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:
https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/23/samsung_cloud_ai_drone_5g/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Math Formula Helps 5G
https://www.electropages.com/blog/2020/06/math-formula-helps-5g?utm_campaign=2020-06-23-Latest-Product-News&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=article&utm_content=Math+Formula+Helps+5G
A team of researchers have developed a formula which may help to improve the performance of 5G. What does this formula do, and how is machine learning involved in the process?
Tomi Engdahl says:
5g-toimijat, ottakaa hypetys vakavasti – miljoonien touhuilusta pamahtaa pian miljardibisnes
Markku Pervilä
24.6.2020 13:53 5g Matkapuhelinverkot Verkkotekniikka
https://www.tivi.fi/uutiset/tv/1220b589-90f4-4015-a631-c5c7b01d38d0
Alkukesän järjettömät tukiasemien tuhopoltot ovat vain yksi osa 5g:n ympärillä vellovaa julkisuutta. Uusia matkapuheluverkkoja ja laitteita odotetaan innokkaasti kaikkialla maailmassa, ehkä USA:ta lukuun ottamatta.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elisan 5g jo 30 paikkakunnalla Suomessa – uusimmat laajennukset Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla
https://www.tivi.fi/uutiset/tv/5f0aecdc-5417-4f77-a16c-9b54f5791035
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fueled by 5G, Watch Cloud Gaming and Video Take Off
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21134316/fueled-by-5g-watch-cloud-gaming-and-video-take-off?utm_source=RF+MWRF+Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200617036&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
We’ve been at home watching streaming video and gaming online for months, propelling rapid growth in 5G-related revenue that will continue to balloon. But who, ultimately, will benefit from it?
That’s good news for the broadband industry, and the party is just getting started. Last year saw the initial deployments of 5G for consumers, but this year will be one of large-scale commercial adoption of the technology. According to the global tech advisory firm ABI Research, 5G-generated revenues for cloud-based entertainment services are expected to skyrocket until at least 2024. By then, 5G will be the driving technology behind revenues of nearly $1.9 billion in cloud gaming (42% of overall cloud-gaming revenues), and some $67 billion in cloud video (31% of overall cloud-video revenues).
Social distancing, quarantines, and school closings have all contributed to the surge in demand for cloud-based entertainment. Across the globe, network traffic has been up an average of 15% or more, with platforms like YouTube and Netflix being major beneficiaries. Thus, network operators and infrastructure providers have ventured toward targeting enterprise use cases in the media and entertainment arenas.
If they’re to succeed in this direction, infrastructure vendors and network operators need to fully embrace a service-based monetizing strategy and depart from a capital expenditure-intensive model, say ABI’s analysts. Should the telecom industry fail in this tactic, they could find themselves losing out to the Google/Amazon/Netflix sorts of large cloud-services providers. It’ll be interesting over the next 12 to 18 months as this dynamic plays out and the (hopefully) post-COVID landscape materializes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Lightweight M2M Approach is Primed for 5G
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21134733/the-lightweight-m2m-approach-is-primed-for-5g
A concerted industry-wide approach to advanced IoT connections is delivering 5G-ready machine-to-machine communications today. What’s behind this technology-on-the-rise?
All industry analysts seem to agree on one thing: The IoT market will grow at one of fastest rates of any modern technology over the coming years. For example, according to the analysts at specialist industry firm IHS Markit, more than 62 billion devices1 will be connected by the year 2023, essentially doubling the size of the market from its 2019 benchmark.
The New Device Breed
Two developments will have fundamental roles to play in fueling the growth and the complexity of IoT solutions: A developing breed of low-cost, low-power devices; and the advent of 5G and other supporting networks able to support the connectivity demands.
This new breed of devices will likely have limitations in terms of computing power, memory, and wireless bandwidth, frequently operating on battery power alone. Yet despite their limitations—in fact, because of those limitations—these edge devices that will be fundamental to the market growth also need to provide the highest standards of network security in concert with low-touch, low-cost, device management.
At the same time, the advent of 5G networks—with their promise of revolutionary speeds, low latency, high resilience, network elasticity, guaranteed quality of service, density of deployment, energy efficiency, scalability, and other game-changing aspects—will create unprecedented opportunities for business innovation.
The IoT will be a major focus of that innovation and be at the core of digital transformation projects across all industries and verticals. But the IoT industry is also highly fragmented. What’s more, as that fragmentation is likely to remain in place for many years, a unified approach to device management across all application areas is critical for solution providers.
Unified configurable management software shortens development lifecycles and the repurposing of software and hardware solutions across a variety of use cases. It also enables solutions to be scaled both horizontally across application areas and vertically in deployment size.
OMA LwM2M
To that end, the industry, through the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), has come together to create a standard to address the need to remotely manage IoT devices in magnitudes that go from a few devices to many millions. The standard, aligned to current practices and principles in architecture and wireless readiness, gives system integrators and solution providers a base on which to build their network configurations and management tools. That standard is the OMA Lightweight Machine to Machine communications protocol—LwM2M—and a white paper2 was published by the OMA earlier this year to highlight the work and outline some use cases. The public document can be accessed here.
These benefits make LwM2M perfect for today’s deployments, but they also pave the way to harmonize with full 5G networks.
