Here are some 5G trends for year 2020:
It looked like 5G and wireless dominated the airways in 2019. It seems that year 2020 will be a real test for 5G if it will really take on or fails to full-fill the big expectations. It seems that 5G networks are available at some place here and there from many operators, but 5G end user devices are not yet widely available or desired. New year will bring more 5G base stations.
5G: How Much is Real vs. Marketing? Is 5G ready for prime time? Breaking down the marketing hype versus what’s really going on in the industry. Marketing claims 5G is pervasive. The question is when: 2020 or is it 2025?
First, let’s define 5G also known as 5G New Radio, or 5G NR:
There is sub-6-GHz 5G for the cellphone protocol that requires LTE: 5G NSA.
There is sub-6-GHz standalone 5G: 5G SA.
There is 20- to 60-GHz 5G: 5G mmWave.
It seems that 2020 will be the real test for 5G devices as the 5G device mass market has not yet really started. Samsung says it shipped 6.7M+ Galaxy 5G phones globally in 2019, accounting for 53.9% of the 5G phone market (Galaxy S10 5G and the Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G). 2020 is expected to be an interesting year for 5G growth across the smartphone market. Increased 5G rollouts by carriers means that customers will presumably be more interested in actually buying 5G devices. One June 2019 forecast made by Canalys has global 5G smartphone shipments crossing 4G smartphone shipments in 2023.
5G will be integrated to some PCs. Dell debuts a new Latitude 9510 laptop with built-in 5G, to launch March 26.
Ericsson says they are now 5G networks leader according to Ericsson ylitti odotukset kirkkaasti: ”Olemme 5g-johtaja” article. Nokia has cut its outlook for this year and next because of the need to step up its investments in 5G but ‘We don’t have a 5G problem,’ says Nokia’s head of software.
5G will be a good growing market for test device manufacturers as engineers will once again need to sharpen their skill sets and adopt new design and testing techniques. A lot of 5G Component Characterization and Test will be needed.Delivering 5G Devices to Market Will Bank on OTA Testing.
Network side needs also testing equipment. One approach being adopted to gain ground in the race to 5G involves the rapid prototyping and testing of network architectures. There is need for programmable RF devices. Industry seems to want their own private networks.
5G components are available from many sources already. The typical RF component suppliers are all providing 5G solutions: Avago/Broadcom, Huawei, MediaTek, Murata/pSemi (previously known as Peregrine), Qualcomm, Qorvo, Samsung, and Skyworks.
Challenges: Even the sub-6-GHz versions have technical issues in that the 5G target “air time” latency is 1 to 4 ms. Typical RF component manufacturers appear to be providing components that focus only on the sub-6-GHz frequency bands. The geopolitical situation relative to 5G also adds confusion to the 5G timeline.
There are many technical issues must be considered in the utilization of mmWave: mmWave frequencies travel relatively small distances. the mmWave transmitters consume a considerable amount of transmit power, providing additional challenges for battery-operated devices.
5G in automotive: The automobile industry is experiencing exponential growth of self-driving features, and this trend is expected to continue. 5G network connections are expected to have a major influence on the development of self-driving cars making them faster, smarter, and safer. Where is car technology going in 2020?
As 5G work has started for many installers and marketers, the the researchers are already thinking about the nest step Beyond 5G chips. They are already planning technologies that could enable high-speed wireless devices beyond the 5G standard.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Fuels Driverless Car Technology
July 08, 2021
5G is propelling a new solution to solve today’s transportation challenges
https://www.t-mobile.com/news/network/5g-fuels-driverless-car-technology
Driverless cars. They’ve long been the stuff of science fiction, and there are reasons we have not yet reached a transportation utopia where our cities hum along free of traffic congestion and pollution. Driverless and autonomous cars present extremely complex technical challenges that won’t be solved anytime soon according to many experts. Plus, there’s the issue of social trust – it doesn’t matter how intelligent a car is if people won’t get in. But both of these issues – technology development and cultural change – are moving forward in tandem down a path to more capable driverless and autonomous cars. Today we’re seeing exciting progress come to life propelled by 5G networks.
Halo has launched one of the first commercial driverless car services in the U.S., and it’s running on the T-Mobile 5G network in Las Vegas, a city known for its rapid adoption of innovative technology from the first hyperloop test to its newest underground tunnel. Now, Halo is adding to the city’s portfolio of technical achievements.
Halo’s service is safe and easy to use. Riders will simply summon a driverless EV via a mobile app. A driverless Halo arrives at the pick-up location, the rider hops in and drives to their destination. Upon arrival, no parking is needed — the Halo moves driverlessly to its next pick-up location.
With its proprietary RemotePilot technology, Halo trains inhouse remote drivers to operate the driverless car over T-Mobile’s 5G network. Halo has developed an Advanced Safe Stop mechanism enabling its cars to immediately come to a full stop if a potential safety hazard or system anomaly is detected. Using an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm, the car also learns in the background while humans control the vehicle, building a unique feedback loop to achieve Level 3 capabilities over time.
According to Halo’s Founder and CEO Anand Nandakumar, his service is uniquely designed in that it builds automation over time starting with a solution that consumers will feel comfortable using today.
Humans complete drives over a 5G connection providing real-world data for an AI system to learn and improve in the background. This then leads to the automation of certain tasks over time while creating local jobs where people work alongside AI and robotics.
Transportation is one of many industries being transformed today by 5G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G and Airline Safety: What’s Behind the Headlines
https://www.t-mobile.com/news/network/5g-and-airline-safety-whats-behind-the-headlines
5G and aviation safety have been in the headlines lately, and it’s causing some confusion that we want to help clear up. First, I want to be clear that T-Mobile’s 5G network, already covering over 1.7 million square miles and 310 million people nationwide, and our customers are not affected by this. While headlines talk about “5G,” this issue is really with one specific frequency of spectrum called C-band, which T-Mobile 5G does not use today. So T-Mobile customers can continue to use their 5G phones and 5G network with confidence!
What’s going on?
5G smartphones and networks have been in use across the US and globally since 2019, including in airports and on airplanes. Early last year, to help fuel 5G in America, the government auctioned this C-band spectrum, raising an impressive $80 billion for the US Treasury. Verizon and AT&T spent the bulk of that – nearly $70 billion – on C-band licenses. So, they’re understandably invested in putting that to use.
Then, late last year the FAA sounded alarms that the launch of AT&T and Verizon’s C-band 5G networks might endanger air travel. Now President Biden, the Secretary of Transportation and airline CEOs have also weighed in. Despite the large separation between where C-band spectrum operates and the spectrum airplane altimeters use, the aviation community has raised concerns about potential interference.
want to strongly encourage our partners at the FAA and airlines to resolve all concerns. We stand ready to help.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network will continue to operate and expand using different spectrum frequencies already in use for many years (primarily 600 MHz and 2.5 GHz – distant from the 3.7-4.2 GHz where C-band operates). By the time we’re ready to put our C-band licenses to use in late 2023, we’re confident today’s concerns will have been resolved.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to access AT&T and Verizon’s new super fast 5G networks
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/22/tech/how-to-access-5g-att-verizon/index.html
Many mobile device users in the United States now have access to blazing-fast internet speeds stemming from the rollout of Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T)’s new C-band 5G networks earlier this week.
