One in 10 communications companies claim to have deployed 5G technology already, according to a recent survey (see: With 5G technology, the time is now).
Some parts of the 5G standard are close to being finalized, but nothing has been ratified yet.
Furthermore, many of the constituent technologies (e.g., mmWave RF, beamforming, MIMO, etc.) are either new or not commonly used. SDN and NFV are considered critical enablers of the heightened utility and expanded flexibility that will be hallmarks of 5G networks.
The industry has a learning curve to climb. The recent set of announcements can be considered an indicator that the industry is beginning to surge up that slope.
389 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460313/5G-is-imminent–A-roundup-of-recent-activity
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G is imminent: A roundup of recent activity
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460313/5G-is-imminent–A-roundup-of-recent-activity
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/02/19/anritsu-tiukemmin-5g-nr-testauksiin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
AT&T names Atlanta, Dallas and Waco first of 12 US cities to get 5G wireless
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/21/att-names-atlanta-dallas-and-waco-first-of-12-us-cities-to-get-5g-wireless/?ncid=rss&utm_source=tcfbpage&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&sr_share=facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hybrid beamforming for 5G MIMO arrays
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460321/Hybrid-beamforming-for-5G-MIMO-arrays?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mitsubishi Electric Develops Hybrid 16-beam Spatial-Multiplexing Technology for 5G Base Stations
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/mitsubishi-electric-develops-hybrid-16beam-spatialmultiplexing-technology-for-5g-base-stations
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video killed the Energy Star: Why 5G must use less power
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460339/Video-killed-the-Energy-Star–Why-5G-must-use-less-power-
How much power does it take to download each Gigabyte of data over the internet? Would you believe 2 kWh? That’s the figure presented by Roger Nichols, Keysight’s 5G Program Manager, at Keysight’s 5G Tech Connect event in December.
Let’s accept the 2 kWh/GByte value for the moment. That’s the equivalent of a 2000-watt hair dryer running continuously for an hour.
Yes, you may have chosen an Energy Star certified television that draws a meager 50 W when powered, but its consumption is dwarfed by what it takes to get the content to your TV.
These are very high power-consumption numbers. They’re even more disturbing when a related fact is presented—the internet is dominated by video streaming. According to Sandvine’s Global Internet Report of 2016, entertainment streaming (video and music) accounts for 71% of all peak download traffic in North America for fixed access network, and 40% for mobile access. Half of the fixed access streaming traffic was one company—Netflix.
Is the 2 kWh/GByte an accurate number?
Here I learned that the metric was specifically for cellular networks, included all the radio network related power consumption, but didn’t include the power consumed to get the traffic to the radio network, or that of the servers generating the content.
some service providers have identified power consumption as their top operational expense (OPEX) cost. Nokia estimates power to be 15% of total OPEX. At $0.10 per kWh, each GByte could end up costing a wireless service provider 20 cents in power consumption alone.
Once the network is designed for peak capacity, much of the energy consumption is fixed.
A 2012 study by EnerNOC Utility Systems divided total internet traffic by total power consumed to arrive at 5.12 kWh/GByte. But data centers consumed 48% of that total, end user equipment consumed 38% of the total, and the network in between consumed 14%
Wireless vs. fixed-access networks
As it turns out, fixed-access networks, whether DSL or cable, are much more energy efficient than cellular networks.
Electronics are getting more energy efficient per bit. Unfortunately, the bits are increasing faster than the power efficiency, so total power is increasing. In general, each year sees an average efficiency increase of 15%.
One thing is clear- video is an intense power hog. As screen rates increase, for 4K HD and beyond, we will continue to face this issue. One mitigating solution is to move video servers closer to the end user, perhaps within the ISP’s network itself. This will reduce the fixed access transport power, but that power level is only at 0.37 kWh/GByte total
If 5G is to compete within the fixed access internet market, it will need a significant decrease in power consumed compared to 4G cellular. At over 2 kWh/GByte, current cellular networks cost the service provider 20 cents for each gigabyte of downloaded data, or 60 cents for each hour of HD video.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cars Could Chat Over Cellular Networks by 2020
http://www.electronicdesign.com/automotive/cars-could-chat-over-cellular-networks-2020?NL=ED-004&Issue=ED-004_20180222_ED-004_964&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15494&utm_medium=email&elq2=6b402fafb5d54de29b2eebbec2bf5038
Cars that share their location, speed, and other information over cellular networks will be commercialized by 2020, according to a report released Thursday by the 5G Automotive Association.
