF amplifiers that enable a 3.6GHz compact, wideband MIMO receiver for 5G LTE service. The receiver provides superbly robust performance that can handle stronger blockers, while supporting 100MHz bandwidth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Series of radio heads for transceiver system
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/series-of-radio-heads-for-transceiver-system/d2a58859be891d0a339d6c434a49830b.html
National Instruments’ (NI) series of 28 GHz radio heads for the mmWave Transceiver System creates a commercially available full transceiver that covers a spectrum from 27.5 GHz to 29.5 GHz.
National Instruments’ (NI) (Nasdaq: NATI) series of 28 GHz radio heads for the mmWave Transceiver System creates a commercially available full transceiver that is designed to transmit and/or receive wide-bandwidth signals of up to 2 GHz of bandwidth in real time, covering spectrum from 27.5 GHz to 29.5 GHz. The mmWave transceiver system software defined radio (SDR) and application-specific software offer a complete and comprehensive starting point for 5G measurement and research addressing both the 3GPP and Verizon 5G specifications.
The mmWave Transceiver System can operate as either an access point or user device in any over-the-air testing scenario.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> Community > Blogs > 5G Waves
Building 5G networks from the core up
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458706/Building-5G-networks-from-the-core-up
The world’s appetite for connectivity, bandwidth, and advanced high-speed, low latency networks is growing fast. The networking industry is in a race to stay ahead of the demand curve being set by consumers, enterprises, and government regulators.
5G will be a key technology service providers will use to meet customers’ expectations and government policy goals, as well as to diversify beyond traditional connectivity into lucrative new business opportunities based on network performance characteristics not provided by 3G and 4G. Delivering that performance will require a different network approach not just for the access network but also for the next-generation core. The core will need to be designed and built using all the capabilities of the cloud, and adopt a more distributed architecture than today’s networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G is getting to use faster than any other network technology
Standardization of 5G technology is expected to be ready in 2020. However, the first networks will be launched in the previous year. 5G will be the fastest growing networking technology in the history, estimates Juniper Research.
In 2019, the number of 5G users is about one million. In practice, this means that fast millisecond connections can be used in a few online and very locally.
By 2025, in just six years, the number of 5G users has increased to 1.4 billion. 55 percent of all 5G connections are currently in use in China, the United States and Japan. Europe can wait for its own 5G data.
At an annual level, the number of 5G users is thus increasing at 232 percent. This is a bit faster than the 4G, where a billion users were reached in seven years.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6702&via=n&datum=2017-08-21_14:03:40&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
Innovation Leads to Results in Millimeter-Wave Network Analysis
http://www.mwrf.com/test-measurement/innovation-leads-results-millimeter-wave-network-analysis?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170822_MWRF-001_892&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=12586&utm_medium=email&elq2=46de0742b87d49c09c361c7daf367592
These broadband network analyzer solutions have been unleashed to meet the growing need for millimeter-wave testing.
The characterization and modeling of broadband devices presents many challenges, and these become more difficult as new-generation designs move up to millimeter-wave frequencies. When assessing a vector network analyzer (VNA), which is the most commonly used tool, the crucial attributes beyond single-sweep frequency range include stability and uncertainty across the entire measurement band.
A new solution is a broadband millimeter-wave network analyzer, which provides exceptional measurement performance with stability within 0.015 dB and 0.15° over a 24-hour period. Keysight Technologies’ N5290A and N5291A broadband millimeter-wave network analyzers cover a frequency range of 900 Hz to 120 GHz
Keysight is among the firms developing EHF components. The company’s in-house capabilities in microwave semiconductor technology have led to the creation of a next-generation indium-phosphide (InP) process that supports transistor switching frequencies above 300 GHz. This makes it possible to achieve wider bandwidth in the integrated circuits (ICs) used in test equipment and other devices.
Keysight has addressed these details with its new broadband millimeter-wave solutions. The measurement platform is a PNA or PNA-X VNA operating at either 26.5 or 67 GHz. The other core elements are a two- or four-port millimeter-wave test-set controller and a set of compact frequency extenders (“smart modules”). The latter include ruggedized 1.0-mm connectors, convection cooling, and built-in characterization data to enable fully calibrated port power at turn-on. To simplify benchtop measurements, engineers can mount the frequency extenders on an optional desktop positioner.
A companion USB thermocouple power sensor (U8489A) covers a frequency range of dc to 120 GHz and simplifies source-power calibration with a 1.0-mm connector and single-connection convenience
The N5290A and N5291A broadband millimeter-wave solutions embody Keysight’s ongoing mission to provide easier access to accurate, repeatable measurements at ever-higher frequencies and wider bandwidths.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei also suffer from the low-speed base station market, like other manufacturers. Fortunately, a little better is going on. 5G devices will become tens of billions of business as long as you wait.