While telecom companies have rolled out 5G networks to various locations across the country over the last few years, many delivered an experience that was arguably only a notch above what 4G offers.
But not everyone will be able to take advantage of these C-band 5G networks out of the gate. You’ll need three key things to access one: a newer smartphone model that supports 5G, a 5G-specific cellular plan and to be in an area with the new coverage.
(Verizon said its C-band speeds reach nearly 1 gigabyte per second, about 10 times as fast as 4G LTE. If that’s not obvious, it’s really fast.)
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G UE PA R&D TESTING
Automated Solution with High Efficiency
https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/applications/5g-ue-pa-r-d-testing-application-note_56280-1112192.html?cid=802_us_mc_ICR_endeavor_22-02_i______endeavor-dd_pa-rd-test_?cid=&mid=6361
5G New Radio (NR) presents dramatic challenges to the testing of User Equipment (UE) Power Amplifier (PA). Multiple frequency bands, flexible 5G operation mode, multiple PA performance metrics and the MIPI control interface increases the potential PA testing workload significantly. Manually repeating these tests under so many different scenarios can be costly and time consuming. An automated testing solution can help the test engineer to highly improve the testing efficiency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coming soon: R&S®SMW200A
Stay tuned for the vector signal generator with frequency options up to 56 GHz and 67 GHz
https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/products/test-and-measurement/signal-generators/promo-smw200a_254993.html?cid=802_us_mc_ICR_endeavor_22-02_i______endeavor-dd_SMW200A-promo_?cid=&mid=6361
Tomi Engdahl says:
When to Use Frequency Selective Power Sensors
Application Card
https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/campaigns/rsa/icr/when-to-use-frequency-selective-power-sensors_255318.html?cid=802_us_mc_ICR_endeavor_22-02_i______endeavor-dd_power-sensors_?cid=&mid=6361
Frequency-selective measurements filter out nearby signals, thereby reducing noise and improving measurement sensitivity. This is helpful when characterizing low-level signals at cellular base stations or satellite ground stations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gigahertz Phased-Array Antenna Fabricated as Large-Area Sheet
Jan. 24, 2022
Using large-area electronic fabrication techniques, a team has constructed and tested a three-element GHz-range phased-array antenna.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/communications/article/21214893/microwaves-rf-gigahertz-phasedarray-antenna-fabricated-as-largearea-sheet?utm_source=EG%20ED%20Analog%20%26%20Power%20Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220113008&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Phased-array antennas are taking on increasing roles in MIMO systems such as 5G, as they can provide needed dynamic, all-electronic antenna steering and directivity. However, they have an attribute that complicates their physical and electrical fabrication—they’re composed of multiple identical, discrete antennas elements with form factors that aren’t amenable to mass-production techniques.
Responding to this dilemma, a team based at Princeton University devised and tested a technique for creating electronically steerable, GHz-range phased-array antenna assemblies as large-area electronics (LAE). They applied fabrication processes used for electronic circuits on thin, flexible materials.
The team adapted the scaling and electronic properties of LAE thin-film technologies and incorporated inductor-capacitor oscillators operating at gigahertz frequencies along with high-speed, self-aligned zinc-oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs). The oscillator circuits incorporate the frequency locking and phase tuning that are required for electromagnetic phased arrays
Tomi Engdahl says:
FAA sets rules for some Boeing 787 landings near 5G service https://techxplore.com/news/2022-01-faa-boeing-5g.html
Federal safety officials are directing operators of some Boeing planes to adopt extra procedures when landing on wet or snowy runways near impending 5G service because, they say, interference from the wireless networks could mean that the planes need more room to land.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.etteplan.com/stories/5-trends-industrial-digitalization?utm_campaign=newsletter-1-2022&utm_content=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=apsis-anp-3&pe_data=D43445A477046455B45724541514B71%7C30320219
Tomi Engdahl says:
Etteplan prepared for O-RAN breakthrough
https://www.etteplan.com/stories/etteplan-prepared-o-ran-breakthrough?utm_campaign=newsletter-1-2022&utm_content=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=apsis-anp-3&pe_data=D43445A477046455B45724541514B71%7C30320219
O-RAN transforms the mobile network markets rapidly. Leading telco operators are its greatest drivers, as they will benefit from a reduced dependency from equipment vendors. In practice, O-RAN’s implementation will require developing of radio variants, and Etteplan’s telecom development teams are ready to cater for the huge demand.
While software defined networks together with functions virtualization has become a de facto standard in the telecom industry, another revolution separating hardware from software is underway. O-RAN, or Open RAN, is a new open platform solution for mobile networks and base stations. The solution’s standards are specified by the O-RAN Alliance where all major equipment vendors are members as well as world’s leading telco operators.
Most important in O-RAN is how it enables operators a welcome possibility to buy equipment from many different vendors.
“The needs of telco operators are the greatest drivers of O-RAN. They want to reduce their dependency from single vendors, which makes O-RAN very attractive to them. Also, it gives a chance to limit the financial burden caused by building 5G customer networks,” tells Etteplan’s Telecom Sales Director Markus Piippola from Etteplan’s large mobile network team based in Oulu, Finland.
O-RAN radio units create massive demand to radio variant development and testing
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G C-Band Interference with Radar Altimeters in Aviation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942KXXmMJdY
RTCA Report- https://www.rtca.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SC-239-5G-Interference-Assessment-Report_274-20-PMC-2073_accepted_changes.pdf
5G Americas Report: https://www.5gamericas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Mid-Band-Spectrum-and-the-Co-Existence-with-Radio-Altimeters.pdf
FAA SAIB: https://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgSAIB.nsf/0/27ffcbb45e6157e9862587810044ad19/$FILE/AIR-21-18.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
RTCA, Inc.
1150 18th Street, NW, Suite 910
Washington, DC 20036, USA
Assessment of C-Band Mobile
Telecommunications Interference Impact on
Low Range Radar Altimeter Operations
https://www.rtca.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SC-239-5G-Interference-Assessment-Report_274-20-PMC-2073_accepted_changes.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.5gamericas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Mid-Band-Spectrum-and-the-Co-Existence-with-Radio-Altimeters.pdf
This white paper focuses on the need for 5G spectrum to support the wireless cellular industry in low, mid, and high
bands. It also discusses the global harmonization of spectrum with technology, and how spectrum supports a broad
ecosystem. 3GPP specifications support new spectrum and wider bandwidths ranging from a minimum of 5 MHz – 100
MHz for sub 7 GHz spectrum, and channel sizes of 50 MHz — 400 MHz for frequency ranges above 24 GHz. For operators
to deliver on the promise of 5G, regulatory bodies must ensure harmonized spectrum availability across low, mid, and high
spectrum with timely allocations.
• Low bands: Sub-1GHz supports wide area coverage and indoor coverage, and brings the 5G advantage across
urban, suburban, rural regions.
• Mid bands: Ranges between 1 – 6 GHz and provides balanced coverage and capacity. More spectrum must be
made available in this range to accommodate the wide variety of 5G use cases.