The 70-member group said that car manufacturers would start to test hardware for cellular vehicle-to-everything or C-V2X next year. They would install it in vehicles the year after that to help cars automatically avoid crashes in low visibility situations, send collision warnings to drivers, and contribute to traffic and weather reports.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Takes 5G to PCs, Spreadtrum
5G tablet/notebook combo at MWC
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332991
ntel will show a working prototype of a 2-in-1 PC with an embedded 5G cellular modem at Mobile World Congress, a type of system it said at least two OEMs will ship next year. In a separate effort to expand its cellular modem business, Intel announced a 5G SoC design collaboration with China’s Spreadtrum.
Intel hopes the promise of Gbit/second connections with 5G will drive today’s low cellular attach rates in PCs into double digits. It is also hopeful 5G could spark more market traction for SoCs developed with China’s Spreadtrum.
Dell, HP and Microsoft are working with Intel to ship PCs before the end of 2019 using its XMM 8060 5G modem.
“The market is hungry to be connected all the time with a high-quality experience with lots of bandwidth, but it needs to be affordable. We see a market for new form factors and the 5G-enabled PC is one of them,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
A state-run 5G wireless network isn’t a crazy idea: Engadget
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/02/a-state-run-5g-wireless-network-isn-t-a-crazy-idea-engadget.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-02-22&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2012439
America’s mobile infrastructure isn’t good enough, at least according to former National Security Council officer Brigadier General Robert Spalding. Spalding’s briefing document said the US was lagging behind China in wireless, and the solution was to build its own federal 5G network.
A state-run wireless network isn’t a crazy idea, just ask Mexico
Countries are testing out national wireless networks, even if the US isn’t.
https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/08/state-run-wireless-network-mexico-australia/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dish might spend $1 billion in 5G wireless network build-out through 2020
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/02/dish-might-spend-1-billion-in-5g-wireless-network-build-out-through-2020.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-02-26&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2015464
As reported by Mike Dano of FierceWireless, “Dish Network said it will spend between $500 million and $1 billion through 2020 building out the “first phase” of its wireless network. The company said it would deploy an NB-IoT network initially and would potentially build out a 5G network later as standards for that network are made available.”
“Since 2008, we have directly invested over $11 billion to acquire certain wireless spectrum licenses and related assets and made over $10 billion in non-controlling investments in certain entities, for a total of over $21 billion,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rajeev Suri: 5G comes faster than anyone expected
Nokia hosted its press conference, which had already become a standard in Barcelona before the beginning of the fair. Director Rajeev Suri stressed that we are close to the big change. 5G comes faster than anyone expected and it revolutionizes our whole life. According to Suri, it was commonly believed that 5G smartphones and 3GGP support 5G networks will be widely available in the middle of 2019. Now, this view must be rejected.
- Customer rebound has accelerated and the market has accelerated. Field tests with commercial base station equipment based on the 5G NR standard will begin in the second quarter of this year.
Commercial 5G networks may start already at the end of this year, Suri predicts. Or by the beginning of 2019 at the latest. – Only 8 months ago, the operators told me what the benefits of 5G are. Now they know this.
The US and China are competing side by side on where the first commercial 5G network will start. The US needs to be more aggressive in frequency allocation and provide at least one hundred megaherts of free bandwidth. on central frequencies – especially in the range of 3-4 gigahertz – for all operators.
After that, 5G will be introduced in Japan and Korea. Japan has a clear goal of bringing 5G for the Olympics and here we help NTT DoCoMo.
Also in the Nordic countries, 5G developments will be fast, but otherwise Europe will be left behind. – It does not seem that large European operators can afford to invest in new networking technology.
Source:
Rajeev Suri: 5G tulee nopeammin kuin kukaan odotti
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7618&via=n&datum=2018-02-26_16:08:38&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Taps Samsung’s 7nm EUV for 5G
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332996
Qualcomm said it will continue to work with longtime foundry supplier Samsung Electronics on Snapdragon 5G chipsets using Samsung’s 7nm Low Power Plus (LPP) process technology with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
Samsung aims to take the lead in putting long-delayed EUV into production, with plans to use it in its 7nm LPP process starting in the second half of this year. Other leading-edge chip makers– including Intel, TSMC and Globalfoundries–are targeting EUV production sometime in 2019.
Tomi Engdahl says:
After all, chip demand is expected to grow, not only for smartphones but also household appliances in the age of the internet of things. And as investment in base stations for 5G mobile networks gets into full swing in the second half of 2018, demand for data center servers will grow in order to cope with a surge in volumes.
Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/Smartphone-slump-has-chipmakers-pondering-fate-of-supercycle
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G laptops will launch on the market next year
Intel promises that the first Windows-based laptops operating on 5G networks will come on the market in the second half of next year.
