5G is widely considered a mobile technology that won’t be available until perhaps 2020 or 2021, and even then, not widely.
Cisco predicts that by 2021, a 5G connection will generate 4.7 times more traffic than the average 4G connection.
5G will be a quantum leap from today’s LTE-Advanced networks.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
New 5G Hurdles
https://semiengineering.com/new-5g-hurdles/
Experts at the Table, part 2: Getting 5G standards and technology ready are only part of the problem. Reducing latency and developing applications to utilize 5G have a long way to go.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IMS 2018 Prologue: Prepping for the mmWave Era
https://www.mwrf.com/systems/ims-2018-prologue-prepping-mmwave-era?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180807_MWRF-001_938&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19105&utm_medium=email&elq2=c441be9d153840faa61bd75c0ca629db
The RF/microwave industry was generally optimistic at the exhibition in anticipation of real opportunities for mmWave products in automotive and 5G markets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Algorithms to Antenna: Visualize Antenna-Array and SINR Patterns on a Map
https://www.mwrf.com/software/algorithms-antenna-visualize-antenna-array-and-sinr-patterns-map?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180719_MWRF-001_299&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=18698&utm_medium=email&elq2=b82ebfb2092c41718c5a529859887a62
Visualizing antenna patterns on a map can be helpful in design—this latest blog post from Rick Gentile discusses several methods on how to do that via MATLAB.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Front-End Reference Design Meets Multiple Needs
https://www.mwrf.com/systems/5g-front-end-reference-design-meets-multiple-needs?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180717_MWRF-001_205&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=18628&utm_medium=email&elq2=0987aeff302c46b688e3cc0614cee492
Integrating a power amplifier, a pre-driver amplifier, and a receiver switch/low-noise amplifier, this flexible front-end solution is equipped for next-generation 5G communications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optoelectronic Oscillators Charge mmWave Synthesizers
https://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/optoelectronic-oscillators-charge-mmwave-synthesizers?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20180810_ED-003_99&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19201&utm_medium=email&elq2=44fd798e27774104b817f7610854e84d
These X- and K-band synthesizers apply optoelectronic technology to achieve high levels of frequency stability with reduced phase noise.
Reducing noise in higher-frequency oscillators is one way to achieve reliable, high-data-rate communications, although noise tends to rise with increasing frequency. All sorts of oscillators and frequency-synthesis techniques have been applied in recent years in attempts to trim phase-noise levels at microwave frequencies. Many of these approaches have been electrical in nature.
Taking a different tack, Synergy Microwave Corp. and Drexel University jointly developed a line of frequency synthesizers that leverage optical circuit techniques to help achieve lower-noise microwave signals at X- and K-band frequencies. In these low-noise frequency synthesizers, optoelectronic transmission lines and optoelectronic oscillators (OEOs) are part of the solution for reducing both close-in and far-from-the-carrier phase noise in microwave signal sources.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SiTime and Intel Announce Collaboration on MEMS Timing for 5G
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/sitime-and-intel-announce-collaboration-on-mems-timing-for-5g
SiTime Corporation and Intel today announced a collaboration to work together on integrating timing solutions for Intel’s 5G multi-mode radio modems, with additional applicability to Intel LTE, millimeter-wave wireless, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GNSS solutions.
“Our collaboration with SiTime on MEMS-based silicon timing solutions will help our customers build leading 5G platforms to best take advantage of the increased performance and capacity that the 5G NR standard brings,” said Dr. Cormac Conroy, corporate vice president and general manager of the Communication and Devices Group at Intel Corporation. “Intel’s modem technology and our collaboration with SiTime is helping to enable new mobile and consumer experiences, and enterprise and industrial use cases.”
SiTime’s MEMS timing solutions enhance system performance in the presence of stressors such as vibration, high temperature, and rapid thermal transients.
“Intel is already building 5G’s future and has the scale to meet 5G’s scope,” said Rajesh Vashist, CEO at SiTime. “Our collaboration enables SiTime to align our MEMS timing solutions roadmap with Intel’s 5G platforms. Intel’s expertise in 5G modems, with SiTime’s game-changing timing technology, is a potent partnership for future growth and one that enables successful deployment of 5G. As SiTime continues to lead the world in MEMS timing, the opportunities between our companies are growing and this agreement sets us both on a path for continued success.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Algorithms to Antenna: Visualize Antenna-Array and SINR Patterns on a Map
https://www.mwrf.com/software/algorithms-antenna-visualize-antenna-array-and-sinr-patterns-map?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180814_MWRF-001_632&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19251&utm_medium=email&elq2=711af23706724a75bccb33175913ccec
Visualizing antenna patterns on a map can be helpful in design—this latest blog post from Rick Gentile discusses several methods on how to do that via MATLAB.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8306-ericssonin-lasiantenni-tuo-5g-nopeuden-autoon
Tomi Engdahl says:
Beam steering: One of 5G’s components
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460861/Beam-steering–One-of-5G-s-components?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
5G will ultimately become a combination of many technologies. The New Radio, commonly known as 5GNR, will incorporate 64QAM and 256QAM modulations. Another significant aspect is beam steering, which is making progress with new ICs and antennas.