• High bands: mmWave ranging from 24 – 71 GHz provides high capacity and ultra-high speeds but lacks coverage
and indoor penetration.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Telia testaa jo millimetriaaltoja
https://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13095&via=n&datum=2022-01-27_15:00:24&mottagare=30929
Telian kertoi tänään, että sen 3G-verkko suljetaan ensi vuoden lopussa. Tilaajat ovat jo siirtyneet datan perässä 4G-verkkoon ja nopeasti laajenevaan 5G-verkkoon. Yhtiö kertoi lisäksi, että 5G:n seuraavaa askelta eli 26 gigahertsin tekniikkaa testataan.
Telia Finlandin verkoista vastaava johtaja Sami Siikin mukaan ensimmäisiä 26 gigahertsin saitteja testataan jo. Milloin verkot avataan käyttäjille, riippuu toki päätelaitetarjonnasta. Eurooppaan ei ole vielä tuotu 26 gigahertsin alueella toimivia päätelaitteita.
Mutta minne Telia on tuomassa millimetrialueen nopeat yhteydet? – 26 GHz on luonteeltaan massiivista kapasiteettia ja huippunopeuksia tarjoava taajuus, jolloin sitä käytetään erityisesti väkikeskittymissä. Kaupunkikeskustat, tapahtuma-areenat, toisaalta myös teollisen käytön keskittymät kuten isot tuotantolaitokset ja teollisuuspuistot, Siiki luettelee.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Optical Wireless Communications for Enterprises Can Prevent Cyberattacks
Jan. 20, 2022
This article explores an alternative technology—OWC—to secure private 5G networks.
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21214638/bridgecomm-inc-how-optical-wireless-communications-for-enterprises-can-prevent-cyberattacks?utm_source=RF%20MWRF%20Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220121059&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What you’ll learn:
5G spectrum and security concerns.
Turning to optical wireless communication technology as a security solution.
As 5G becomes more ubiquitous, so too will vulnerabilities. Germany-based Rohde & Schwarz, for example, installed a private 5G network at its plant in Teisnach, Germany, to test new industrial applications and uncover how it could optimize 5G for smart factories. Likewise, the Belgian Port of Zeebrugge deployed a private 5G network to track, analyze and manage connected devices, such as autonomous vehicles, augmented reality and drones, across multiple port-based applications in real-time.
5G Spectrum
When configuring a private 5G network, spectrum typical comes from three principal ranges:
Low-frequency bands under 1 GHz
Mid-frequency bands in the core 3.3 GHz to 3.8 GHz range
High-frequency mmWave bands in the 26 GHz, 28 GHz and 40 GHz range
While each spectrum brings specific advantages, they also come with inherent risks, given that they are easily hackable radio-frequency (RF) signals. As 5G becomes more ubiquitous, so too will vulnerabilities. This is primarily due to 5G’s heavy reliance on RF, as well as application programming interfaces (APIs) and other supporting service functions.
These APIs expose enterprises to API-enabled hacks like the one used to target SolarWinds. With the cleanup from this cyberattack alone potentially costing more than $100 billion in the months ahead, the stakes are extremely high for both economic stability and national security.
Inarguably, current security methods are falling short. Meanwhile, threats to our nation extend to vital areas such as utilities, food, water, oil and gas. Colonial Pipeline may be just the first of what is to come, which is why National Guard simulations are underway to prepare government agencies and industries.
Optical Wireless Communication
With the critical need to address security and satisfy latency, bandwidth, licensing and cost, companies have explored options, including optical wireless communication (OWC).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia ylsi 5G-nopeusennätykseen
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13100-nokia-ylsi-5g-nopeusennaetykseen
Nokia kertoo päässeensä yhdessä Mediatekin kanssa uuteen 5G-nopeusennätykseen China Mobilen verkossa. Uusi ennätys on 3 gigabittiä sekunnissa ja se onnisuti yhdistämällä kolme kantoaaltoa sekä FDD- että TDD-alueella.
Samaan linkkiin Shanghain testissä liitettiin 30 megahertsin kaista taajuusjakoisella n28-kaistalla (700 MHz) sekä 100 + 60 megahertsin kanavat n41-kaistalla 2,6 gigahertsissä. Nokia sanoo olevansa ensimmäinen radioverkkotoimittaja, joka pystyy yhdistämään kolme kaistaa samaan downlink-yhteyteen operaattorin verkossa.
Kokeilussa hyödynnettiin Nokian AirScale 5G -kantataajuuslaskentaa ja päätelaitteessa MediaTekin Dimensity 9000 5G -järjestelmäpiiriä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The FAA has reached a deal with Verizon and AT&T for C-Band 5G at airports
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fengt.co%2F33Yxv0I&h=AT2DD6oDM5y_QjUGPaIfPM6XmZZ65hlhjSvDYz8dM9JAlYZ8SlR51U_9DCd9PA1Mc2oqiCXuctud6e8ayej3DJIKfnaKoW-GVUi9of4U2iYpLXJ5uBU3vhtxqry_2KVtNw
The agency said providers will be able to ‘safely turn on more towers as they deploy new 5G service in major markets.’
The Federal Aviation Administration says it has reached an agreement with AT&T and Verizon (Engadget’s former parent company) regarding the rollout of their C-Band 5G networks at and around airports. The agency said the three sides have found common ground “on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service.”
According to the FAA, the providers offered “more precise data about the exact location of wireless transmitters and supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-Band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments.” The agency said it used the data to “determine that it is possible to safely and more precisely map the size and shape of the areas around airports where 5G signals are mitigated, shrinking the areas where wireless operators are deferring their antenna activations. This will enable the wireless providers to safely turn on more towers as they deploy new 5G service in major markets across the United States.”
The accord follows a months-long tussle between airlines and wireless providers over C-Band 5G. AT&T and Verizon voluntarily delayed the rollout for six weeks to address concerns that their services could interfere with aircraft systems and electronics, due to C-Band frequencies being close to ones used by altimeters.
Earlier this month, the CEOs of airlines including Delta, United and Southwest claimed in a letter to the federal government that the networks could affect their planes’ instruments and lead to a “catastrophic” event.
AT&T and Verizon activated their C-Band 5G networks last week after agreeing to create temporary buffer zones around dozens of airports — they haven’t switched on C-Band 5G towers within two miles of some runways. They also argued that similar networks have been deployed in 40 other countries without issue.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_5G_NR_networks
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.gsma.com/spectrum/5g-spectrum-guide/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brian Fung / CNN:
Filings and interviews with decision makers and legal experts reveal bureaucracy with competing mandates at the FAA and the FCC caused the 5G launch blowup
How last week’s 5G deployment went so wrong
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/28/tech/5g-faa-fcc/
rom canceled flights to dire warnings of a stalled shipping economy, this was not how the rollout of 5G networks was supposed to go.
Despite having years to prepare, the United States last week had to scramble to keep the launch of new, next-generation wireless technologies from disrupting air transportation nationwide. As international airlines suspended some inbound flights, telecom carriers announced for the third time that they would postpone activation of 5G services near some airports.
Efforts to continue the rollout and mitigate the concerns of aviation are ongoing, and federal aviation authorities on Tuesday said about 90% of the US commercial aircraft fleet has now been cleared to operate around 5G signals. But the eleventh-hour clash between the aviation and telecom sectors puts an early stain on what Americans were told would usher in a new era of commercial prosperity and innovation.