Research and Markets estimates that 5G network devices will be sold in 2023 by almost $ 28 billion. This is close to 2014 peak times, bringing the base station market to $ 33 billion.
Still in the market will not be on the back ground. According to analysts’ forecasts, the market will shrink for another 2-3 years before the 5G starts pulling
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6727-5g-rauta-lahtee-kasvuun-muttei-viela
Tomi Engdahl says:
OTA testing to gain importance with 5G
http://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4458693/OTA-testing-to-gain-importance-with-5G?utm_content=buffer22624&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
The next few years will see many more wireless users connect to wireless networks. Wireless users will expect a higher level of quality and accessibility from all their devices. Thus, carriers will need to provide better reliability in the network and in devices. The result: Testing will, therefore, need to evolve to more closely emulate actual usage conditions. Over-the-Air (OTA) testing will become essential for engineers to evaluate and certify the reliability and performance characteristics of wireless devices, both for mobile and fixed location.
Testing the components that will support 5G will be vastly different than for 4G/LTE. Connecting mobile devices to test equipment through cables is convenient and cost-effective, but it can’t mimic the actual condition these devices encounter. OTA testing lets engineers see what truly happens as the radio waves propagate over the air from the user equipment to the base station and back.
Tomi Engdahl says:
National Instruments (NI) has come up with a complete guide that provides an overview and update covering next-generation 5G cellular networks and related technologies.
The Essential Resource Guide to 3GPP, an Overview and Update
http://landing.ni.com/LP=3379
The most effective wireless researchers have some things in common: they understand the complexity of looking at standards, what their competitors are doing, and how to work toward 5G development within their organizations. Our complete guide provides an overview and update covering:
PHY and MAC layers addressed in RAN 1 and RAN 2M
ITU requirements
5G commercialization and standards timelines
Early nonstandard 5G releases
A look at 5G trial deployments
Tomi Engdahl says:
NYU emulator advances 5G technology towards reality
http://www.edn.com/5G/4458761/NYU-Emulator-advances-5G-technology-towards-reality?utm_content=buffer009d8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
I recently heard about an amazing piece of tech wizardry by members of CATT and NYU WIRELESS at the Tandon School of Engineering at NYU: a prototype that can emulate the wireless channel and as a bonus, multi-antenna front ends as well.
Some industry experts have considered a 5G emulator, but the cost would be prohibitive, especially due to the unwieldy complexity of hundreds of mmWave antenna arrays with phased-array beamforming that require a multitude of cable runs to connect phased array antennas to the channel emulator. Complicating matters further is the fact that it is nearly impossible to connect phased array antennas to cables in the first place.
Channel emulators historically have been the gold standard for testing and designing wireless systems.
had been able to accomplish this amazing technical feat—completely in software. The only hardware required will be a chassis made by National Instruments commercial-off-the-shelf Software Defined Radio (SDR) hardware/software, containing ADCs, DACs, FPGAs, and so on. The NI system provides tremendous flexibility and baseband processing power to enable developers to push the envelope of mmWave system prototyping.
emulation has been used for the past 15 years as a standard tool in the design and testing of wireless devices, whether it be Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G, channel emulation has been absolutely essential. Field trials are very time-consuming and you are able to only test a small fraction of scenarios within which you want your devices to work.
The 5G standardization process is moving along at a break-neck speed, and a part of this process is the acceptance of channel models, which are essentially mathematical representations of the signal propagation. Those mathematical models have been already put into the standard
Companies and researchers in academia will be testing out their 5G designs and it makes sense to do that over a standardized emulated channel since in a matter of minutes one can emulate literally multiple thousands of wireless propagation scenarios.
The way emulation had worked in earlier 3G and 4G bands was that you could have a few cables from the transmitter to the emulator and then a few cables from the emulator to the receiver – the actual number of cables being equal to the number of antenna elements on the devices under test. Beamforming, in mmWaves, is going to be done through phased-array antennas, which can have an extremely large number of elements. There could be some base station designs with 1024 antennas
In the NYU emulator architecture, the beamforming is not actually done by the transmitter/receiver devices. The emulator will emulate not only the wireless channel, but also the beamforming in the transmitter/receiver devices. By combining the emulation of the beamforming and the emulation of the wireless channel, it turns out that the emulation can be performed at significantly lower costs and computational complexity.
The new NYU emulator efficiently emulates both the Wireless Channel as well as beamforming in the transmitter and receiver devices.