At the 2018 International Microwave Symposium in Philadelphia, Keysight Technologies teamed with Anokiwave and Ball Aerospace to show a real beam-steering system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optimizing 5G With AI At The Edge
https://semiengineering.com/optimizing-5g-with-ai-at-the-edge/
5G is necessary to deal with the increasing amount of data being generated, but successful rollout of mmWave calls for new techniques.
For example, AI techniques are essential to the successful rollout of 5G wireless communications. 5G is the developing standard for ultra-fast, ultra-high-bandwidth, low-latency wireless communications systems and networks whose capabilities and performance will leapfrog that of existing technologies.
5G-level performance isn’t a luxury; it’s a capability the world critically needs because of the exploding deployment of wirelessly connected devices. A crushing amount of data is poised to overwhelm existing systems, and the amount of data that must be accessed, transmitted, stored and processed is growing fast.
5G needed for the upcoming data explosion
Every minute, by some estimates, users around the world send 18 million text messages and 187 million emails, watch 4.3 million YouTube videos and make 3.7 million Google search queries. In manufacturing, analysts predict the number of connected devices will double between 2017 and 2020. Overall, by 2021 internet traffic will amount to 3.3 zettabytes per year, with Wi-Fi and mobile devices accounting for 63% of that traffic (a zettabyte is 12 orders of magnitude larger than a gigabyte, or 1021 bytes).
The new 5G networks are needed to handle all of this data. The new networks will roll out in phases, with initial implementations leveraging the existing 4G LTE and unlicensed access infrastructure already in place. However, while these initial Phase 1 systems will support sub-6GHz applications and peak data rates >10GBps, things really begin to get interesting in Phase 2.
In Phase 2, millimeter-wave (mmWave) systems will be deployed enabling applications requiring ultra-low latency, high security, and very high cell edge data rates. (The “edge” refers to the point where a device connects to a network. If a device can do more data processing and storage at the edge – that is, without having to send data back and forth across a network to the cloud or to a data center – then it can respond more quickly and space on the network will be freed up.)
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8330-antenni-ja-elektroniikka-samalle-sirulle
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G design: capacitive reference stabilization for ADCs
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460960/5G-design–capacitive-reference-stabilization-for-ADC?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=ad&utm_medium=EDNWeekly-20180830
Coupling SAR ADCs with capacitive DACs is a popular approach to realize energy-efficient conversion for the medium resolutions and speeds that are required for 5G wireless receivers. In combination with techniques like pipelining, interleaving, and digital calibration, hybrid ADCs with accuracies up to 12-bit ENOB (effective number of bits) and speeds of several hundred MHz have been demonstrated. With these properties, these ADCs can provide the throughputs required for 5G applications.
While the ADC itself is very power-efficient, it also poses tough constraints on the circuitry surrounding it, especially when it comes to the reference voltage. Indeed, the DAC draws a signal-dependent charge from the reference – a common characteristic for all successive approximation register (SAR) ADCs that implement capacitive DACs. Without measures to stabilize this reference voltage, signal-dependent modulation of the reference voltage results, which shows up as harmonic distortion at the ADC output.
Conventional solutions include adding more on-chip decoupling capacitance or high-speed reference buffers at the cost of area and/or power.
The signal-dependent charge drawn from the reference is fully determined by the specific DAC topology. Hence, it is predictable and the reference can be stabilized by cancelling the signal-dependent charge with another signal-dependent charge that eliminates the ripple on the reference voltage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/09/07/pienikokoinen-tehomuunnin-5g-tukiasemiin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Network Slicing
https://www.ericsson.com/en/digital-services/trending/network-slicing?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social_paid&utm_campaign=Brand_Finland_Digital-Services_20180530_Interest
Network slicing is a powerful virtualization capability and one of the key capabilities that will enable flexibility, as it allows multiple logical networks to be created on top of a common shared physical infrastructure. The greater elasticity brought about by network slicing will help to address the cost, efficiency, and flexibility requirements imposed by future demands.