How could it have gone so wrong?
Interviews with government and industry decision-makers, along with legal experts and public filings, reveal a divided federal bureaucracy with competing public mandates that clearly set the stage for a blowup. But they also paint the portrait of a US aviation regulator that missed a critical opportunity to present its case and potentially avoid this mess altogether.
The core concern raised by aviation officials is that 5G — the ultra-fast cellular technology meant to pave the way for more smart devices and applications — could disrupt certain aircraft altitude sensors. Those instruments, known as radar altimeters, work by bouncing radio signals off the ground within a specific range of frequencies. But due to their design, many of them are also susceptible to interference from signals originating outside of those frequencies. According to aviation officials, 5G base stations operating in neighboring wavelengths could, depending on how they’re configured, potentially scramble aircraft computer systems and controls, and make it impossible to land in low-visibility conditions. (The dispute is exclusively about 5G infrastructure and has nothing to do with the 5G components in consumer cell phones. AT&T, one of the major wireless carriers with a big stake in 5G, owns CNN’s parent company.)
The Federal Aviation Administration told CNN it has been sounding the alarm about interference risks for years. The agency first raised concerns in 2015, as part of a filing to a United Nations coordinating body. Five years later, in the fall of 2020, the FAA also wrote to the Commerce Department calling for US telecom regulators to delay the rollout of 5G.
Finally, last month, the FAA issued a last-ditch warning that if 5G were switched on without more modifications, the agency would ban pilots from using radar altimeters near certain airports, leading to inevitable flight disruptions. That announcement kicked off weeks of frenzied negotiations between telecom and aviation officials around the holidays, culminating in last week’s showdown.
“This is one of the most delinquent, utterly irresponsible issues, subjects, call it what you like, I’ve seen in my aviation career,” Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates, told CNN on Jan. 19. The next day, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker acknowledged on an investor call that the breakdown “wasn’t our finest hour, I think, as a country.”
A slow-rolling crisis
In the debacle’s immediate aftermath, airline industry officials familiar with the late negotiations say that some of the pain could have been eased sooner had the Biden administration been able to fill key vacancies earlier at important agencies like the Federal Communications Commission.
Without earlier active government leadership to settle the dispute, the unresolved tension between two massive and powerful industries created a slow-rolling crisis that finally boiled over as the launch date for 5G arrived.
“I think folks really woke up that we were barreling toward a significant issue in late November, early December,” one of the airline officials said. “I think by then, both sides, both camps, the FAA and the FCC, were so entrenched into their own corners, and there was so much bad blood that, you know, this ended up unfortunately coming to this level of brinksmanship.”
One other major stumbling block, according to a government source who was part of the 5G talks, was that telecom companies insisted that the location of transmitter towers was proprietary information, making it more difficult for the aviation industry to know the full scope of possible interference.
The government source said that when the FAA “plays the safety card, usually it’s an ace, and for whatever reason, the telcos have been trying to pretend it’s a one.”
“There was a lot about aviation that they did not really understand,” the government source continued. When both industries began communicating directly in December, however, “there were a lot of ‘aha’ moments on both sides of the equation.”
A standoff between government agencies
The miscommunication over data highlights the different roles that telecom and aviation regulators play in America’s increasingly interconnected economy — and what can go awry when they talk past one another. Whereas the FAA has jurisdiction over aviation equipment and air safety, regulation of telecom equipment and harmful interference falls to the FCC.
In this case, the FCC was confident its plan would prevent 5G signals from bleeding over into radar altimeters’ territory. But that assessment did not satisfy aviation regulators, who believed that some radar altimeters might still be able to “hear” 5G signals unintentionally.
The crisis’s near-term origins are overshadowed by longer-term factors, however, that do more to explain why the FAA’s views were never fully accounted for in the first place, ultimately leading to the FAA’s urgent and drastic warnings about the widespread flight restrictions it planned to impose.
Despite the FAA’s many pronouncements on 5G, the agency did not weigh in at the one venue that really counted: The FCC’s public process for planning the US 5G rollout, including any rules, restrictions or mitigations that would need to be imposed on wireless carriers.
The FCC opened a docket for input on the proposed 5G airwaves in 2018. Since then, thousands of submissions have been filed, including by airlines, pilots’ groups and others in the aviation sector. Many of them raised serious concerns about the FCC’s plan.
Many of those concerns were addressed, according to telecom experts.
In the past when it’s regulated 4G LTE, the FCC has looked to impose buffers about 5 MHz to 10 MHz wide, according to Harold Feld, a telecom expert at the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge. This time, on the 5G frequencies, Boeing asked for a buffer of 100 MHz. And the FCC, led by Chairman Ajit Pai, ultimately created a buffer zone that was more than twice as wide, at 220 MHz. Compared to the guard bands the FCC has previously used for cellular communications, the one protecting radar altimeters is enormous.
“As you know, I don’t generally agree with Ajit Pai,” said Feld, who has clashed with Pai on issues ranging from net neutrality to big telecom mergers. “But in this case, they did everything they were required to do.”
If the FAA had approached the FCC to say that some aircraft radar altimeters would need to be upgraded or retrofitted due to the plan, Feld added, “the FCC could have gone, ‘Fine, we’ll set aside money for that.’ They did it when the FCC moved TV broadcasters to new frequencies. They did it here for the satellite guys.”
But the problem was two-fold: First, the FAA did not appear to write to the FCC until nearly a year after the FCC had already finalized an order authorizing the airwaves for 5G use. And second, the FAA’s complaints were never submitted to the FCC in a form the telecom regulator could act on, even if its claims were deemed credible, which Pai, in an interview, argued they were not.
Claiming that 5G signals could pierce through hundreds of megahertz of empty spectrum to interfere with aircraft sensors “is like asserting that someone having a conversation in New York interferes with our ability to have a conversation in Washington,” said Pai. “It’s just not a credible claim.”
The assessment that 5G signals posed little risk to aircraft operations was not just the view of FCC political appointees, Pai said. During a staff meeting in late 2019 or early 2020 that included a full range of career FCC economists, lawyers and technical engineers, Pai claims that radar altimeter interference ranked low on the list of priorities compared to other tasks — such as figuring out how the plan would affect satellite operators.
“If the FAA genuinely had a concern back in 2018, 2019 or 2020, I wish they had raised them then, if indeed they were well founded,” said Pai.
The missing letter
As it turns out, the FAA did attempt to make its views known to the FCC in 2020 — but it was too late to have an impact on the rules and regulations governing the 5G airwaves.
In December 2020, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson and Steven Bradbury, then the Transportation Department’s top lawyer, wrote a letter arguing the FCC should pause its 5G proceeding “until we fully understand the safety implications, and how those implications can be addressed.” The letter added that the FCC had failed to account for the extensive retrofitting the plan would require of aircraft radar altimeters in order for the rollout to work.
Customarily, this office, known as NTIA, will relay other agencies’ letters to the FCC. But that did not occur this time, and so the FAA letter never made it into the record.
The head of NTIA at the time, Adam Candeub, told CNN in an interview this week that his agency’s engineers disagreed with the letter’s conclusions
NTIA’s failure to transmit the FAA letter has raised some eyebrows.