Most current 5G deployments are non-standalone networks delivering primarily fixed wireless services using existing 4G infrastructure to support a 5G radio path. The next wave of standalone 5G will incorporate a completely new core network as well as a 5G radio access network; these developments will see an exponential rise in service innovation
The advent of the core 5G infrastructure will unleash the capability of a 5G network to be “sliced” with each part of the network able to operate at different parameters of speed, latency, and device density. All of them will be aligned with the specific application type, from simple enhanced mobile broadband to ultra-reliable low-latency communications for automotive applications, and to the massive IoT deployments predicted by the analysts.
Dealing with Device Management
In contrast, this exponential increase in the density and number of device endpoints will stress and crack legacy approaches to device management. In fact, some of the first adopters are already reporting issues with the current state of device management. A recent survey by research firm IDC3 found “security and cost continue to be the top inhibitors to IoT projects” and that “organizations continue to struggle with skills gaps and infrastructure readiness.”
This balance between the complexity and capability of new networks, and the power and processing limits of the simple mass IoT devices deployed, is a key challenge addressed by the LwM2M standard.
When LTE-M and NB-IoT entered the IoT stage, LwM2M became the natural path for the industry looking for a device-management solution because it was specifically designed to address this requirement of low-powered, low-data, resource-constrained devices and could easily incorporate cellular IoT network technologies.
Adoption of LwM2M across verticals and use cases is growing in areas such as automotive, agriculture, smart city, smart metering, and asset tracking. Major mobile network operators globally have already deployed LwM2M servers in full production environments, many of them requiring LwM2M support for network device approvals.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: White House has discussed various strategies to build competition against Huawei in 5G, like tax breaks and export-bank financing for Ericsson, Nokia
White House Considers Broad Federal Intervention to Secure 5G Future
The Trump administration has discussed a range of strategies to build competition against Huawei
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-federal-intervention-5g-huawei-china-nokia-trump-cisco-11593099054?mod=djemalertNEWS
Trump administration officials have talked about inserting the federal government deep into the private sector to stiffen global competition against Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co.
The ideas, discussed intermittently with U.S. tech giants, private-equity firms and veteran telecom executives, include prodding large U.S. technology companies like Cisco Systems Inc. to acquire European companies Ericsson ERIC 5.32% AB or Nokia Corp., NOK 5.95% according to people familiar with the matter. In more than one case, they said, the company wasn’t interested in buying into low-margin businesses.
Policy makers have also discussed shoring up Ericsson and Nokia with tax breaks and export-bank financing, or supporting a private-equity group that would take one of the European equipment makers private. Other proposals would support “open” network technology that would make it easier for U.S. startups to develop new technology for 5G equipment.
The ideas show how far the U.S. is willing to go in its fight with China over who will supply the world with advanced technologies.
The pandemic has complicated an already knotty planning process.
Huawei is the world’s top seller of telecommunications gear, with equipment in cellphone networks from Asia to Germany. The Chinese company captured 28% of global spending on telecom equipment in the first quarter of this year, according to market researcher Dell’Oro Group. Huawei is able to offer its products at lower prices than rivals with support from the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Huawei has denied receiving any special treatment from Beijing.
U.S. suppliers are still too small to compete with Huawei, which means large wireless carriers unwilling to buy Chinese equipment remain reliant on three international suppliers: Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung Electronics Co.
“For the first time in modern history, the United States has not been the leader in an emerging wave of critical technology,” warns a paper that circulated in the White House, written late last year by telecom experts
The group aims to create a “US-flagged” supplier that could fill the gap left open by U.S. champions that years ago were acquired, like Lucent Technologies, or disappeared.
Earlier this year, a pro-buyout group pitched the idea of a government-supported consortium investing directly in Nokia or Ericsson to administration and congressional officials, according to people familiar with the matter.
Attorney General William Barr endorsed the idea of American public or private-sector ownership of the European suppliers in a February speech, saying it would create “a more formidable competitor and eliminate concerns over its staying power.”
Other companies have closed ranks behind the Open RAN Policy Coalition, a new group that advocates for competition in cell-tower equipment. The group, led by wireless carrier AT&T, includes several U.S. software companies seeking a foothold in wireless networks, as well as more established players, including Nokia.
“Some see this as an opportunity to facilitate the creation of an industrial base inside the United States,” said Brian Hendricks, Nokia’s policy chief for the Americas. “The U.S. has been out of the game for a while.”
Mr. Hendricks said the Finnish company’s U.S. research and manufacturing assets will play a role in the future supply chain but acknowledged more competition is inevitable.
Ericsson executives have said they don’t expect to join the policy coalition.
An AT&T spokeswoman said a more diverse and secure supply chain is a company priority.
Large U.S. wireless carriers have been dissuaded from buying Huawei equipment since a House committee in 2012 named the company a national-security threat. At the time, the panel said equipment from Huawei and Chinese rival ZTE Corp. could be used to spy or disrupt U.S. communications, allegations the companies deny.
That has channeled almost all U.S. wireless business to Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung. Still, many wireless executives are concerned about the long-term health of Nokia and Ericsson, which have spent years trying to restructure their operations. Nokia halted its dividend last year and in March said its CEO is stepping down. Ericsson has returned to profitability after years of restructuring.