Network slicing is a powerful virtualization capability and one of the key capabilities that will enable flexibility, as it allows multiple logical networks to be created on top of a common shared physical infrastructure. The greater elasticity brought about by network slicing will help to address the cost, efficiency, and flexibility requirements imposed by future demands.
A digital transformation, fueled by the power of mobility, cloud and broadband, is taking place in almost every industry. New use cases are emerging for consumers, enterprises and industries. This opens for new business opportunities for both operators and industries, starting already in 4G/LTE networks.
In addition to the complex performance and business challenges, the 5G environment presents new challenges in terms of timing and agility. The time it takes to get new features into the network, and time to put services in to the hands of users need to be minimized, and so tools that enable fast feature introduction are a prerequisite. Above all, overcoming the challenges requires a dynamic 5G network.
Network slicing in reality with operators
Technologies like SDN and virtualization are enabling a drastic change to take place in network architecture, allowing traditional structures to be broken down into customizable elements that can be chained together programmatically to provide just the right level of connectivity, with each element running on the architecture of its choice. This is the concept of network slicing that will enable networks to be built in a way that maximizes flexibility.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Lessons Learned From Automotive Radar Test
https://semiengineering.com/5g-lessons-learned-from-automotive-radar-test/
Why radar is an entry point for millimeter-wave test, and what comes next.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Perform Cost-Effective Antenna Radiation Measurements
https://www.mwrf.com/test-measurement/perform-cost-effective-antenna-radiation-measurements?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180913_MWRF-001_680&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19922&utm_medium=email&elq2=15904d4474794843b28be340bd4e34ca
Antenna designers and researchers have often wished for better measurement tools to check their work. Even as computer-aided-engineering (CAE) simulation tools1-3 have improved over time, true validation of a design ultimately comes from fabricating and testing a prototype. Typical (or minimum) measurements of antenna characteristics include S-parameters and radiation patterns with further information on the antenna gain and efficiency, which usually calls for costly test equipment that may be outside the range of a designer’s budget. Fortunately, affordable antenna measurements are becoming more practical and readily available.
S-parameters can be measured in a limited fashion with a scalar network analyzer (SNA) and more completely with a vector network analyzer (VNA).4,5 Until recently, VNAs have been rather expensive test instruments, although smaller, less-costly units are emerging from several commercial suppliers.
Still, for full antenna characterization, some form of radiation pattern analyzer will also be needed and, fortunately, more affordable antenna radiation pattern analyzers have also entered the commercial market.
Measuring antenna radiation is no longer in the exclusive domain of high-end test laboratories—it can be performed with a compact system that has all of the hardware.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Hype vs. Reality: Overcome These Challenges to Achieve “Real” 5G Deployment
https://www.mwrf.com/systems/5g-hype-vs-reality-overcome-these-challenges-achieve-real-5g-deployment?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180913_MWRF-001_680&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19922&utm_medium=email&elq2=15904d4474794843b28be340bd4e34ca
Many questions surround 5G communications. Here are answers to 5G “FAQs” that can shed some light on the matter.
Several telecommunications carriers, wireless equipment manufacturers, and smartphone makers have burst out of the gates this year with plans to accelerate 5G deployment and adoption. Greater emphasis at major trade shows like the Consumer Electronics Show and Mobile World Congress have further fueled the 5G hype machine. As a result, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction with these declarations saturating the conversation.
Why is 5G so meaningful, and how does the transition from 4G to 5G compare to the transition from 3G to 4G?
The change from 3G to 4G was more of an evolutionary change. It was an incremental, one-step change because the required specifications were very similar. The transition from 4G to 5G, however, will be a fundamental, revolutionary change. One of the biggest differences is that 5G designs will have to factor in elements like massive MIMO (i.e., multiple antennas and multiple RF front ends).
Which hurdles must be cleared before 5G is deployed?
I’ll go back specifically to massive MIMO and multiple RF front ends. Because of these two issues, RF design and baseband design need to be done in lockstep.
What is the industry currently doing to overcome the challenges 5G presents to accelerate deployment?
One of the key challenges is how well algorithms can be translated into viable hardware and software designs, and how soon and how reliably a test case can be deployed in a testbed.
With wireless providers beginning to actively promote 5G, how should we interpret what’s legitimate and what’s just hype? When can we expect real 5G deployment?
This is a difficult question to answer. There’s no doubt that all major vendors are eventually going to have viable 5G networks sooner rather than later. Everybody is excited to monetize these new technologies and exploit the hype. However, there’s a difference of opinion on how fast 5G-capable mobile devices will come to market, and more importantly, how widespread 5G networks will be upon their deployments. Even today, 4G/LTE coverage maps of North America have gaps.