“To me, it’s extremely disturbing that NTIA did not submit the letter,” said Blair Levin, a Clinton-era FCC chief of staff.
In creating NTIA, Feld said, Congress explicitly required the agency to ensure that executive branch views on telecom issues are “effectively presented” to the FCC.
That is not what Transportation Department lawyers believed at the time, said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former deputy assistant secretary at DOT who was involved with the letter. Agency lawyers had informed her the department was not permitted to submit the letter directly to the FCC.
Both Pai and Candeub told CNN nothing prohibits agencies from submitting feedback directly to the FCC on their own behalf. This claim appears to be accurate
In recent years, Pai said, the FCC has heard from an array of federal agencies on how decisions about 5G could affect weather forecasts, GPS signals and other important applications.
According to Feld, both Furchtgott-Roth and Pai are right in their own ways. Under longstanding tradition and NTIA’s congressional charter, executive branch agencies trying to contact the FCC on wireless spectrum issues are expected to go through NTIA. But, Feld said, Pai is correct that there is nothing legally prohibiting agencies from contacting the FCC themselves.
The court of public opinion
Filing a letter in the FCC docket much earlier, in 2018 or 2019, may have been the FAA’s best hope for changing the course of events much sooner. But it was not the only way, Levin added. The FAA — or the aviation industry — could still have attempted to challenge the FCC plan in court after it was finalized in early 2020.
It is not clear why the FAA declined to sue in the months following the 5G order, Levin said, but “they probably thought, ‘We may not be able to win in a court of law, but we can win in the court of public opinion,’ and that’s the strategy they pursued.”
Calling the FCC process flawed, the government source said that aviation regulators had equal claim to regulate 5G, at least in an aviation context.
“What they [FCC and NTIA] would like everybody to believe is that once they’ve ruled on it, then nobody else has a say,” the government source said. “And, you know, the FAA’s authority over aviation safety is absolute and all-inclusive.”
One factor that may have motivated the FAA to write its letter when it did was an October 2020 study by the aviation group RTCA. As the FAA wrote, RTCA’s presentation found that 5G in the FCC-approved frequencies “may create harmful interference to radar altimeters that would significantly degrade or completely interrupt their operation during critical phases of flight.”
Since then, the paper has renewed the aviation sector’s concerns about 5G interference risks, even as the telecom industry has claimed that the study is out of step with other research and real-world testing and relies on unrealistic test conditions. The industry has also alleged that RTCA refused to share its test data.
Despite last week’s breakdown, telecom and aviation officials appear to be back on track. The FAA continues to perform its testing of radar altimeters, including physical flight tests over 5G antennas at various altitudes, according to the government source. And it is closely analyzing how large the buffer zones around airport runways truly need to be.
Still, the overall standoff points to an uncomfortable tension between two government regulators with equally important missions, and it raises questions about which deserves the benefit of the doubt when the two come into conflict. Why should the public trust the FCC, which supervises radio frequencies, over the FAA, which governs air safety, when the FAA is the one highlighting potentially life-threatening risks to air travel?
The answer, Feld said, lies in the FCC’s decades-long track record of successful evidence-based risk management of the nation’s airwaves
“At the end of the day, the FCC did its job,” said Feld. “The problem was that the FAA did not appreciate how the FCC did it, and that’s because the FAA does its job very differently.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei ykkönen 5G-radioissa
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13106-huawei-ykkoenen-5g-radioissa
Huaweilla on ollut ongelmia 5G-verkkojen toimittamisessa moneen länsimaahan, mutta yhtiö on erittäin vahvassa asemassa monilla muilla markkinoilla. GlobalData arvioi nyt, että Huawei oli markkinajohtaja 5G RAN -toimituksissa viime vuoden jälkimmäisellä puoliskolla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei uhkaa Ruotsia miljardiluokan vahingonkorvauksilla
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13111-huawei-uhkaa-ruotsia-miljardiluokan-vahingonkorvauksilla
Ruotsin posti- ja televiranomainen PTS sulki Huawein ulos maan mid band -alueen 5G-huutokaupasta reilu vuosi sitten. Huawei on aina pitänyt kohteluaan syrjivänä ja laittomana ja on nyt haastanut oikeuteen Ruotsin kuningaskunnan. Asia ratkeaa ICSID-keskuksessa (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) Washingtonissa.
Huawei vetoaa syytteeseen Kiinan ja Ruotsin väliseen kahdenväliseen kauppasopimukseen vuodelta 1982. Sopimuksen mukaan maat eivät saa estää toistensa ja yritystensä investointeja.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/02/01/uutuusmalli-juhli-kannykkamyynnissa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13124-nokian-krapula-kesti-yli-8-vuotta
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/02/03/nokia-vahvisti-5g-osaamistaan-loppuvuoden-tulosta-enemman/
Nokian loppuvuoden tuloskehitys ei sujunut aiempien kuukausien tavoin, mutta samalla yritys panosti hurjasti 5G-teknologisen osaamisensa vahvistamiseen. Koko vuoden liikevaihto kasvoi kolme prosenttia 22 miljardiin euroon ja liikevoittokin 33 prosenttia. Yritys kertoi aloittavansa myös osinkojen jakamisen uudestaan ja ostavansa lisäksi takaisin omia osakkeitaan markkinoilta.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Make a Digital Predistortion Solution Practical and Relevant
Jan. 26, 2022
For digital predistortion implementations, static quantitative data fails to capture many challenges, risks, and performance tradeoffs of real-world scenarios. Here’s how to get beyond fundamentals and into considerations for complex 5G environments.
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21215159/analog-devices-how-to-make-a-digital-predistortion-solution-practical-and-relevant?utm_source=RF%20MWRF%20Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220127090&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What you’ll learn:
A power amplifier’s nonlinearity is not static, but rather continuously in flux.
There are two critical aspects to DPD performance: the static bench-level performance and the real-world operational dynamic performance.
DPD robustness means continuously monitoring the internal state and quickly responding to unusual conditions.
In an ideal world, the output of a power amplifier (PA) would be an identical scaled version of the input and most of the power consumed by the amplifier would reside in the output signal. Hence, we would have maximum efficiency and no distortion. In the real world, though, we fall short—real linear amplifiers tend to have very poor efficiencies.
Amplifiers used in cable distribution systems, for example, have excellent linearity, but this comes at the cost of efficiency. In most cases, the efficiency struggles to achieve greater than 6% with the balance of the power (94%) being wasted, which imposes economic, environmental, and application costs. In cellular base stations, electricity accounts for over 50% of the operating-expense (OPEX) costs.
Wasted power increases electricity usage and produces greenhouse gases, while much of the power that isn’t emitted as radio waves must be dissipated as heat. Consequently, active and passive thermal management is needed.
Over the last several decades, the cellular industry has pushed the efficiency of the PA to a performance level more than 50%. This has been achieved by adopting smart architectures such as the Doherty architecture and advanced process technologies like gallium nitride (GaN).
However, higher efficiency comes at a cost—linearity. Poor linearity in cellular systems has two principal consequences: in-band distortions and out-of-band emissions. In-band distortions disrupt the fidelity of the transmitted signal and can be represented by a degradation in error-vector-modulation (EVM) performance. Out-of-band emissions break the 3GPP emissions mask and may cause unwanted interference to operators occupying adjacent channel frequency allocations. We typically measure this aspect of performance in terms of adjacent-channel leakage ratio (ACLR).