Intel has announced that it will develop, along with Dell, HP and Lenovo, Windows laptops with 5G connectivity with the Intel XMM 8000 Series modem. Next week, Intel promises to showcase such a laptop at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress.
The prototype is a 2-in-1 hybrid device with a Core i5 processor, where the screen is released into a tablet. The 5G connection is demoted by moving the video through the 5G test network.
Intel also promises to introduce MWC laptops, where the wifi chipset has been upgraded to support the new 802.11ax standard.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7612&via=n&datum=2018-02-23_15:57:15&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s top 5G contract to the United States
Nokia says it has signed an agreement with T-Mobile for the construction of a multi-frequency 5G network across the United States. An Airscale base station solution is implemented in both 600 megahertz and 28 gigahertz bands.
Nokia will start building the network already in the spring. The land cover network will be available during the year 2020. Already this year, T-Mobile will begin offering its 5G subscribers to both of their frequency bands.
The networks built by Nokia are in line with the 5G NR standard adopted by 3GPP at the end of last year. As a device, they use Airscale base stations utilizing a new ReefShark chipset developed at the Bell Labs Research Center.
Compared to the current radioskeepers, ReefShark cuts up to 64% of power consumption.
The chip sets can be planted directly on Nokian Airscale baseband servers. As a result, the data transmission capacity of one module is growing at just 28 gigabits per second at no less than 84 gigabits per second. The operator receives data transferred through one Airscale base station module up to 6 terabytes per second after the update.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7633&via=n&datum=2018-02-28_14:22:22&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making 5G NR a commercial reality in 2019
https://www.qualcomm.com/company/events/mwc-barcelona/technologies?cmpid=br5gus182540503210651218410398186
The global 5G NR standard (3GPP Release 15) brings next-gen enhanced mobile broadband experiences to life. Over the last year, the industry has made tremendous progress with Qualcomm leading the way. Learn how we are making 5G a reality in 2019.
Our 5G vision is closer to reality than ever
Leading global operators and OEMs coalesce around the Snapdragon X50 5G modem for first wave of mobile 5G launches in 2019.
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2018/02/14/our-5g-vision-closer-reality-ever
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5G street light pilot progresses as planned
LuxTurrim5G is a multidisciplinary ecosystem project of 11 companies and three research institutes coordinated by Spinvers, which develops and tests 5G connections based on smart light pillars and related services at Nokia’s campus in Karamalmi, Espoo. The project is proceeding as planned, and the current two pillars will continue to come under this year with ten new 5G smart lamp posts.
5G light bulb for LuxTurrim5G project in Latin, the 8×8 antenna matrix developed by Nokian Bell Labs will be installed on the columns. It works in the 70 gigahertz range. By controlling the phase of the antenna, the following link is made to the user / terminal device.
Since the turn of the year there have been two smart lamp posts. According to Spinversen Markku Heino, project co-ordinator, the columns have been integrated, among others. Vaisala’s weather and air quality sensors as well as the Teleste camcorder, which are currently under testing.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7650&via=n&datum=2018-03-02_15:11:35&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
These will be the first cities getting 5G from Sprint and T-Mobile
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/27/these-will-be-the-first-cities-getting-5g-from-sprint-and-t-mobile/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
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Mobile World Congress 2018
February 26 – March 1, 2018
These will be the first cities getting 5G from Sprint and T-Mobile
Posted Feb 27, 2018 by Greg Kumparak (@grg)
Just last week, AT&T announced the first handful of cities where it’ll roll out its 5G network later this year. Today at Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile and Sprint did the same.
Sprint’s first 5G networks will go live in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington, DC and Houston.
T-Mobile will fire up 5G in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Dallas first, promising to have it up and running in 30 cities total by the end of the year.
So what does this mean for you? Right now… not much. Eventually, 5G will mean waaaaay faster speeds on your various compatible smart devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/03/05/keysightilta-5g-nr-testipaketti/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s top 5G contract to the United States
Nokia says it has signed an agreement with T-Mobile for the construction of a multi-frequency 5G network across the United States. An Airscale base station solution is implemented in both 600 megahertz and 28 gigahertz bands.
Nokia will start building the network already in the spring. The land cover network will be available during the year 2020. Already this year, T-Mobile will begin offering its 5G subscribers to both of their frequency bands.