4G LTE has been around for a while, yet large areas of the country still don’t have access. So, when 5G is deployed, it will not be accessible to everyone. Moreover, equipment vendors and network providers are probably going to be ready sooner than the mobile device market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
RF Energy Development in a Box
https://www.mwrf.com/systems/rf-energy-development-box?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180913_MWRF-001_680&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19922&utm_medium=email&elq2=15904d4474794843b28be340bd4e34ca
A great deal of interest surrounds RF energy applications, with various companies leading the charge in that arena. One such firm is NXP Semiconductors, which recently unveiled its RFE Series of system solutions for RF energy applications. This RF energy platform offers performance at 2.45 GHz and can deliver 250 W of RF power.
NXP maintains that “the enhanced control features and reliability that solid-state technology brings to systems using RF energy have long been understood. However, RF power transistors lacked development tools to help engineers leverage them.” This is where the RFE Series steps in—the platform delivers new ways to prototype and develop high-performance systems.
The RFE Series consists of the RF energy lab box (RFEL24-500), RF energy module (RFEM24-250), RF energy pallet (RFEP24-300), and the MRF24300N RF power transistor.
The RFEL24-500 lab box covers a frequency range of 2,400 to 2,500 MHz
Whether going with the complete lab box or starting with a module, pallet, or transistor, this series offers engineers new ways to prototype and develop RF energy systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Runs on Different Fuel
https://www.mwrf.com/semiconductors/5g-runs-different-fuel
From gallium nitride and gallium arsenide to sub-6-GHz and millimeter-wave frequencies, this company is addressing 5G requirements on multiple fronts.
As 5G communications reality draws closer, one major point of interest involves the actual semiconductor technologies that will enable it. Technologies like gallium nitride (GaN), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and more all figure to somehow play a role. One firm at the forefront of semiconductor technology—and heavily invested in 5G—is Qorvo. Qorvo had a significant presence at IMS 2018, showcasing its various technology solutions and making some notable announcements that centered around 5G and GaN technology.
5G can be divided into two categories based on frequency: sub-6-GHz and millimeter waves (mmWave). Scott Vasquez, senior market strategy manager for infrastructure and defense products at Qorvo, attended IMS and weighed in on the company’s efforts along these lines. “Several frequencies are involved in the sub-6-GHz market, whether it’s 2.5, 3.5, or 4.5 GHz,” he said. “We have many different products that support those frequencies, such as GaN Doherty-based products that integrate driver, carrier, and peaking amplifiers with power outputs to 5 W—and potentially moving up to 10 W.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Realizing 5G Sub-6-GHz Massive MIMO Using GaN
https://www.mwrf.com/semiconductors/realizing-5g-sub-6-ghz-massive-mimo-using-gan?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180920_MWRF-001_285&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=20077&utm_medium=email&elq2=6ab19dc429d44163abb02f42493c7bac
Gallium-nitride technology figures to play a significant role in sub-6-GHz 5G applications to help achieve goals like higher data rates.
By 2021, it’s estimated that more people will have mobile phones (5.5 billion) than running water (5.3 billion). Bandwidth-hungry video will further increase the demands on mobile networks, accounting for 78% of mobile traffic.1 5G networks using massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology will be key to supporting this growth. It’s expected that 5G mobile connections will grow from just 5 million in 2019 to nearly 600 million by 2023, according to Strategy Analytics.2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Leti, VSORA Show 5G NR Air Interface on Multi-Core DSP
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333764
French research institute Leti and digital signal processing startup VSORA say that they have successfully demonstrated the implementation of 5G New Radio (5G NR) Release 15 on a multi-core DSP architecture.
Defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 5G NR is the air interface, or wireless communication link, for the next generation of cellular networks. 3GPP Release 15 of the 5G system architecture, finalized in June 2018, provides the set of features and functionality needed for deploying a commercially operational 5G system.
This first implementation of 5G NR Release 15 physical layer on VSORA’s multi-core DSP demonstrates that it can address timely and complex systems like 5G NR while providing a highly flexible software-defined development flow.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8476-3gpp-paivitti-5g-standardia
5G tarkoittaa eri taajuuksia Euroopassa ja Pohjois-Amerikassa. Euroopassa tärkein alue on 3,5 gigahertsiä, joka huutokaupataan esimerkiksi Suomessa jo lähiviikkoina. Yhdysvalloissa 3,5 gigahertsin on varattu LTE-verkoille, joten siellä 5G tuodaan aivan eri taajuuksille.