GaN PAs offer an additional challenge in that in-band distortions also are produced by the charge-trapping effect. They’re dynamic in nature and unrelated to any signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) implied from the ACLR.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industrial devices supporting 5G are critical for digital transformation and solutions are now available to design and test such devices.
Read the full article: http://arw.li/6187KMbfW
#EDN #5G #IndustrialDevices
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13130-pekka-lundmark-nokian-peluu-perustuu-tekniseen-kehitykseen
Tomi Engdahl says:
Designing and testing industrial devices for 5G private networks
https://www.edn.com/designing-and-testing-industrial-devices-for-5g-private-networks/
Fifth-generation wireless (5G) and multi-access edge computing (MEC) are essential technologies for tomorrow’s smart factories. The real-time aspects of Release 16—the latest 5G standard release by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)—have spurred the development of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Complementing 5G to support IIoT control applications, MEC provides real-time awareness to the 5G system while helping to achieve lower latency by moving compute resources closer to the user.
Upcoming standard releases will bring new capabilities for industrial applications. Release 17, which will reach commercialization in the first half of 2022, will increase the integration of 5G with time-sensitive networks (TSN). The release will also introduce features that improve 5G positioning and reduce latency, capabilities that are critical for factory automation and remote-control applications.
Next, touted as a step function increase in the evolution of the 5G standard, Release 18 will be the first release from the 3GPP officially falling under the “5G Advanced” umbrella. This release will feature major enhancements for network intelligence, including the implementation of machine-learning (ML) techniques at different levels in the network. That’s because artificial intelligence (AI) enhancements will be essential for more demanding industrial use cases.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Core Networks business chooses AMD EPYC™ processors to help lower energy use, costs for CSPs
https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2022/01/27/nokia-core-networks-business-chooses-amd-epyctm-processors-to-help-lower-energy-use-costs-for-csps/
Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced that its Core Networks business is using 3rd Gen AMD EPYC™ processors to power the servers that deliver Nokia Core cloud-native software products, expanding the server-chip choices available to Nokia communication service provider (CSPs) customers in order to drive new levels of performance and energy efficiency improvements of 5G networks.
The announcement represents an extension of Nokia’s broader efforts to accelerate digitalization to help the ICT industry reduce its environmental footprint and to support other industries becoming more resource efficient.
Nokia is targeting up to a 40% reduction in server power consumption to run Core workloads using AMD EPYC™ processors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Suomalaiset 5G-verkot tasalaatuisia
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/02/09/suomalaiset-5g-verkot-tasalaatuisia/
Suomalaisten mobiilioperaattorien tulokset olivat erittäin lähellä toisiaan, kun niitä verrattiin keskenään mittausyhtiö Tutelan uusimmassa mobiilikokemuksen tilaa koskevassa raportissa. Esimerkiksi uudet 5G-verkot olivat lähes samantasoisia vaikka silti pieniä erojakin löytyi.
Kanadalainen tiedonkeruuyritys Tutela mittasi marraskuussa kaikkien Suomessa toimivien matkapuhelinoperaattoreiden verkkojen kuuluvuutta videotoistossa, videoneuvotteluissa, pelaamisessa, äänipuheluissa ja selaamisessa.
Testeissä Telia ja DNA saavuttivat tilastollisen tasatuloksen vaativan toimivuuden luokassa. Kaikki kolme mobiilioperaattoria olivat puolestaan tilastollisesti tasaveroisia 5G-verkon vaativan toimivuuden luokassa yli 90 prosentin tuloksillaan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Drive for Vehicle-To-Everything Connectivity
Feb. 5, 2022
V2X applications are transitioning to 5G functionality, bringing key features and capabilities missing from current dedicated short-range communication methods.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21215345/mouser-the-drive-for-vehicletoeverything-connectivity?utm_source=EG%20ED%20Auto%20Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220131024&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What you’ll learn:
The major advantages that 5G is expected to bring to V2X applications.
Are there privacy issues surrounding V2X technology?
Results from 5GAA V2X testing.
Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology is the future of vehicular transportation. Communications between vehicles on the road (V2V) and between vehicles and traffic infrastructure (V2I), such as streetlights and pedestrian crossings, will greatly enhance automotive safety features and ease traffic congestion. V2X uses 5G to transmit signals to and from automobiles, pedestrians, and traffic cameras/sensors to make driving safer and more convenient.
Let’s explore five ways that 5G in V2X applications will deliver new capabilities using better connectivity and lower latency than current vehicular dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
European Commission expands the radio spectrum available for 5G https://www.euractiv.com/section/5g/news/european-commission-expands-the-radio-spectrum-available-for-5g/
The European Commission has decided to expand the frequency bands available for 5G applications. Still, radio frequency allocation remains a sensitive topic as conflicting interests intersect over old generation networks and new bands.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13165-testausalusta-kaikille-5g-laitteille
5G on jo vahvasti markkinoille ja esimerkiksi myydyimpien laitteiden lista on Suomessa hyvin 5G-pitoista. Markkinoille tuodaan kuitenkin koko ajaa lisää laitteita, ja ne tukevat myös uusia 5G NR -ominaisuuksia, kuten millimetriaaltoja ja itsenäisiä SA-yhteyksiä (stand alone).
Tätä varten mittauslaitevalmistaja Rohde & Schwarz on esitellyt 5G-päätelaitteiden ja piirisarjojen testaukseen yhden boksin ratkaisun. R&S CMX500 5G -testeri tarjoaa laajan laitetestauskyvyn, mukaan lukien tuen kaikille 5G NR -käyttöönotteille, jotka kattavat LTE:n ja 5G NR:n. FR1 ja FR2 ei-standalone (NSA) ja standalone (SA) -tilassa, sekä FDD- että TDD-laitteille.
R&S®CMX500
5G Radio Communication Tester
https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/fi/product/cmx500-productstartpage_63493-601282.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13165-testausalusta-kaikille-5g-laitteille
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung murtaa Qualcommin hallinnan millimetriaalloilla
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13166-samsung-murtaa-qualcommin-hallinnan-millimetriaalloilla
Googlen Pixal oli ensimmäisiä älypuhelimia, joka tuki ns. millimetrialueen 5G-taajuuksia. 5-mallissa Google luotti Qualcommin piirisarjaan, mutta uusin Pixel 6 Pro on ranskalaisen SystemPlus Consultingin purkuanalyysin mukaan rakennettu Samsungin tekniikalle.
Samsung näyttää siis valtaavan piirisarjamarkkinoita, kun 5G:ssä siirrytään korkeammille taajuuksille. Suomessakin millimetriaalloilla toimivat 5G-verkot ovat käynnistymässä tänä vuonna, vaikkakin hyvin rajoitetusti. Uusimmat puhelimet tukevat myös n256-kaistaa, jonka osa Suomessa (25,1-27,5 GHz) on lisensoitu 5G-käyttöön.