By combining the spatial signature of each path in the wireless channel with the beamforming vectors from both the transmitter and receiver, each path in the wireless profile can be represented by just a 1×1 matrix, instead of a 100×200 matrix!
another question regarding the Intel mobile trial platform (MTP),
MTP is incredibly important because that platform is essentially a software defined radio platform consisting of DACs, ADCs, FPGAs for processing, signal frequency up/down converters, and a controllable phased array. So you can control the phased-array beams in any direction desired as well as changing the code that goes into the FPGAs to implement different protocols in your transmitter/receiver.
If you want this system to play with the emulator, you would remove the phased-arrays from the Intel MTP. On the transmitter side you have the FPGAs, DACs, the baseband RF upconverter, but instead of connecting that RF signal output to the phased-arrays you would connect it to the emulator instead. The emulator would then emulate the beamformer on the transmit side as well as the wireless channel. The emulator can accept the incoming signal in baseband, IF, or RF.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mixer covers 3 GHz to 20 GHz
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4458746/Mixer-covers-3-GHz-to-20-GHz
A double-balanced mixer, Linear Technology’s LTC5552 offers wideband RF matching from 3 GHz to 20 GHz, matched LO from 1 GHz to 20 GHz, and differential IF from DC to 6 GHz. Used for frequency up-conversion or down-conversion, the mixer comes in a very small 3×2-mm, 12-lead QFN package.
The LTC5552’s DC-capable differential IF port enables the LO to be close in frequency to the RF.
http://www.linear.com/product/ltc5552
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G-based Fixed Wireless Access market could hit $1 billion: Analyst
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2017/08/5g-based-fixed-wireless-access-market-could-hit-1-billion-analyst.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2017-08-28
The latest report from SNS Research (Dubai, UAE) indicates that service revenue associated with 5G-based FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) subscriptions will reach $1 billion by the end of 2019. “Commonly referred to as FWA, Fixed Wireless Access has emerged as one of the most predominant use cases for early 5G network rollouts,” states the analyst.
According to the report’s executive summary, “Multiple mobile operators and service providers are initially seeking to capitalize on 5G as a fixed wireless alternative to deliver last-mile connectivity – at multi-hundred Megabit and Gigabit speeds – in areas with insufficient fiber holdings.”
* 5G-based FWA subscriptions are expected to account for $1 billion in service revenue by the end of 2019 alone. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 84% between 2019 and 2025, eventually accounting for more than $40 billion.
* SNS Research estimates that 5G-based FWA can reduce the initial cost of establishing last-mile connectivity by as much as 40% – in comparison to FTTP (Fiber-to-the-Premises). In addition, 5G can significantly accelerate rollout times by eliminating the need to lay cables as required for FTTP rollouts.
* The 28 GHz frequency band is widely preferred for early 5G-based FWA deployments, as many vendors have already developed 28 GHz-capable equipment – driven by demands for early field trials in multiple markets including the United States and South Korea.
* Millimeter wave wireless connectivity specialists are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for 5G-based FWA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G networks coming to Finland
Elisa will start building a network of 5G capability in September in Tampere and the nearby municipalities. In the project, existing mobile network base stations will be replaced with newer ones. The construction of the network will start in September and will be completed in February next year.
Elisa already tested the technology used to implement the future 5G network as the first Finnish operator. Also, Telia and DNA have had practical technology arguments for the operation of 5G-level networks. Telia used Nokia’s and DNA’s Ericsson 5G technologies.
Source: https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/08/29/elisa-valmistautuu-5g-palveluihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tampere as a pioneer in telecommunications – Finland’s first city-wide 5G network
According to Aamulehti , Elisa will renew from September, all Tampere and neighboring mobile stations with the latest available technology.
Elisa promises faster connections for the mobile network customers, better coverage of the network, and delays in reducing the delay.
The goal is to build the conditions for the 5G network, which according to Elisa will be available in 2019-2020.
5G network standardization is currently underway.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/tampere-tietoliikenteen-edellakavijana-suomen-ensimmainen-kaupunginlaajuinen-5g-verkko-6672855
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5 best 5G use cases
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458756/The-5-best-5G-use-cases?utm_content=bufferc1649&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Everyone involved with 5G (service providers, technology enablers, customers) is making decisions about which use cases to pursue first, and what enabling technology is needed for those use cases – everything from semiconductors to network systems to software to end-user products. That makes it important to know which use cases might be worth pursuing, which ones are in fact being pursued, and who is pursuing them.