The networks built by Nokia are in line with the 5G NR standard adopted by 3GPP at the end of last year. As a device, they use Airscale base stations utilizing the new ReefShark chipset developed at Bell Labs Research Center.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7633-nokialle-huippuluokan-5g-sopimus-yhdysvaltoihin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Compound semiconductor suppliers set to benefit from 5G
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20180305PD210.html
Taiwan suppliers of compound semiconductor devices are poised to gain significant growth momentum from the increasing market demand for radio frequency (RF) and power amplifier (PA) components along with the efforts of chipmakers to roll out related solutions to support 5G devices such as smartphones, various IoT (Internet of Things), and base stations in the second half of 2018 and 2019 before 5G technologies and applications start to be commercialized in 2020, according to industry sources.
The upcoming 5G mobile communication era will not only witness the extension of frequency bands for the 5G handheld devices to the low range of sub-6GHz, but will also see sharp increases in demand for high-frequency, high-power compound semiconductor components such as RF, PA, integrated millimeter wave (mmWave) and GaN (gallium nitride) devices to support 5G infrastructure deployments, especially base stations, the sources said.
While worldwide telecom operators are aggressively proceeding with 5G deployments, the sources continued, Taiwan chipmaker MediaTek and suppliers of GaAs epi wafer and other compound semiconductor suppliers as Win Semiconductor, Advanced Wireless Semiconductor, Visual Photonics Expitaxy, Global Communications Semiconductors and IntelliEPI have directly or indirectly tapped into the supply chains of China telecom operators including China Mobile, and they are expecting significant business opportunities from tender projects presented by China’s telecom carriers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Global race for 5G heats up with latest US Congress bill
Spectrum freed up in law named after telco veteran
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/03/07/global_race_for_5g_heats_up_with_latest_us_congress_bill/
A global race to roll out next-generation 5G mobile networks has intensified with the approval of new legislation by the US House of Representatives.
The peculiarly titled Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act [PDF] – designed to spell out the name of a staff director of a key Congressional committee, Ray Baum, who died last month – includes a wide range of measures but most critically sets the stage for 5G networks in the US.
Key among them are the Spectrum Deposits Act and the Mobile Now Act, both designed to streamline the auction and use of airwaves to send and receive 5G signals. The first gets around the restriction on banks to accept upfront payments, and the second allows the federal government to both identify future spectrum for 5G use as well as speed up the installation of 5G equipment on federal property.
Fifth-generation wireless technology has the potential to send billions of bits of data per second – 100 times faster than the current best 4G LTE technology. In addition, 5G is being designed to work with a range of new devices, from connected cars to internet-of-things items.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G: The road to low latency
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460346/5G–The-road-to-low-latency
Technologies established in Release 15 thus far include:
scalable OFDM-based air interface – supports diverse spectrum
slot-based framework – enables low latency
advanced channel coding – supports large data blocks
massive MIMO – for increased coverage, capacity
mobile millimeter wave (mmWave) – for increased capacity, throughput
Tomi Engdahl says:
Broadcom to stick with U.S. 5G investment after Qualcomm deal
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-qualcomm-m-a-broadcom/broadcom-to-stick-with-u-s-5g-investment-after-qualcomm-deal-idUSKCN1GJ1RK?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews
Broadcom Ltd (AVGO.O) sought again to soothe U.S. security concerns around its bid for chipmaker Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) on Wednesday, saying it would stick with investments aimed at maintaining the United States’ leadership in 5G technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G at MWC: news, products, and a base station on the Moon
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460387/5G-at-MWC-2018-news-products-and-a-base-station-on-the-Moon?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
AT&T identified the first three of the 12 US cities in which it plans to roll out mobile 5G broadband service in 2018. Sprint named the first half-dozen cities where it will introduce massive MIMO technology, a step toward offering mobile 5G service in 2019. T-Mobile said it would deploy 5G technology in 30 cities this year, but like Sprint won’t begin offering 5G service until next year. Vodafone Germany, meanwhile, plans to install 4G network infrastructure on the Moon.
These announcements and a flood of others about wireless products and services were timed to coincide with Mobile World Congress (MWC) held at the end of February.
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK Pumps $35 Million Into 5G Testing
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333066
The UK government will invest about $35 million into six projects to test 5G across a range of applications, including smart farming with drones, using the IoT to improve healthcare in the home, increasing manufacturing productivity and maximizing the future benefits of self-driving cars.
Each testbed will receive between £2 million and £5 million (about $3 million to $7 million) in government grants as part of a total investment of £41m from private and other public sector funding, to explore technologies that use high frequency spectrum to deliver internet speeds of over a gigabit per second.