Vuodentakaisessa Pixel 5:ssa oli myös mmWave-piiriarja, mutta sen toimitti Qualcomm. Kuudennen poven Pixelissään Google vaihtoi toimittajaa. Google Pixel 6 Pron piirisarjassa on kolme alijärjestelmää. Ensimmäinen SiP-kotelo (system-in-package) koostuu Samsungin Shannon 5123 – kantataajuusprosessorista ja välitaajuuksien RF-piiristä Shannon 5710. Toinen laite on etupäämoduuli, joka on erityisesti suunniteltu toimimaan kaksoisantennijärjestelmän kanssa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G: How mid-band rollout is set to shape wireless design in 2022
https://www.edn.com/5g-how-mid-band-rollout-is-set-to-shape-wireless-design-in-2022/
Cell phones have historically operated on low-band signals, but as 5G proliferates, 2022 will see a huge rollout of the mid-band signals. Given the capacity and coverage of mid-band compared to low-band, mid-band offers lower latency but limited signal coverage
A mid-band solution can only travel approximately 20% of the distance of low-band, but it’ll get there approximately 10x faster. The $22 billion auction of mid-band by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2022 is likely to lead to a huge rollout of 5G services. Carriers have chosen to pour large amounts of money into mid-band technology for one enticing use case in particular: fixed wireless.
Additional towers and signal repeaters
Because mid- and high-band signals cannot travel nearly as far as low-band, additional towers and cell signal repeaters will be necessary to propagate the network in both indoor and outdoor spaces. Currently, the United States has deployed 387,000 towers. In order to be able to take on mid-band technology while still covering the same footprint, we won’t be able to rely on the existing placement of towers.
Perception disconnect between consumers, carriers and engineers
Carriers have been talking about 5G for years, which has gotten consumers excited, curious, and eager to adopt. However, from what I’ve noticed, consumers don’t always have the details straight about 5G. Now that 5G is undeniably here and carriers have made such large investments, talk is abuzz around how we will use cellular signals to power our businesses and change the way we do business. For carriers and engineers, describing what 5G means and how it applies to an average consumer may not be a bad idea.
And what might be next to bat for 2023 and beyond? High-band adoption, 6G, Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS)? We can save those predictions for later and choose to focus on what’s right in front of us: mid-band, 5G, and fixed wireless for 2022.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia-pomo: avoimia verkkoja ei voi pysäyttää
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13178-nokia-pomo-avoimia-verkkoja-ei-voi-pysaeyttaeae
Avoimista mobiiliradioverkoista eli Open RANista tulee väistämättä työkalu, jota operaattorit tulevat käyttämään radioverkoissaan. – Open RANin käyttöä ei voida pysäyttää, vaikka vielä ei tiedetäkään, nouseeko se mobiiliverkkojen valtavirraksi, sanoo Nokia Euroopan johtaja Jan van Tetering Mobile World Liven haastattelussa.
Van Teteringin mukaan tekniikassa on edelleen puutteensa, jotka alan täytyy yhdessä ratkaista. Nokia on tehnyt useita toimia vahvistaakseen asemaansa uudessa ekosysteemissä kuulumalla useisiin avoimen RAN-alan ryhmiin ja osallistumalla operaattorikokeisiin, jotka ovat olleet tärkeitä avoimen RAN:n ominaisuuksien ja mahdollisten ongelmien arvioinnissa.
- Open RAN on monimutkaisempi kuin klassinen mobiiliverkon arkkitehtuuri. Käytämme paljon aikaa tämän monimutkaisuuden ymmärtämiseen ja hallintaan. Tästä syystä näemme meneillään paljon kokeita, joissa yritetään ymmärtää, mitä lisäarvoa syntyy, ja yritetään saada ekosysteemit toimimaan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How 5G wireless is impacting the PCB design and manufacturing
https://www.edn.com/how-5g-wireless-is-impacting-the-pcb-design-and-manufacturing/
The 5G wireless technology is characterized by very high speed, greater connectivity reach, and low latency. Compared to the 4G network, 5G wireless can offer 10-20 times higher transmission rates, around 100 times higher data capacity, and less than 1-millisecond latency. Frequency spectrums extend up to the millimeter-wave band (mmWave), and this extremely high-frequency chunk is one of the toughest challenges for the PCB manufacturing industry.
So, 5G has impacted various design and manufacturing aspects, including PCB assembly. There are several challenges in building a PCB that can fulfill the advantages offered by a 5G device. Hence, new process methodologies are required along with advanced testing and inspection facilities in the assembly house.
The 5G-related PCB design challenges
Below are some of the major issues engineers confront while designing and manufacturing PCBs for 5G applications.
With the growing design complexity, 5G devices will likely use high-density interconnect (HDI) PCBs with thinner traces and higher connection pad density. But these thinner traces will cause signal integrity issues at the high-speed operations.
Impedance irregularities occur in HDI PCBs due to various factors like trace dimension, width, and cross-section. If the trace cross-section is created using a conventional subtractive etching process, the chances are that impedance anomalies cause signal loss.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yrityskysely: Turvallisuuden merkitys 5G-verkoissa kasvaa kovaa vauhtia – edessä läpimurtovuosi
https://www.telia.fi/artikkelit/artikkeli/kotimainen-5g-luo-turvallisuutta-newsroom
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tackling Security Challenges in 5G Networks https://www.enisa.europa.eu/news/enisa-news/tackling-security-challenges-in-5g-networks
The EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) proposes good practices for the secure deployment of Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) in 5G networks.. Network Function Virtualisation is a new technology in 5G networks, which offers benefits for telecom operators in terms of flexibility, scalability, costs, and network management. However, this technology also introduces new security challenges.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13212-valmis-ratkaisu-open-ran-radioiden-kehitykseen
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia haluaa, että tekoäly operoi 5G-radioverkkoa
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13215-nokia-haluaa-ettae-tekoaely-operoi-5g-radioverkkoa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Barcelonassa demotaan 5G-livelähetyksiä
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13222-barcelonassa-demotaan-5g-livelaehetyksiae
Mittauslaitevalmistaja Rohde & Schwarz kertoo demoavansa yhdessä Qualcommin kanssa 5G-livelähetyksiä Barcelonan Mobile World Congress 2022 -tapahtumassa helmi-maaliskuusa vaihteessa. Demossa toimitetaan sisältöä älypuhelimiin ja esitellään Broadcast/Multicast-ominaisuuksia 5G:n yli.
Cellnex Telecomin tarjoama sisältö lähetetään uudelleen 5G Broadcast -signaalilla. 5G Broadcast tarjoaa verkko-operaattoreille ja lähetystoiminnan harjoittajille mahdollisuuksia luoda ja välittää sisältöjä korkealla spektritehokkuudella ja alhaisin kustannuksin.
Demo perustuu 3GPP Rel. 16 -määrityksiin sisältyvään 5G Broadcast -tekniikkaan. Laitetasolla signaali lähetetään R&S TLU9 -lähettimellä. Core-verkkona toimii BSCC2.0 (Broadcast Service and Control Centeri). Live-signaalia lähetetään Fira-messukeskuksen ja messualueen sisällä Rohde & Schwarzin osastolta Cellnexin toimittamien sektoroitujen antennijärjestelmien avulla.
5G Broadcast -ratkaisu toimii vain vastaanottotilassa ilman SIM-korttia. Itse signaali välitetään UHF-kaistalla.