Without adequate competition, some China hawks and U.S. telecom executives fear Huawei’s reach within global telecom networks would become irreversible.
Huawei executive Vincent Pang said in a February interview that starting a new cellular-equipment maker from scratch is easier said than done. “In 5G, you don’t just invest $6 billion and you’re there,” he said. “It would take years. So maybe the fastest way would be to buy from existing suppliers.”
Cisco Chief Executive Chuck Robbins discussed a potential deal to buy all or part of a European equipment firm last year with Mr. Kudlow, the White House economic adviser, though the talks were “more patriotism-driven” than a reflection of Cisco’s merger interest, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Mr. Robbins “didn’t want the U.S. to fall behind,” the person said, but the company, which makes computer networking gear, was unwilling to invest in a less profitable business like Nokia or Ericsson without some sort of financial incentives, the person added.
Mr. Kudlow said that talk of a U.S. company buying overseas suppliers has since cooled. “Nokia, Samsung and Ericsson, they’re still very much in the game and they’re adding to their presence in the U.S.”
Nokia and Ericsson have both resisted more drastic proposals, such as government mandates for completely open telecom standards, according to people familiar with the matter. The European companies are instead pressing U.S. officials to support their operations through government-backed groups like the Export-Import Bank and U.S. International Development Finance Corp., also known as DFC.
Even if wireless carriers have access to a more diverse group of vendors, it is unclear whether carriers will buy from new entrants. Some American technology has appeared in networks abroad, such as in Japan and India, but many of those deployments are only a few months old.
U.S. startups including Airspan Networks Inc., Altiostar Networks Inc., Blue Danube Systems, Mavenir Systems Inc. and Parallel Wireless Inc. have developed new technologies. Their executives say they have made some progress but are nowhere close to securing the billions of dollars of orders American cellphone carriers steer each year toward the established hardware companies.
Some U.S. companies see an opening in a recently passed law ordering American carriers to remove “untrusted” Huawei equipment, a technology swap that could generate more than $1 billion in potential sales. The measure still lacks funding.
“There’s a lot of talk, but nothing concrete,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
We predict 190 million 5G subscriptions by end of year. Find out what 2025 will look like in new Ericsson Mobility Report!
https://www.ericsson.com/en/mobility-report/reports/june-2020?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=social_paid&utm_campaign=bnew_global_emr-june-2020-postlaunch&utm_content=EMR_Video-2_1x1_C2&utm_aud=ICT_Telecommunications&utm_tar=e-1_URL-RT
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Makings of a Seamless Wireless Experience
https://www.eetimes.com/the-makings-of-a-seamless-wireless-experience/
We love our world to be connected, and we love for things to just get done for us automatically. Since hitting the sweet spot of personal satisfaction with wireless infrared TV remote control, we have pushed for ever speedier transfers of increasing amounts of data.
Much of the indoor wireless connectivity is provided in the unlicensed band by Wi-Fi, while most of the outdoor connectivity is licensed to mobile operators. The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) this April counted 380 operators who are investing in 5G networks. Of these, 73 operators in 41 countries have launched some form of Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)-compliant commercial 5G services.
In the IoT space, consultants McKinsey & Co. see the adoption of 5G happening in waves in major markets with applications that require enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) inflecting up in 2022, followed by those that rely on Ultra-Reliable, Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) showing an uptick in adoption in 2023, and use cases for massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC) picking up significantly starting 2025.
EUHT-5G for outdoors
While the new Wi-Fi standards will adequately meet our requirements indoors, widespread 5G implementations are needed to seamlessly extend that experience outdoors and in large-scale commercial scenarios. The 3GPP, which is reviewing solutions to meet the IMT-2020 (5G) specifications, mandates that among other requirements a 5G-compliant network must support latency lower than 1 ms, peak data rates of more than 20 Gb/s, and a connection density of at least 1 million connections/km2.
Even as the 3GPP plans a functional freeze on June 19 of its Release 16 phase 3, related to vehicle-to-anywhere (V2x) communications including platooning, a technology already exists that not only surpasses many of 3GPP requirements but has undergone extensive testing and implementation. The Enhanced Ultra High Throughput-5th Generation (EUHT-5G) technology promises 0.5-ms latency, 60-Gb/s peak data rates and 150 million connections/km2.
Figure 1: EUHT-5G’s flexible frame structure allows for high performance in a wide range of application scenarios from static broadband access to passenger services aboard very-high-speed trains.
EUHT-5G supports frame lengths from 0.1 ms to 14 ms, flexible pilot densities over the 0.04 ms-to-14 ms interval range, and tunable downlink-to-uplink ratios in units of one OFDM symbol from 0 : 511 to 511 : 0.
A key strength of the EUHT-5G is its adaptability to various use-case scenarios. It uses a flexible frame structure that can be changed to meet changing applications (figure 1). For instance, both downlink-dominant home broadband access and uplink-dominant wireless video surveillance require a long frame length and can handle synchronization with a sparse pilot density. However, high-speed mobile applications like those for metro rail and high-speed trains (HSTs) need higher pilot densities and shorter frame lengths.