Two of the projects involve Blu Wireless, a developer of mmWave baseband IP. One of these projects is a 5G testbed in Liverpool where the company is part of a consortium that will provide wireless technology to bring gigabit broadband networks to deprived areas, building the foundation for next generation healthcare services in those areas. The other is the AutoAir 5G testbed for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV), a pilot project for providing high-speed transport (cars, buses and trains) with sufficient real-time network bandwidth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blocking of Broadcom-Qualcomm Tie-up Highlights 5G Security Fears
https://www.securityweek.com/blocking-broadcom-qualcomm-tie-highlights-5g-security-fears
The unusual move by President Donald Trump blocking a proposed takeover of Qualcomm by Singapore-based chip rival Broadcom highlights growing concerns about the rise of Chinese competitors in the telecom sector and related national security issues.
Trump issued an order Monday barring the proposed $117 billion acquisition, citing credible evidence such a deal “threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”
Trump’s order made no mention of China, but an earlier letter from the US Treasury warned that a takeover might hurt US leadership in 5G, or fifth-generation wireless networks now being deployed, and consequently pose a threat to US security.
“It’s a real threat,” said James Lewis, a former US national security official who is now vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“Every administration since 2002 has figured out we are vulnerable to Chinese espionage if they control the infrastructure. Qualcomm and to some degree Cisco are the last two that keep the US in the game when it comes to telecom, and we don’t want to lose them.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK Pumps $35 Million Into 5G Testing
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333066
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G to Alter RF Front-End Landscape
Who’s who in RF & how they will be affected
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333076
While the mobile industry is done with its annual Mobile World lovefest — held last month in Barcelona — tech suppliers, system OEMs and mobile operators now face a host of 5G obstacles not yet overcome. In fact, they’re just getting started.
The technical issues of 5G are manifold. Among them, smart antennas and RF front-ends for 5G mmWave — typically expected to operate at frequencies such as 28 GHz, 39 GHz or 60 GHz — could seriously affect the performance of yet-to-emerge 5G mmWave mobile phones.
“Although many companies such as Qualcomm, Intel, MediaTek and Samsung are using a mobile phone as a 5G mmWave demonstrator platform, we don’t believe handsets will be the first place where 5G mmWave will go.” Rather, 5G mmWave will be a stationary data modem sitting on a table or desk so that consumers can download or stream massive broadband applications, she suspected.
Why so?
Given that 5G’s mmWave frequency bands are notorious for high propagation loss, directivity, and sensitivity to blockage, it’s no small feat to design a 5G handset that works all the time without losing signals. Picture consumers might well be forced to stay — literally — on their toes, turning and pacing in search of a signal.
Another challenge in deploying 5G mmWave radio in mobile handsets is battery life and death.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.qualcomm.com/company/events/mwc-barcelona/technologies?cmpid=br5gus182540503216217028216217028
Tomi Engdahl says:
Our 5G vision is closer to reality than ever
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2018/02/14/our-5g-vision-closer-reality-ever
Leading global operators and OEMs coalesce around the Snapdragon X50 5G modem for first wave of mobile 5G launches in 2019.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mixing 4G And 5G
Why a hybrid solution is required, and what that means for future chips.
https://semiengineering.com/mixing-4g-and-5g/
5G networks will impact the number and types of ICs in end-user devices and the base stations used to transmit the signals (including the repeaters that rebroadcast those signals). And this is before we begin to consider the technology impact to the infrastructure required to support the data generated in a 5G ecosystem (servers, memory and so on).
First, 5G is expected to transmit up to 10 times the data rate compared to today’s 4G technology. Additionally, 5G will have a greater number of multiple input (MI) streams/channels as well as multiple output (MO) streams compared to what is achievable today. However, because it is a higher frequency signal, it will only be able to transmit to a distance of about 150-200m and it will face absorption issues. 5G is short range and not suitable as a complete 4G replacement. The final solution will be some combination of 4G and 5G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report Quantifies Financial Benefits of 5G
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333083
The momentum for 5G is rolling on in the UK, with the release of a report this week from mobile network operator O2 estimating that 5G will generate £6 billion (about $8.35 billion) in productivity savings for the UK economy.
“The value of 5G for cities and communities” report outlines how 5G will update the operating systems of cities, making them smarter and creating tangible benefits for citizens and local councils. The report attempts to quantify the financial benefits in healthcare, transport, energy, retail and commerce.
In transportation for example, the O2 report suggests that 5G sensors on railway lines will drive improvements in predictive maintenance, reclaiming an estimated $613 million in lost productivity for the UK economy and regaining the average rail commuter 2.6 hours a year. Meanwhile, 5G-enabled road management systems, able to respond seamlessly to traffic volumes, will reduce the time spent stuck in traffic by 10% for the UK’s 5.6 million vehicle commuters, according to the report.