ADL has identified five practical use cases, some more aimed at establishing market leadership, others more evolutionary and representing placing a stake in the ground. They are, along with key proponents of each:
Gigabit broadband to the home (Verizon)
Next generation mobile user experience (T-Mobile)
Future corporate networks (Vodafone)
Digital industrial ecosystems (Korea Telecom)
Infrastructure as a service
Tomi Engdahl says:
The MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) alliance has released new C-PHY, D-PHY and M-PHY specifications to address the next generation of the 5G mobile era to include VR(virtual reality), AR(augmented reality) and autonomous vehicle technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei explores robots-as-a-service for smart manufacturing
https://enterpriseiotinsights.com/20170831/smart-factory/huawei-robots-as-a-service-smart-manufacturing-tag17
The vision is for smart manufacturing applications to be supported by a dedicated 5G network slice
5G is about a lot more than simply higher mobile data rates. The ultra high capacity and ultra low latency of 5G could support a wide range of valuable industries like oil and gas, mining and manufacturing. The digital transformation from more traditional manufacturing to smart manufacturing is poised to come on the back of internet of things-type applications–like the use of industrial robotics to reduce error and drive efficiency–supported by next generation network technologies.
To advance adoption of smart manufacturing technologies, network infrastructure company Huawei is partnering with German industrial automation and control specialist Festo. The companies said the focus on “5G cloud robotics” will look to test a robots-as-a-service business model “that supports the shift from mass production to mass customization…According to this concept, computation is moved from the robot to the fabrication cloud.” And the link between the robot and cloud would come over a 5G network.
5G systems are expected to be built in a way to enable logical network slices, which will allow telecom operators to provide networks on an as-a-service basis and meet the wide range of use cases that the 2020 timeframe is expected to demand. In a single 5G system, network slicing technology can provide connectivity for smart meters with a network slice that connects “internet of things” devices with a high availability and high reliability data-only service, with a given latency, data rate and security level. At the same time, the technology can provide another network slice with very high throughput, high data speeds and low latency for an augmented reality service.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> Community > Blogs > 5G Waves
The 5 best 5G use cases
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458756/The-5-best-5G-use-cases
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2017/02/08/att-will-prove-5g-using-open-source-sdn-technology-network-world/
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Spans Last Mile to Handset
Ericsson engineer reviews top challenges
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332240
5G cellular will start with fixed-wireless services, lead to big changes in smartphones and ultimately rack up some staggering numbers, according to a keynote from a senior Ericsson engineer.
Verizon and AT&T have already announced plans to use 5G at 28 and 39 GHz as a last-mile access technology starting late next year. “It will be easier to plop a pole in a neighborhood than connect homes via fiber,” said Dave Allen, a distinguished engineer at Ericsson speaking at Hot Interconnects last week.
Thanks in part to such services, Ericsson expects by 2027 more traffic will run over wireless than wired nets. The initial 5G fixed-wireless services will act as neighborhood extensions of carriers’ core LTE networks.
The collaborative 4G/5G roll out is different from the past, in part because pure 5G requires a fair amount of heavy lifting.
For example, millimeter wave transmitters and receivers will need to use massive MIMO antennas with beam forming on both sides. The techniques compensate for about 40 dB signal loss leaping from traditional 3 to 5G 39 GHz radios.
He described massive MIMO as “a form of spatial multiplexing…assigning multiple low speed signals to different antennas in an array, [with bandwidth] limited by the smallest number of antennas on either end.”
Packing MIMO and beamforming into handsets will be one of the toughest challenges of 5G, Allen said. “Handsets will calculate math transforms to stay focused on a tower using no moving parts, just by changing the phase and manipulating signals to reposition themselves instantly,” he said.
Similarly, 5G base stations will use so-called coordinated multipoint techniques to relay beam-forming jobs among towers. Despite the difficulty of the electronics, buying spectrum and rights to towers makes up more than half the costs of radio access.
“Modern church steeples are designed specifically to be antenna hotels — a well situated church can earn $30,000 a year,” for providing carrier access, he said.
Ericsson estimates by the time 5G is launched in 2020 there will be 9.5 billion cellular subscribers, 6 billion using smartphones. By that time, the average user will consume 22 Gbytes of mobile data a month, up from 3.8 GB in 2015.
“These numbers are staggering…and they require architecture and technology responses to support that growth,”
For example, the round-trip time for a packet to move between the 5G new radio (NR) and the radio access network and back is three milliseconds, down from 20 for LTE. NR will support frequencies from 600 MHz to 100 GHz, channels from 20 to more 100 MHz, and it can dynamically change the ratio of upstream to downstream traffic it supports.
Overall, 5G is “trying to expand radio to new verticals and adjacent markets” from massive IoT deployments on farms to latency-sensitive robots on the factory floor. Meanwhile engineers aim to push the cost of the radio down to $1 for some IoT uses.