Very-high-speed use cases pose unique challenges due to Doppler shift of up to 2.1 kHz, fast changing channels and frequent handover. EUHT-5G overcomes this with a higher sub-carrier interval of 78.125 kHz, pilot intervals as short as 0.04 ms to enable fast channel tracking, and advanced algorithms for accurate channel estimation and prediction.
While eMBB will initially drive the 5G market, supporting shipments of compliant mobile devices to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 132.4 percent, from 15 million in 2019 to 1 billion in 2024[v], it is URLLC that is expected to eventually command 80-percent of the 5G services,[vi] including applications like industrial internet, intelligent transportation, robotics, high-speed rail operations and passenger services, and low-altitude air-traffic control.
3GPP R16’s plan to use mini-slot, grant-free and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanisms for error correction and control, and its reliance on the low spectral efficiency of 0.0586 bit/s/Hz to implement URLLC could struggle to deliver commercial value for those applications.
Since much of the 5G core technology, particularly in the sub-6 GHz band, is a 4G enhancement and 4G overlay, it inherits those issues of retransmission and HARQ that continue in the 4G PHY. With the URLLC simulation of 3GPP 5G at merely 3 km/hiii, the retransmission delay is avoided but, because that rate of mobility is unrealistically low, the simulation serves no purpose. Not only would the key applications of industrial internet and Internet of Vehicles (IoV) therefore remain out of reach but these shortcomings would obscure the path to further development by 3GPP of R18 and R19.
EUHT-5G, on the other hand, has already met those URLLC requirements and Chinese operators have seized the domestic market opportunity with implementations in manufacturing, metro rail operation, Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS)-compliant highways, and passenger services in trains running at over 300 km/h.
At a time when recovering from the current economic slowdown is fast becoming a global imperative, the complementary technologies of IEEE 802.11ax and EUHT-5G, and industry cooperation can immediately open new markets by providing a seamless wireless experience from high-capacity hotspots to URLLC and high-speed mobile applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lisää analytiikkaa Ericssonin langattomiin teollisuusratkaisuihin
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/06/30/sas-institute-mukaan-ericssonin-teollisuusratkaisuihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung’s drone-based AI platform optimizes 5G network performance
https://www.cablinginstall.com/wireless-5g/article/14178383/samsungs-dronebased-ai-platform-optimizes-5g-network-performance?utm_source=CIM+Weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200626044&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. on June 22 announced a successful demonstration of its new drone-based antenna configuration measurement solution for 4G and 5G networks in the company’s campus. This automated solution will offer operators a simplified way to more efficiently manage cell sites, improve employee safety, and ultimately optimize network performance.
In the demonstration, held in Seoul, South Korea, an engineer on the ground used a smartphone with a remote control application to fly a camera-equipped drone that captured photos of the antennas installed on a building’s rooftop. The visual data was viewable via the engineer’s smartphone and then was transmitted to a cloud server within seconds. The deep learning-based artificial intelligence (AI) solution instantly verified the rotation and tilt of the antennas, so that the engineers could determine if the antennas were installed correctly at predefined optimal angles.
Samsung has demonstrated its new solution which automatically measures antenna rotation and tilt at the touch of a fingertip using a mobile device, and can improve tower climber safety and efficiency in network maintenance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5G Opportunity for Broadcasters Remains Tenuous
https://www.eetimes.com/the-5g-opportunity-for-broadcasters-remains-tenuous/
When the mobile communications industry started its long evolution to the 5th generation (5G), one of the early significant applications identified was broadcasting. 5G was seen as equally applicable for both delivery of content and its production, notably for outside broadcast but also in a studio. However, this low hanging fruit has yet to start ripening in any serious way.
“There are some deployments we can point to, but on the whole what we are seeing are complementary applications rather than 5G being ready for any meaningful distribution of media content,” Peter MacAvock, Head of Delivery, Platforms and Services at the European Broadcasting Union’s Technology and Innovation Division told EE Times.
“The potential for 5G is just enormous for most aspects of this sector, but we need to be pragmatic about some of the time-scales here. Some in the broadcasting sector are, and have been, harboring unrealistic expectations of the performance improvements that could be achieved in the short term.”
The EBU has been the primary representative for public sector media (PSM) organizations for nearly 70 years and has over 100 broadcasting groups as full members. The organization is promoting numerous technology projects focusing on both the communications side as well as issues related to media production.
Addressing the latter opportunity, he noted while this may be ‘less sexy’, it is equally important for the effectiveness of the entire broadcasting ‘experience’.
MacAvock stressed “there also needs to be some serious discussions about the economics of delivering content.”
He has in the past argued that 5G is unlikely to replace DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) because the economics of the latter have emerged and been refined and perfected over many years, while attempts to develop multicast over cellular have yet to succeed.
MacAvock also noted that 5G is different and thus special for the broadcasting (and other) sectors in that it has been designed to embrace verticals outside of the mainstream telecoms space.
“Indeed we at the EBU and the sector in general have been really active in ensuring that 5G will meet our sector’s needs and requirements, through numerous representations to the 3GPP.”
The first serious nod to the sector was in 3GPP’s Release 14 with the inclusion of eMBMS (evolved Multi Broadcast Multicast Services), that covered broadcaster — friendly features such as free-to-air reception — including on SIM-free devices) and modes to allow operation at HTHP (high tower high power) transmitter sites.