The value of 5G for cities and communities
https://d10wc7q7re41fz.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Smart-Cities-Report.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
MWC 2018 – Are we there yet? How long until we get to 5G?
https://www.redhat.com/blog/verticalindustries/mwc-2018-are-we-there-yet-how-long-until-we-get-to-5g/?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
So, what’s all the buzz about this year? Not surprisingly, the hot topics on everyone’s tongues were 5G, edge clouds (aka mobile edge computing or MEC), artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, video, and blockchain. There were many other technologies pushing the boundaries of our minds like drones, facial recognition, and even virtual reality that enables robots to perform critical medical procedures (even surgery!) on patients many miles from their physicians.
So, amongst all of this frenzy of mobile devices and 5G, what was new from Red Hat at the conference? How does Red Hat support 5G? Red Hat has already showcased the open telco framework it developed to support 5G, and we used Mobile World Congress to demonstrate it for our customers and partners again this week. As communications service providers (CSPs) work diligently to improve their capabilities as digital service providers, the Red Hat open telco framework helps them build an agile, digital services platform and make that transition a reality.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report Quantifies Financial Benefits of 5G
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333083
The momentum for 5G is rolling on in the UK, with the release of a report this week from mobile network operator O2 estimating that 5G will generate £6 billion (about $8.35 billion) in productivity savings for the UK economy.
“The value of 5G for cities and communities” report outlines how 5G will update the operating systems of cities, making them smarter and creating tangible benefits for citizens and local councils. The report attempts to quantify the financial benefits in healthcare, transport, energy, retail and commerce.
In transportation for example, the O2 report suggests that 5G sensors on railway lines will drive improvements in predictive maintenance, reclaiming an estimated $613 million in lost productivity for the UK economy and regaining the average rail commuter 2.6 hours a year. Meanwhile, 5G-enabled road management systems, able to respond seamlessly to traffic volumes, will reduce the time spent stuck in traffic by 10% for the UK’s 5.6 million vehicle commuters, according to the report.
Commuters will also be better connected to street-level data via mobile journey planning apps linked to connected street furniture such as lamp posts and bus stops, helping them better plan journeys and avoid congested routes, according to the report.
https://d10wc7q7re41fz.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Smart-Cities-Report.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Bumpy Road To 5G
https://semiengineering.com/the-bumpy-road-to-5g/
How pervasive will this new wireless technology actually become, and what problems still need to be solved?
5G is coming, but not everywhere, not all at once, and not the fastest version of this technology right away. In fact, the probable scenario is that 5G will be rolled out first in densely populated urban areas, starting in 2020 or 2021, with increasingly widespread adoption over the next decade after that.
But 5G is unlikely to ever completely replace 4G LTE, just as a smart phone today rolls from 4G LTE to 3G and 2G as reception decreases. Backward compatibility is an essential ingredient in all of these standards. 5G signals are very high frequency. The technology can scale to 300 GHz, versus 2.6 GHz for LTE. While that allows signals to carry significantly more data—basically scaling bandwidth to increase data density—the higher frequency also makes the signals more susceptible to interference from objects such as trees, buildings, and people. Even your own body can block millimeter-wave signals.
“5G challenges include the backhaul, siting, and spectrum,” said James Faucette, executive director of Morgan Stanley, in a recent speech. “With 5G, you need hundreds of times more base stations. 5G operates at a much higher frequency [than previous wireless standards], and when you get to millimeter waves they will barely cover a room. Signal unpredictability and how far they can go are big problems.”
None of this has stopped 5G development, but it certainly has affected the technology rollout schedule.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G networking: What to expect, how to get ready
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/03/5g-networking-what-to-expect-how-to-get-ready.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-03-26&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2045271
Every new generation of cellular technology, or “G” as each is known, has brought with it a level of excitement that is otherwise rare in high-tech today. And, considering all that 5G networking promises, it’s still easy to get excited, even for those of us with a very long history in wireless.
1G was analog cellular, with dial-up-modem-class throughput: 14.4 Kbps, when it worked, anyway. 2G was fully digital for voice and data, but still slow. 3G got us to megabit-class speeds, on a good day, and 4G unified wide-area wireless under the LTE single-technology banner, with up to 10 Mbps performance, even if we didn’t get everything over IP. 5G, though, is more than just the next evolutionary step enabled by advances in underlying wireless and network technologies. 5G is so important and capable, in fact, that there might not be a 6G.