USA:ssa operaattoreilla on vielä hallussaan hyvin erilaisia taajuuksia. T-Mobilella on 600 megahertsin alue, Sprintillä 2,5 gigahertsin alue ja Verizon ja AT&T lähtevät liikkeelle millimetrialueella (28 ja 39 GHz).
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Specs Get Last-Minute Update
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333787
The 3GPP marked the eight change requests released this month as non-backwards-compatible. So carriers and their suppliers will have to agree on whether they will standardize on the 3GPP’s 5G spec released at its June 2018 plenary, the new spec from the September plenary, or a hybrid.
The changes come at a time when carriers are already deploying and testing infrastructure that will make up commercial offerings. In parallel, handset makers are finishing work on smartphones supporting the wide variety of bands, from 600 MHz to 39 GHz, expected to be used by 5G services turning on before April.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AT&T Submits Specifications for White Box Cell Site Gateway Routers to Power 5G Era
https://about.att.com/story/2018/5g_cell_specifications.html
Submission to Open Compute Project Allows Hardware Makers to Design Equipment AT&T Will Install in Over 60,000 Locations Over the Next Several Years
AT&T* is releasing this week to the Open Compute Project detailed specifications for a cell site gateway router, following up on an earlier commitment. This “white box” blueprint is a reference design that any hardware maker can use as a guide to build these routers. AT&T plans to install them at tens of thousands of cell towers over the next several years
Tomi Engdahl says:
A 60 GHz phased array front-end for multi-Gbps wireless applications
https://www.edn.com/5G/4461173/A-60-GHz-phased-array-front-end-for-multi-Gbps-wireless-applications?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
The wireless consumer market is looking for technologies capable of providing multi gigabits per second (Gbps) to satisfy the needs of low-latency high-definition applications such as high-definition video streaming and virtual reality or augmented reality (VR/AR) applications. These requirements have led to next-generation standards such as 5G and extended WiGig (802.11ay), which cover both user and infrastructure equipment.
Multiple Gbps communication speeds require wide bandwidth, which is available at high carrier frequencies in the millimeter wave (i.e., 30-300 GHz) range. For example, IEEE 802.11ay standard defines 6 channels of 2.16 GHz each from 57 GHz to 71 GHz. This gives the potential to go up to 35.4 Gbps coded data rate when four channels are bonded together.
The T/R switch is used to share the large-size antenna array between the transmit and receive modes without degrading the RF performance.
Phase shifting for electronic beam steering
The second key component is the phase shifter, which is used to steer the beam in the wanted direction, preferably without losing signal strength and preferably with minimal calibration effort. The main specifications of the phase shifter are its loss, area, linearity, power consumption, phase resolution, and gain difference versus code.
Conventional phase shifters are based on switched delay lines (Figure 3), where different delay sections are cascaded to reach a certain phase shift resolution.
Another approach depends on a 90-degree phase splitter, where the outputs are combined after passing by variable-gain amplifiers (VGAs).
Tomi Engdahl says:
AT&T Submits Specifications for White Box Cell Site Gateway Routers to Power 5G Era
https://about.att.com/story/2018/5g_cell_specifications.html
Submission to Open Compute Project Allows Hardware Makers to Design Equipment AT&T Will Install in Over 60,000 Locations Over the Next Several Years
AT&T* is releasing this week to the Open Compute Project detailed specifications for a cell site gateway router, following up on an earlier commitment. This “white box” blueprint is a reference design that any hardware maker can use as a guide to build these routers. AT&T plans to install them at tens of thousands of cell towers over the next several years
This white box approach to designing and building cell site gateway routers is part of our years-long transformation to create open platforms that speed innovation and spur competition among hardware makers.
“Data traffic on our wireless network has grown 360,000% since 2007. We now carry more than 222 petabytes of data on an average business day. The old hardware model simply can’t keep up
It is designed to support a wide range of speeds on the client side including 100M/1G needed for legacy Baseband Unit systems and next generation 5G Baseband Unit systems operating at 10G/25G and backhaul speeds up to 100G.
It is designed to operate at industrial temperature ranges (-40C to +65C).
It features the Broadcom Qumran-AX switching chip with deep buffers to support advanced features and QOS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5G Dilemma: More Base Stations, More Antennas—Less Energy?
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/telecom/wireless/will-increased-energy-consumption-be-the-achilles-heel-of-5g-networks
A lurking threat behind the promise of 5G delivering up to 1,000 times as much data as today’s networks is that 5G could also consume up to 1,000 times as much energy. Concerns over energy efficiency are beginning to show up at conferences about 5G deployments, where methods for reducing energy consumption have become a hot topic.