This so called ‘LTE Broadcast’ would enable multiple users in the same cell to access the same live stream, rather than the network having to serve multiple unicast streams. However, it never really took off.
The breakthrough as far as 5G is concerned came with Release-15 in early 2018, but the really important “LTE-based 5G Terrestrial Broadcast”, which is built on top of the LTE core network, is only scheduled to be finalized with Release-16. However, as previously reported, this has been delayed due to issues around arranging meetings as a consequence of the Covid-19 outbreak.
And the next iteration, Release-17, now rescheduled for the middle of next year, will incorporate 5G Broadcast; it relies on a more versatile 5G core.
The report interestingly cautions that “the inclusion of a feature in 3GPP specifications is a necessary step but it does not guarantee that this feature will inevitably be implemented in 5G networks and devices.”
Quite a lot of the 60 pages of the report focus on whether broadcasters would be able to deploy 5G technology to deliver both linear, and non-linear broadcasts, and supporting them with enhanced media services, which are a combination of both. The latter refers to content that is offered “on demand.”
The study considered delivery to mobile handsets, tablets and in-car infotainment devices, but sections also consider whether and how 5G could be relevant for delivering programs to domestic TV sets.
The main conclusion emphasizes that, technically, 5G may be able to meet the distribution requirements of both PSM and commercial media providers “if a combination of 5G Mobile Broadband and 5G Broadcast is used.”
5G Broadcast is a technology that uses FeMBMS (Further evolved MBMS) to deliver media using 5G specs. The standard offers broadcaster the full spectrum for HPHT applications in downlink-only mode. It differs from 5G Mobile Broadband in that the latter relies on 3GPP specifications based on the new 5G-NR radio access network and 5G core network, and are deployed by mobile network providers.
So unlike the LTE version, the new standard will allow media organizations to operate dedicated 5G Broadcast networks independently of mobile operators.
The report’s conclusion then adds a hugely important proviso. “To achieve this in practice, collaboration between stakeholders across the media value chain is required. In addition further investigations into cooperative models between broadcasters and mobile network operators in terms of joint use of spectrum and site assets would be useful. Such cooperation may deliver the cost benefits and the economies of scales required to trigger the device and infrastructure ecosystem for 5G broadcast.”
Such cautious language from the EBU may be necessary, but some of the “stakeholders” may need rather more persuasion.
The EBU maintains the most straightforward option for 5G Broadcast to coexist with digital terrestrial television (DTT) would be for 5G Broadcast to deploy 5MHz channels with the same channel centers as the 8MHz DTT raster. But it acknowledges that other regions may differ and that changes may be necessary.
The report is also surprisingly realistic about the potential of 5G Broadcast. It notes that as of today, no 5G networks nor devices available for 5G support the technology. It also points out that the operating models of MNOs and handset makers are unlikely to change this position anytime soon, since this would require hardware modifications involving significant investments. “Should broadcasters wish to make use of 5G Broadcast, they will need to actively take the steps necessary to introduce it, for example by creating a convincing business perspective for all involved market partners, ideally in large/global markets.”
And, perhaps coincidentally, during the same week, we had the results of a survey, commissioned by Nevion, a specialist developer and supplier of software designed solutions for broadcast production gear based in Oslo, Norway.
The survey revealed that an overwhelming 92% of broadcasters expect to adopt 5G technology within the next two years and that the sector set to benefit most will be remote production.
61% of respondents said they would consider deploying 5G for distribution as a potential replacement for DTT, satellite or cable.
Interestingly, only 20% of those participating in the study considered 5G’s ability to offer a more flexible and portable primary link for (some) outside broadcast production is its biggest benefit.
“I was not particularly surprised at the responses to most of the topics in our survey. Unless and until you get some real infrastructure in place, you are really only working on ‘best efforts.’ And in reality, what we have today is decent bundled LTE, which went through its testing process some five years ago,” Andy Rayner, Nevion’s chief technologist told EE Times.
One statistic in the poll did raise Rayner’s eyebrows. “Forty-six percent of broadcasters maintain they have actually tested 5G’s capabilities within their organization. I suspect that is too high a figure. And even if correct, many of such projects are likely to have been put on hold due to the Coronavirus crisis.”
“5G means different things to different people. For me it represents a toolkit of technologies – some already in use, some still in the pipeline,” said Rayner. He added that for him, the ‘gold offering’ from the networking technology is the potential of network slicing, which could mean a dedicated, functional layer on a shared infrastructure.
“This could be seen as broadcasting’s ‘holy grail’ — deterministic, always available, on-demand broadband.”
But of course, Rayner stresses, this can only become viable, and a commercial reality, if everyone in the loop — from the very large players to the start-ups, are ready to grasp both the technical and commercial advantages.