5G networking is the all-IP (yes, for voice, as well) broadband wide-area wireless technology we’ve been waiting decades for. It’s suitable for any application, but the real mission of IP is to replace wireline wherever possible. Whereas Gs 1-4 were all about augmenting wireline services, 5G aims to enable users to go wireless no matter what they want to do–from infrequent narrowband internet of things (IoT) applications to gigabit speeds–in both fixed and fully mobile settings. That’s a lot of throughput, and way more than most users will likely need except in rare cases. But as a replacement technology, 5G is more about provisioning capacity–the ability to support a broad mix of simultaneous users and applications–than it is about single-user raw throughput.
5G Networking: What to Expect, and How to Get Ready
http://www.itprotoday.com/management-mobility/5g-networking-what-expect-and-how-get-ready
5G networking is the all-IP (yes, for voice, as well) broadband wide-area wireless technology we’ve been waiting decades for.
5G networking is the all-IP (yes, for voice, as well) broadband wide-area wireless technology we’ve been waiting decades for. It’s suitable for any application, but the real mission of IP is to replace wireline wherever possible. Whereas Gs 1-4 were all about augmenting wireline services, 5G aims to enable users to go wireless no matter what they want to do–from infrequent narrowband internet of things (IoT) applications to gigabit speeds–in both fixed and fully mobile settings.
Not So Fast …
A key challenge to realizing this broadband utopia, though, is the lack of radio spectrum available in many locales. While more will be made available via the (albeit expensive) auction process, 5G installations will often compensate by the utilization of small cells with each of these covering less geographic area than has typically been the case to date. This means that a lower transmit power can be used, conserving battery life on handsets, and especially that radio spectrum can be re-used more often, again increasing capacity.
Two other interesting features of 5G: First, it’s very likely that 5G networking will make use of the so-called millimeter-wave bands above 30 GHz. These have traditionally been difficult due to the cost of the electronics involved and the limited range and directionality of signals at those frequencies. Given the large amount of spectrum potentially available here, however, this opportunity will likely prove simply too tempting to ignore
Planning for 5G
So, then, what should you be doing now to get ready for 5G? Given that the buildout of these networks is the responsibility of the wireless carriers, there’s not really much you need to do at present. We believe that, even as experiments with early 5G networking technologies are underway now, it will be on the order of five years before what we call “critical mass” occurs–meaning sufficient availability so as to enable users to depend upon such.
Want to experience 5G now? Believe it or not, we already have 5G, in the form of WiFi solutions based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard (look for the so-called “Wave 2” products). Trying out (or, more likely, deploying) .11ac Wave 2 will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect with 5G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/03/26/helsinki-valmistautuu-5g-pilotteihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7763-helsinki-haluaa-liikenteen-5g-alykaupungiksi
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/03/28/televisiolahetyksia-5g-testiverkkoon-embms-kayttoon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ericsson says it owns 50% of the 5G wireless networks market
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/03/ericsson-says-it-owns-50-of-the-5g-wireless-networks-market.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-02&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2053821
Ericsson’s CEO said the company has won roughly 50% of the world’s 5G contracts so far. He also said that Ericsson has reversed its declines in the global wireless network business overall, and during the second half of 2017 the company was able to gain share in the sector.
Ericsson: We’re gaining share in wireless networks, own 50% of 5G market
https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/ericsson-we-re-gaining-share-wireless-networks-own-50-5g-market
Ericsson’s CEO said the company has won roughly 50% of the world’s 5G contracts so far. He also said that Ericsson has reversed its declines in the global wireless network business overall, and during the second half of 2017 the company was able to gain share in the sector.
“We have been working hard to turn around the development,” President and CEO Börje Ekholm said in a release from the company. “It is therefore satisfying that we, after several years of decreasing market share, have started to increase our share, and doing so with improved gross margin.”
Added Ekholm: “2017 was a tough year with a continued declining market. We are far from satisfied with our performance and have taken a number of actions to turn around the development and improve profitability, to build a strong Ericsson for the long term.”
But Ericsson’s statements on 5G don’t appear to line up exactly with those from some analysts. Analysts at Raymond James recently said that it’s too early to call winners, but clearly Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia dominate the wireless infrastructure market. Specifically, the Wall Street firm said Nokia has announced 50 5G trials, and Ericsson has signed 38 operator agreements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7786-oulussa-testataan-tulevaisuuden-televisiota
Tomi Engdahl says:
The growth in the revenue of the operators is halted
5G comes and IoT comes, so operators should be facing cat days. Well it is not. The Strategy Analytics research predicts that operators’ revenue will slowly increase until 2021. Then growth stops.