Despite the challenges, he remains optimistic. “This is a major problem, but I don’t think it will be a showstopper,” said Björnson.
Björnson says this despite concern about two elements expected to be fundamental parts of 5G networks: an increase in the number of small cells and the rise of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas.
In the case of small cells, the Small Cell Forum predicts that 5G small-cell deployments will overtake 4G small cells by 2024, with the total installed base of 5G or multimode small cells in 2025 to be 13.1 million, constituting more than one-third of the total small cells in use.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Test And Deployment
https://semiengineering.com/5g-test-and-deployment/
How test will change as next-gen wireless evolves toward higher frequencies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A 60 GHz phased array front-end for multi-Gbps wireless applications
https://www.edn.com/5G/4461173/A-60-GHz-phased-array-front-end-for-multi-Gbps-wireless-applications?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
Tomi Engdahl says:
Interconnect Quality, Phase Stability Can Make or Break 5G Future
https://www.mwrf.com/components/interconnect-quality-phase-stability-can-make-or-break-5g-future?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20181011_MWRF-001_995&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=20583&utm_medium=email&elq2=227ffd1bdd3349f48cc8d4d6e6809ff2
It seems like 5G communications grabs lots of headlines, while interconnects often fade into the background. Junkosha’s Joe Rowan reverses that trend, answering questions on the crucial roles they play in the 5G era.
Is the performance of cables and interconnects one of the greatest barriers to delivering a 5G world?
Fifth-generation wireless, or 5G as it’s more commonly known, is the latest iteration of cellular technology, engineered to greatly increase the speed and utility of wireless technology. 5G isn’t just an incremental improvement over 4G—it’s the next major evolution of mobile communication technology with performance improvements of an order of magnitude over today’s networks. 5G does not replace 4G—it simply enables a wider diversity of tasks that 4G alone cannot perform. 4G will continue to advance in parallel with 5G as the network to support more routine tasks. The new high-frequency network will enable services that are yet to be imagined as connected technologies touch every aspect of our lives.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G design: capacitive reference stabilization for ADCs
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460960/5G-design–capacitive-reference-stabilization-for-ADC?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=link&utm_medium=EDNAnalog-20181011
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ensimmäinen yhteys 92-95 gigahertsissä
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8559&via=n&datum=2018-10-12_16:09:09&mottagare=31202
Eurooppalaisessa TWEETHER-projektissa on ensimmäistä kertaa lähetetty dataa 92-95 gigahertsin alueella eli W-kaistalla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8563-5g-on-hyvin-suojattu-mutta-vaatii-parannuksia
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8567-terahertsilinkkiakin-voi-salakuunnella
Tomi Engdahl says:
Most Electronic Devices Have a Pulse. You Want to Avoid Skipping a Beat.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/most-electronic-devices-have-pulse-you-want-avoid-skipping-beat?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20181015_ED-003_225&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=20684&utm_medium=email&elq2=37ee289bae494191a6adcc81fab58e0c
Almost every electronic device needs to keep track of time to function. Tiny electronic clocks allow the instructions vital to the operation of chips and circuit boards to get where they need to go at the correct moment. These timing devices prevent the device’s marching orders from getting to their destination too early or too late.
Without stable timing frequencies, none of the electronics used in data centers, wireless infrastructure, factories and other applications could work reliably. These systems are getting more and more complicated, ratcheting up timing requirements to keep everything running on time. Precise timing is growing in importance as data center networking surpasses 100 Gbps. To support higher data rates, 5G requires 20 times more precision than current LTE networks.
One component has dominated timing applications for decades. The crystal oscillator—more commonly known as the XO—contains a sliver of transparent quartz that vibrates at a certain frequency when run through with electricity.
Crystal clocks, which are made mostly in Asia, account for around $2.4 billion of the $4.5 billion timing market, according to researcher Databeans. The market for crystal oscillators is projected to grow around 4 percent versus the total timing segment’s 6 percent this year.
“Crystal clocks are a very mature market and are being replaced more and more by integrated circuit solutions,”
Wilson added: “It is really an opportunity for timing suppliers to innovate.”
In August, Silicon Labs introduced its latest clock generator with an integrated timing source, which helps customers simplify the layout of their circuit boards. The package also repels interference and other noise that the resonator would normally be exposed to, boosting accuracy. Limiting jitter is increasingly important to communications product designers. Switch chip maker like Broadcom and Marvell are moving to 56G SerDes to support Ethernet above 100 Gbps.