EBU report concludes 5G can be made to work for media
https://tech.ebu.ch/news/2020/06/new-report-concludes-5g-can-be-made-to-work-for-media
The EBU has published a ground-breaking report on the potential of 5G to be used for the distribution of audiovisual media content and services to mobile devices. Current unicast mobile broadband connections lack the cost-effectiveness and scalability required to properly support the distribution of mobile media services at scale. 5G – the set of mobile technologies that are being defined under the 3GPP umbrella – has the potential to address this problem.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nikkei Asian Review:
Sources: Apple is facing production delays of up to 1-2 months for its 5G iPhone range and will likely not need to postpone the launch until 2021 — US tech titan to make more older handsets to offset coronavirus disruption — TAIPEI/PALO ALTO, U.S. — Apple is pushing its suppliers …
Apple races to push ahead with 5G iPhone mass production
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Apple-races-to-push-ahead-with-5G-iPhone-mass-production
US tech titan to make more older handsets to offset coronavirus disruption
Apple is pushing its suppliers to try to reduce production delays for its first 5G iPhones as the U.S. tech company aims to limit the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Apple is facing delays of between four weeks and two months for mass production of the four models in its 5G lineup after postponements caused by factory lockdowns and workplace absences during the pandemic, sources told the Nikkei Asian Review. Apple has been betting heavily on the 5G range to help it against rivals including Samsung and Huawei Technologies, which introduced 5G-capable smartphones last year.
But sources said Apple has aggressively tried to cut delays and was now less likely to face a worst-case scenario of postponing the launch until 2021, the situation it was in three months ago. The estimated delays are based on the stage that development would normally be at for a release in September.
“Some new product-related project deadlines have been moved up since the hardware team started to return to the office,” said the source.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Network at Ford EV Plant to Focus on Welding Machine Data
June 25, 2020 Nitin Dahad
https://www.eetimes.eu/5g-network-at-ford-ev-plant-to-focus-on-welding-machine-data/
EV batteries and motors require around 1,000 welds. So Ford will use private 5G to handle all that data capture and analysis
A dedicated 5G network to be deployed at a new Ford electric vehicle plant in the next few months will focus on enabling fast reliable data capture and analysis from connected welding machines.
The 5G mobile private network will be delivered by Vodafone Business at the new E:PriME (electrified powertrain in manufacturing engineering) facility on Ford’s Dunton campus in the UK. A Vodafone spokesperson told EE Times Europe, “This is a dedicated private network built exclusively for Ford at the Ford campus. It is separate from our public network. All of the network infrastructure (core and radio) is supplied by Ericsson – based on Ford’s needs, Ericsson equipment was the best fit for this use case.”
The project is being delivered as part of a British government funded 5G trial announced earlier this year.
The batteries and electric motors within an EV require around 1,000 welds. For a single EV product, this could generate more than half a million pieces of data every minute. Fast, reliable, high capacity data capture and analysis will be a significant requirement of these processes. This amount of welding and data cannot be supported by existing factory systems so 5G has been chosen as a system to assist in line with an Industry 4.0 approach.
The lead at Ford for the 5GEM project, Chris White, said, “Connecting today’s shop floor requires significant time and investment. Present technology can be the limiting factor in reconfiguring and deploying next-gen manufacturing systems. 5G presents the opportunity to transform the speed of launch and flexibility of present manufacturing facilities, moving us towards tomorrow’s plants connected to remote expert support and artificial intelligence.”
The Vodafone Business CEO, Vinod Kumar, added, “5G mobile private networks act as a springboard for organizations, allowing them to rethink the way they do business. In this case, MPN (mobile private network) technology makes the factory of the future possible. It allows machines and computing power to coordinate in real time, improving precision, efficiency and safety. We’re excited to help Ford plan for the future of its business.”
The British government had announced in February the funding of two industrial manufacturing projects for 5G trials and testbeds. One was the Ford 5GEM project as described above. The other was for a project called 5G ENCODE at the National Composites Centre in Bristol, led by Zeetta Networks, which received £3.82 million government funding.
The ENCODE project will examine new business models for private mobile networks in the manufacturing sector. It will investigate three key industrial 5G use cases to improve productivity and effectiveness of composite design and manufacture: interactive augmented reality (AR); asset tracking across multiple sites and locations; and industrial system management. The consortium comprises ten companies including Telefonica, Siemens, Toshiba, Solvay and Baker Hughes. Zeetta will be offering its multi-domain orchestration technology based on 5G network splicing and slicing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10923-kuitu-kisaa-verisesti-5g-n-kanssa
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.ericsson.com/en/networks/offerings/5g/5g-sites?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_paid&utm_campaign=bnew_global_5g-switch-ab5g-air-midband&utm_aud=ict_telecommunications&utm_tar=global_url-rt_5g-networks&utm_content=AIR_still-1_1x1_c1
Tomi Engdahl says:
U.K. Set to Start Huawei 5G Phase-Out as Soon as This Year
https://www.bloomberg.com./news/articles/2020-07-05/u-k-prepares-to-start-huawei-5g-phase-out-as-soon-as-this-year
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing to begin phasing out the use of Huawei Technologies Co. equipment in the U.K.’s 5G telecoms network as soon as this year, a person familiar with the matter said.
A report from the National Cybersecurity Centre concluded that new U.S. sanctions mean Huawei will have to use untrusted technology, making security risks impossible to control, according to the person, who confirmed a story in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
Officials are drawing plans to speed up the removal of existing Huawei kit, although an exact timetable is yet to be set, said the person, who asked not to be named discussing unpublished proposals. No date has yet been set for a cross-government discussion at the National Security Council.