5G tekee tavallaan sen, mitä Suomessa takavuosina kehitetty DVB-H-lähetystekniikka yritti. Nokialla oli jo päätelaitekin, johon oli integroitu DVB-H-vastaanotin. DVB-H:n kuvan tarkkuus oli 320 x 240 pistettä. Suomessa Digita sulki maailman viimeisen DVB-H-lähetysverkon maaliskuussa 2012.
Broadcast/Multicast over 5G ei rajoitu lineaariseen ja live-sisällön jakeluun eli televisiotyyppiseen Broadcast-lähetykseen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thermal Analysis is Vital for High-Power MMIC, MCM, and RF PCB Apps
Feb. 18, 2022
Concerns about power-amplifier heating and operating temps aren’t new as they affect device reliability and performance. However, RF designers must broaden the scope of thermal management to include the package, PCB, and surrounding electronics.
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/software/article/21233892/cadence-design-systems-thermal-analysis-is-vital-for-highpower-mmic-mcm-and-rf-pcb-apps?utm_source=RF%20MWRF%20Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220218055&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optimizing PCBs for Best mmWave Filter Performance
Feb. 16, 2022
What are the board-design considerations for building circuits targeting mmWave apps? This article highlights the main design issues and offers some tips and tricks to help you squeeze the most from your high-performance mmWave filters in production.
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/components/article/21233643/knowles-precision-devices-optimizing-pcbs-for-best-mmwave-filter-performance?utm_source=RF%20MWRF%20Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220218055&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding the Basics of Low-Noise and Power Amplifiers in Wireless Designs
https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/understanding-the-basics-of-low-noise-and-power-amplifiers-in-wireless-designs?dclid=CLKS_sKpovYCFfddwgodLoENeQ
The push for performance, miniaturization, and higher-frequency operation is challenging the limits of two critical, antenna-connected components of a wireless system: the power amplifier (PA) and the low-noise amplifier (LNA). This shift has been spurred by the efforts to make 5G a reality, as well as PA and LNA use in VSAT terminals, microwave radio links, and phased-array radar systems.
These applications have requirements that include lower noise (for the LNA) and greater efficiency (for the PA), as well as operation at higher frequencies, up to and beyond 10 GHz. To meet these increasing demands, LNA and PA manufacturers are moving from traditional all-silicon processes toward gallium arsenide (GaAs) for LNAs and gallium nitride (GaN) for PAs.
This article will explain the role and requirements of LNAs and PAs and their main characteristics, before introducing typical GaAs and GaN devices and what to keep in mind when designing with them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Keveä 5G-kannettava kännykkäsuorittimella
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/02/28/kevea-kannettava-kannykkasuorittimella/
Barcelonan mobiilimessut alkavat tänään Barcelonassa. Uusien 5G-verkkotekniikoiden lisäksi tapahtumassa julkistetaan muutakin tietotekniikkaa. Lenovon tärkein uutuus on Qualcommin 8cx-mobiilipiiriin pohjautuva ThinkPad-kannettava 5G-yhteyksin.
Lenovo esittelee messuilla uuden ThinkPad X13s -tietokoneen, joka on kehitetty yhteistyössä Qualcommin ja Microsoftin kanssa. ARM-ytimiin perustuvassa koneessa on uusi Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 -piirisarja ja Windows 11 Pro.
Ohut ja kevyt (1,06 kg) muotoilu on saatu aikaan uuden piirivalinnan lisäksi ettei laitteessa tarvita tuuletinta. Laitteen akku kestää jopa 28 tuntia.
Koneessa on 13,4 tuuman 16:10 -näyttö, jossa on kosketusnäyttö- tai Eyesafe -pinnoite vähentämään sinisen valon määrää. Koneen Wifi 6E6 tarjoaa nopean yhteyden, ja kun se ei ole käytettävissä laite voi vaihtaa 5g-verkon mmWave- tai sub6 Wireless WAN -yhteyteen.
Uusi ThinkPad X13s on rakennettu 90-prosenttisesti sertifioidusta kierrätysmagnesiumista ylä- ja pohjakannessa, 97-prosenttisesti PCC-muovista akun piirilevyn (PCB) kannessa ja akkukehyksessä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia kiihdyttää 5G-datan nopeuden verkkoon päin lähes kaksinkertaiseksi
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13238-nokia-kiihdyttaeae-5g-dataa-verkkoon-paein-laehes-kaksinkertaiseksi
Nokia työstää yhdessä AT&T:n kanssa uudenlaista ratkaisua päätelaitteen ja verkon väliseen datalinkkiin, josta käytetään nimitystä uplink. Bell Labsissa tehtyjen simulaatioiden perusteella DmMIMO-tekniikka nostaa upnlink-nopeuden 60-90 prosenttia suuremmaksi.
DmMIMO (Distributed massive MIMO) mahdollistaa sen, että uplinkissä laitteet voivat hyödyntää signaalin etenemistä useisiin verkon soluihin tai antennipaneeleihin muodostaessaan yhteyttä. Käytännössä tekniikkaa muuttaa kohinan hyödylliseksi signaaliksi ja lisää nousevan siirtotien suorituskykyä.
Käytännön tasolla ratkaisussa yhdistetään antennopaneeleita useilla tukiasemasaiteilla hajautetun kantataajuusprosessoinnin avulla. Prosessointikuorma soluaseman radioyksiköiden ja keskusyksikön välillä on jaettu uudella tavalla, mikä pienentää vaadittavaa yhteyskapasiteettia tukiasemasaiteille ja siten alentaa kustannuksia.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Telia toi Sandvikille verkkoviipaloinnin ja reunalaskennan
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/02/28/telia-toi-sandvikille-verkkoviipaloinnin-ja-reunalaskennan/
Telia on ottanut ensimmäisenä operaattorina maailmassa käyttöön 4G- ja 5G-verkon viipalointiin ja reunalaskentaan perustuvan virtuaalisen yksityisverkon Sandvikin testikaivoksessa Tampereella. Samaa tekniikaa Telia aikoo tuoda laajemminkin Nokian kanssa yritysasiakkailleen.
Sandvik käyttää tuotantoverkkoon virtuaalisesti toteutetun 5G-privaattiverkon reunalaskentaominaisuutta digitaalisen kaivostoiminnan kehittämiseen.
“Testikaivosympäristössämme suunnittelusta toteutukseen viety edistyksellinen 5G-viipalointiratkaisu tukee todella hyvin digitaalisia kaivosratkaisujamme. On hienoa olla teknologian pioneeri ja päästä ensimmäisenä hyödyntämään 5G-viipalointiratkaisua”, sanoo teknologiajohtaja Jani Vilenius, Sandvik.
Virtuaalinen 5G-privaattiverkko tarkoittaa sitä, että julkisesta 5G-verkosta varmistetaan viipale asiakkaan kriittisen tietoliikenteen käyttöön. Hajautetussa ja viipaloidussa 5G-arkkitehtuurissa erilaiset pilvipalvelut voidaan tuoda verkon reunalle lähelle yritysasiakasta, mikä parantaa verkon tehokkuutta ja laskee entisestään 5G-verkon alhaista viivettä.