To speed up connectivity, 5G networks requires more precision than current LTE technology. Instead of using today’s remote data centers, 5G systems will be mounted on street lamps, traffic lights, and other locations right next to the smartphones and Internet of Things devices they support. To limit service outages and maximize bandwidth, every node in a 5G network needs timing accuracy of 65 nanoseconds versus 1500 nanoseconds with 4G networks.
This level of accuracy is also important to cars. To avoid highway collisions and brake for pedestrians, autonomous cars have to make split second decisions. That increases the timing requirements for cameras and other sensors, which also have to send data without delay to central computers. Precise timing is also required to do things like control the transmission and connect to wireless networks so that it can display traffic maps to the dashboard.
“Our strategy has been to focus on solving difficult timing problems, so we try to avoid pricing competition if we can help it,”
SiTime is definitely onto something. Its unit shipments have been almost doubling every year. Last year, SiTime shipped around 425 million MEMS timing devices, up from 65 million in 2014. The company has sold more than a billion devices into industrial and automotive systems that benefit from their ability to remain accurate over a wide temperature range. SiTime also serves the consumer and Internet of Things spaces that may need lower power or smaller footprints.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/10/18/5g-kehitykseen-uusi-tyokaluohjelmisto/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mass Connectivity in the 5G Era
http://www.electronics-know-how.com/article/2709/mass-connectivity-in-the-5g-era
5G will achieve faster transmission rates, more powerful data exchange networks, and more seamless real-time communication, which will enable tremendous growth for advanced and innovative connectivity solutions. Read in this White Paper how 5G technologies could integrate and enable the full potential of mobile technology, big data, IoT, and cloud computing while supporting digital transformation across various sectors, including healthcare, smart vehicles, smart home, industrial automation, and more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New System Design Tools a Must for 5G RF Front-Ends
https://www.mwrf.com/systems/new-system-design-tools-must-5g-rf-front-ends?PK=UM_Classics11118&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=21130&utm_medium=email&elq2=6599fdb29d8e4fa19278bcadf5226111
5G networks will pose challenges to RF front-end (RFFE) design in mobile devices.
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. Planning for 5G deployment will be extremely difficult, and the large number of nodes will make non-optimum sites the norm. Increasingly, deployments will include shared equipment between carriers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G moves forward, one topology at a time
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4461190/5G-moves-forward–one-topology-at-a-time?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=link&utm_medium=EDNFunFriday-20181102
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5G continues to move forward, but will 2018 be the year we remember as the year 5G became a reality? Let’s take a look at what’s happened and what we can expect.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8666-5g-tukiasemaan-tahdistus-eri-satelliittisignaaleilla
https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/zed-f9t-module
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8663-5g-vaatii-parempaa-tahdistusta-vanhaat-kiteet-eivat-kay
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/05/tata-ovat-tulevat-5g-verkot-asiantuntijan-nakemys/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Testing Millimeter Wave for 5G
https://semiengineering.com/testing-millimeter-wave-for-5g/
Stumbling blocks emerge for ensuring reliability of next-gen wireless devices.
The telecommunications world is hurtling toward 5G, but there is no consistency about how this next-gen wireless technology will be rolled out across various regions and plenty of unknowns about how it will be tested and how reliable it will be initially.
A fair amount of confusion exists around what 5G constitutes in the first place. There is sub-6GHz 5G, which is sometimes referred to as 4.5G. And then there is the millimeter wave band, which radically changes the wireless communications paradigm because of improvements in speed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.itewiki.fi/blog/2018/10/5g-mahdollistaa-verkon-viipaloinnin-ja-raataloidyt-yritysverkot/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Telia&utm_term=5G
Tomi Engdahl says:
Massive MIMO Will Create More Wireless Channels, But Also More Vulnerabilities
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/massive-mimo-will-lead-to-more-communications-channels-but-also-more-vulnerability
Berk Akgun at the University of Arizona and his colleagues explored this type of attack in a recent study in IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security. They found that in some cases, the transfer of data can be degraded by more than 50 percent when massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is used. Massive MIMO is considered one of the key enabling technologies for 5G networks.
MIMO is a well-established technique in wireless communications
Sometimes, users must be assigned the same pilot sequence, which can interfere with the proper transfer of data and lead to poor system performance. This is called pilot contamination. But this contamination can also be harnessed by an attacker to purposely interfere with data transfers.