“If the U.S. imposes sanctions, which they have done, we believe that could have a significant impact on the reliability of Huawei equipment and when we can use it safely,”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Parliament’s Defence Committee on June 30 that U.S. sanctions on Huawei — which put its microchip supply in jeopardy — are “designed to make 5G designed by Huawei very hard to do.” Sitting alongside him, Culture Secretary Dowden said the sanctions were “likely to have an impact on the viability of Huawei as a provider for the 5G network.”
He also said Huawei won’t be part of the U.K.’s 5G telecoms networks in the long term, adding that he welcomes approaches from alternative vendors including South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and Japan’s NEC Corp.
For its part, Huawei said in a statement on Sunday it’s “open to discussions” with the government.
“We are working closely with our customers to find ways of managing the proposed U.S. restrictions so the U.K. can maintain its current lead in 5G,” Huawei Vice-President Victor Zhang said. “We believe it is too early to determine the impact of the proposed restrictions, which are not about security, but about market position.”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland’s Nokia on Tuesday became the first major telecom equipment maker to commit to adding open interfaces in its products that will allow mobile operators to build networks that are not tied to a vendor.
The new technology, dubbed Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN), aims to reduce reliance on any one vendor by making every part of a telecom network interoperable and allowing operators to choose different suppliers for different components.
Nokia, unlike other vendors, had been promising to participate in the development of open RAN technology and have joined several industry alliances.
Nokia to add open interfaces to its telecom equipment
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nokia-5g-idUSKBN2480S0
Finland’s Nokia on Tuesday became the first major telecom equipment maker to commit to adding open interfaces in its products that will allow mobile operators to build networks that are not tied to a vendor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
France won’t ban Huawei, but encouraging 5G telcos to avoid it: report
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-huawei-5g/france-wont-ban-huawei-but-encouraging-5g-telcos-to-avoid-it-report-idUSKBN2460TT
The head of the French cybersecurity agency ANSSI said there would not
be a total ban on using equipment from Huawei in the rollout of the
French 5G telecoms network, but that it was pushing French telcos to
avoid switching to the Chinese company.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Soitec Aims to Lead 5G RF Filters, Strikes Deal with Qualcomm
https://www.eetimes.com/soitec-aims-to-lead-5g-rf-filters-strikes-deal-with-qualcomm/
Having established its leadership in the silicon on insulator (SOI) market, Soitec is now aiming for a similar dominance in piezoelectric on insulator (POI) substrates to address the huge growth in RF filters needed for 5G applications. SOITEC announced Tuesday a business agreement with Qualcomm Technologies to supply high volume POI wafers for RF filters in 4G and 5G smartphone radio frequency (RF) front-end modules.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland’s Nokia became the first major telecom equipment maker to commit to adding open interfaces in its products.
The new technology, dubbed Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN), aims to reduce reliance on any one vendor by making every part of a telecom network interoperable and allowing operators to choose different suppliers for different components.
Currently, Nokia along with Ericsson and Huawei supplies most of the equipment for building telecom networks and mobile operators can only pick one for each part of their network.
https://www.o-ran.org/
Nokia to add open interfaces to its telecom equipment
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nokia-5g-idUSKBN2480S0
Nokia To Add Open Interfaces To Its Telecom Equipment
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/20/07/07/2159219/nokia-to-add-open-interfaces-to-its-telecom-equipment
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Lightweight M2M Approach is Primed for 5G
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/iot/article/21134708/the-lightweight-m2m-approach-is-primed-for-5g?utm_source=EG+ED+IoT+for+Engineers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200706074&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
All industry analysts seem to agree on one thing: The IoT market will grow at one of fastest rates of any modern technology over the coming years. For example, according to the analysts at specialist industry firm IHS Markit, more than 62 billion devices1 will be connected by the year 2023, essentially doubling the size of the market from its 2019 benchmark.
But it’s not just the rate of growth that could cause headaches for those trying to support this explosion of opportunity. Alongside the ramp up, the scope and complexity of the solutions will also expand as system integrators and service providers seek to bring together a cosmopolitan mix of components, products, and software from different direct and third-party vendors up and down the entire value chain.
The advent of the core 5G infrastructure will unleash the capability of a 5G network to be “sliced” with each part of the network able to operate at different parameters of speed, latency, and device density. All of them will be aligned with the specific application type, from simple enhanced mobile broadband to ultra-reliable low-latency communications for automotive applications, and to the massive IoT deployments predicted by the analysts.
The extreme configurability of these standalone 5G networks will require that standards for device management mature in harmony with these advances both in pace and dimension. The LwM2M standard will make a major contribution to this requirement as it was conceived from the outset to support massive deployments.
A concerted industry-wide approach to advanced IoT connections is delivering 5G-ready machine-to-machine communications today. What’s behind this technology-on-the-rise?
OMA LwM2M
To that end, the industry, through the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), has come together to create a standard to address the need to remotely manage IoT devices in magnitudes that go from a few devices to many millions. The standard, aligned to current practices and principles in architecture and wireless readiness, gives system integrators and solution providers a base on which to build their network configurations and management tools. That standard is the OMA Lightweight Machine to Machine communications protocol—LwM2M—and a white paper2 was published by the OMA earlier this year to highlight the work and outline some use cases.