According to the research institute, operators will invoice the accession of some $ 881 billion in 2021, which is about EUR 715 billion in euros. This is only 3 percent more than the operators’ revenue this year.
According to Strategy Analytics, revenues will not increase even though the number of subscribers for the operators is developing as expected. There are currently 7.7 billion cell phones / mobile subscriptions in the world. In 2023 the number has increased to nine billion.
Although revenue from access does not significantly increase, operators need to invest a lot of money in updating their networks. In the next few years, most money will be spent on the purchase of 5G base stations.
According to Strategy Analytics, next year, 5G networks will have five million users. In 2023 the number has increased to 577 million, or 5G, in many markets has become quite common technology.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7794-operaattorien-tulojen-kasvu-pysahtyy
Tomi Engdahl says:
Television broadcasts to the 5G test network – eMBMS
The 5G test network maintained by VTT and the University of Oulu has introduced a new multicast and broadcast technology eMBMS data transfer protocol. It allows efficient media material such as television programs to be transferred over the mobile network.
One of the research topics of the 5GTN network project is media production and distribution through the fifth generation network. It utilizes Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) technology, which makes it possible to share real-time media content more efficiently and cost-effectively.
“In practice, this means the intelligence that drives the mobile network, which reduces the amount of data moving on the network and base stations,” says researcher Mikko Uitto from VTT.
Available applications include various streaming and video services. eMBMS technology particularly favors high-volume media distribution, where the service is used by a large number of people, and many of them even in the same base station.
“It is important that the 5G test network can be used to find out the possibilities of multicast in the distribution of TV and radio channels. Now, the capacity of the various computer networks creates unnecessary bottlenecks at the reception of TV and radio channels, “says Olli Sipilä , Senior Vice President, Network and Distribution Technologies .
Source: https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/03/28/televisiolahetyksia-5g-testiverkkoon-embms-kayttoon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vertiv joins Ericsson Energy Alliance in push for 5G access networks deployment
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/03/vertiv-joins-ericsson.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-04-10&pwhid=e8db06ed14609698465f1047e5984b63cb4378bd1778b17304d68673fe5cbd2798aa8300d050a73d96d04d9ea94e73adc417b4d6e8392599eabc952675516bc0&eid=293591077&bid=2062366
Vertiv has been selected to join the Ericsson Energy Alliance, a competitive ecosystem and management interface that aims to increase market share and top-line growth while evolving access networks towards 5G.
According to a press statement, the long-term agreement builds on the strength of Vertiv’s global reach, unique product competence and service delivery, along with the speed and flexibility provided by the company’s first-class research, design and engineering teams. The Alliance is part of the Ericsson Radio Site System, which comprises all of the site infrastructure components required to provide network performance and operational efficiency to the mobile operator.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Two U.S. Cities Win Support for 5G Wireless Test Beds
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/the-national-science-foundation-announces-pawr-test-platform-cities
For 5G, researchers need city-sized playgrounds in order to properly test and develop their technologies. That’s why the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today that it will deploy two Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research.
The two PAWR (pronounced “power”) test beds will be in Salt Lake City, Utah, and New York City.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/a-look-at-the-future-of-5g
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia and Telia brought the 5G to the factory
elia and Nokia, in cooperation with Intel, took a major step in the next industrial revolution on a trial using 5G, cloud and data center in a real industrial environment as an example of a new kind of digital process.
The experiment demonstrated how companies can take advantage of 5G core features such as low latency and top speeds in conjunction with video analytics to streamline and streamline the manufacturing industry. At the Nokia factory in Oulu, the video line on the assembly line was monitored and analyzed with the Finnish Finwe Startup Video Analytical Application.
The video image was uploaded on Intel’s 5G mobile test platform on the Nokia 5G test network at 28 gigahertz and Telia’s fiber optic network at Telia’s data center in Helsinki. Due to high-speed connections and low latency, the video analytics application was able to react immediately and report deviations to the line responsible for the assembly line that could be fixed in real-time and thus improve the quality, reliability and efficiency of the process. Data Center’s service was also brought to the edge of the network closer to the location of use on the Nokia Multi-Access Edge Computing platform (MEC), whereby the video analytics delay was further reduced.
Thanks to the high-speed 5G and fiber connections, the quality and efficiency of industrial processes such as the test can be improved with real-time cloud computing facilities.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7844-nokia-ja-telia-toivat-5g-n-tehtaaseen
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.aamulehti.fi/uutiset/ensimmaiset-kaupalliset-5g-mobiiliverkot-tulevat-suomeen-todennakoisesti-ensi-vuoden-alussa-tiedonsiirron-luotettavuus-paranee-200874779