“An attacker can generate the exact same pilot sequences to those of the legitimate users and transmit these sequences together with these users to distort the channel estimation at the base station,” explains Akgun. This tactic ultimately reduces the data transmission rate to users.
when an attacker is close to the base station, within 300 meters or closer, he or she can impose their own pilots strongly enough to reduce the total transmission rate of a massive MIMO system by more than 50 percent. Unfortunately, their results also suggest that an attacker can degrade the transmission rates of data from farther distances.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Psst, Says 5G… Wanna See What My New Antenna Tech Challenge Looks Like?
https://semiengineering.com/psst-says-5g-wanna-see-what-my-new-antenna-tech-challenge-looks-like/
We know the frequency range for 4G is ~3kHz – 6GHz. Whereas, the frequency range for 5G is much higher at ~3kHz – 300GHz. These high 5G frequencies become part of the millimeter (mm) wave range, where antenna design is one of the most critical aspects. It is certain that there will be changes from 4G to 5G antenna technology, which can cause significant design challenges. Making these antennas less power hungry and higher performing will be interesting and crucial from both economic and environmental standpoints.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Establishing a New Approach for 5G Security
https://researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/2018/11/sp-establishing-new-approach-5g-security/
With 5G, The Stakes Are High
Critical new services are emerging such as self-driving cars, remote health care, emergency response, and wide-ranging industry applications that will leverage the Internet of Things (IoT). These services will depend on networks, and security is the key enabler and differentiator. There is opportunity for MNOs to create higher value networks centered around security so that enterprises can confidently deploy new applications and maximize their business value with 5G.
With 5G, more devices and critical services will move onto these networks and the threat actors will follow. Legacy approaches that depend on disconnected and uncorrelated security elements will not scale and will not see and stop attacks across 5G networks. Encrypting traffic won’t catch advanced threats that hide within applications or stop multi-stage attacks, and simply making legacy security run faster won’t work. Dealing with 5G security challenges and risk factors requires a holistic and transformative security approach across the mobile networks that allows MNOs to:
Adopt a preventative 5G network security posture. 5G networks need to be better equipped to proactively find threats and vulnerabilities before they become an issue with application / L7 visibility and controls across all layers including application, signaling and data, at all locations. With billions of connected devices and critical enterprise applications now relying on 5G networks, MNOs cannot wait to address attacks and security incidents after they have already happened.
Increase levels of security automation – at cloud scale. With virtualized and highly distributed networks, effective 5G security outcomes will require actionable insights at cloud-scale. Cloud based threat prevention mechanisms powered by advanced big data analytics and machine learning techniques is critical to provide swift response to known and unknown threats in real-time. With device-initiated botnet attacks becoming more likely in 5G, cloud automated prevention mechanisms allow MNOs to not only find but isolate infected devices.
Integrate security functions with open APIs. An efficient single pass platform with open APIs provides operational simplicity with NFV/SDN architectures. As 4G/5G networks evolve, more functions will become virtualized and deployed in Telco Cloud environments. Advanced network security efficacy can also be put in place with 4G today so that MNOs can seamlessly evolve with the Cloud-ready NFV supporting open APIs offers consistent security across software and hardware which will be required to support distributed 5G architectures.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MathWorks releases 5G Toolbox
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4461200/MathWorks-releases-5G-Toolbox-
MathWorks is one. The company has introduced its 5G Toolbox, which provides standards compliant waveforms and reference examples for modeling, simulation, and verification of the physical layer of 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) communications systems. Engineers using 5G Toolbox can use it to design algorithms and predict end-to-end link performance of systems that conform to the 5G Release 15 standard specification, the company said.
The company previously released similar toolboxes supporting the LTE and WLAN standards. The new 5G Toolbox also includes support for Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and near-field communications (NFC).
Tomi Engdahl says:
SiTime Rolls Programmable MEMS for 5G Timing
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333977
SiTime has launched what it says is the first MEMS timing solution programmable for any frequency between 1 and 220 MHz, with a stability of +/- 5 parts per billion under airflow or thermal shock. Its new Emerald platform is aimed at the critical timing requirements for 5G infrastructure equipment.
In 5G deployment, “densification” will result in equipment being located closer to the customer, hence could be subject to more thermal shock, vibration, temperature and humidity. Timing is potentially the single biggest point of failure in 5G systems and can impact performance and reliability.
“Prior to 5G, this OCXO was deployed in a well-controlled environment. Now, the computing, core network, and radio will be collapsed into a system that may be deployed in an uncontrolled environment such as a tower, rooftop, or lamppost. In this environment, the OCXO will be exposed to vibration and temperature extremes,” Madden said. “This change in deployment architecture requires new thinking and an evaluation of the benefits of MEMS and quartz timing technologies.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Psst, Says 5G… Wanna See What My New Antenna Tech Challenge Looks Like?
https://semiengineering.com/psst-says-5g-wanna-see-what-my-new-antenna-tech-challenge-looks-like/
Power consumption remains a major barrier to 5G rollout.