The public document can be accessed here.
https://www.openmobilealliance.org/documents/whitepapers/OMA-WP-State-of-the-LwM2M-Standard-20200114-C.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
SEMI Taiwan Webinar Takeaways: Heterogeneous Integration a Key Driver of 5G and AI Innovation
https://blog.semi.org/semi-news/semi-taiwan-webinar-takeaways-heterogeneous-integration-a-key-driver-of-5g-and-ai-innovation
Emerging applications powered by 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to be a boon to the semiconductor industry, but only once chipmakers overcome a key challenge: Architecting chips that meet the exacting performance, power consumption, size and cost requirements of devices for mid- to high-end applications. One technology – heterogeneous integration – promises to meet these demands and help drive future leaps in semiconductor innovation in the post-Moore era.
Dr. Hung predicted that heterogenous integration will reshape traditional collaborations between the semiconductor ecosystem and supply chain in order to clear I/O bottlenecks that hamstring high-performance applications. The retooled industry connections will also need to enable high I/O pin counts, ultra-thin devices, and high-frequency signal shields. In an important step forward, the chip industry today is developing a platform that enhances wafer-level advanced packaging services and deepens cooperation with Oversea Assembly and Testing (OSAT) and substrate supply chain partners.
Overcoming the current limits of IC substrates – the connection between IC chips the PCB – is one key for heterogeneous integration technology to flourish, said Dr. Yu-Hua Chen, Vice President, Carrier SBU, RD Division of Unimicron. He noted that the industry must tackle limits to PCB thickness, substrate density, fine pitch and automation to meet the needs of high-end packaging customers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
View: At all costs, bar China’s entry into Indian 5G. Else, live under Beijing’s domination
https://m.economictimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/view-at-all-costs-bar-chinas-entry-into-indian-5g-else-live-under-beijings-domination/articleshow/76886417.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst&fbclid=IwAR2zsh4K9M-C_fVVVJ_b-VAoztAl9HB9kp9PQq0kGnydyrNuE_A8IkRrp5o
India’s strategic digital pushback against Chinese investments and apps has encouraged like-minded countries like the US, and some in Europe, to follow suit. Now it’s time to lasso the biggest Chinese domination tool – 5G, the umbrella under which apps, investments and soon governments could operate.
This new technology from China should not be looked at in isolation, as simply the purchase of telecom technology equipment, and part of India-China trade. It should be viewed in conjunction with China’s four heavens: BRI, the ambitious Digital Silk Route plan, Made in China 2025 and Chinese Standards 2035. Using its formidable AI base, 5G is the mother lode that enables the efficient gathering of global data from around the world, which will give cost efficiency to products listed in China 2025 and help China set global standards.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia avaa datakeskuksen Linuxilla
https://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10937&via=n&datum=2020-07-10_13:53:14&mottagare=30929
Modernin kytkimen pitää olla suorituskykyinen, laajasti skaalautuva protokollien suhteen ja ennen kaikkea täysin avoin, Atwan painotti.
Nokian uusi ratkaisu on ns. kolmannen polven datakeskusratkaisu. Sen ytimessä on SR Linux -käyttöjärjestelmä (Service Router Linux), johon voidaan tuoda kolmansien osapuolten sovelluksia. NetOps-työkalujen sovelluskehitykseen Nokia tarjoaa FSP-työkalupakettia (fabric services platform), jolla voidaan kehittää toiminta- ja automaatiosovelluksia.
Nokian käyttöjärjestelmä on mallipohjainen. Sovelluksia ei käännetä, alusta sisältää kaikki mahdolliset protokollapinot standardin kernelin päällä. – Sovellusten koodaaminen voidaan tehdä millä kielellä tahansa. Operaattori voi käyttää Nokian valmiita sovelluksia, itse tehtyjä tai kolmansien osapuolten sovelluksia, Atwan korosti.
Hänen mukaansa uuden alustan tarkoitus on mullistaa se, miten datakeskusten mikropalveluarkkitehtuuri on toteutettu. Koko ratkaisu nojaa avoimuuteen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.electronicdesign.com/communiqu/article/21135305/its-all-about-the-antennas-for-5g?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200706070&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei 5G kit must be removed from UK by 2027
https://bbc.in/32hSzw4
The UK’s mobile providers are being banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December, and they must also remove all the Chinese firm’s 5G kit from their networks by 2027.
Mr Dowden said the move would delay the country’s 5G rollout by a year.
It follows sanctions imposed by Washington, which claims the firm poses a national security threat – something Huawei denies.
Because the US sanctions only affect future equipment, the government does not believe there is a security justification for removing 2G, 3G and 4G equipment supplied by Huawei.
Huawei said the move was: “bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone” and threatened to “move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide”.
The government wants operators to “transition away” from purchasing new Huawei equipment for use in the full-fibre network.
Mr Dowden said he expected this to happen within two years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rapid Huawei rip-out could cause outages and security risks, warns UK telco
https://tcrn.ch/32j06uB
The chief executive of UK incumbent telco BT has warned any government move to require a rapid rip-out of Huawei kit from existing mobile infrastructure could cause network outages for mobile users and generate its own set of security risks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vodafone and BT say they would need at least five years to completely remove the Chinese firm’s equipment without causing disruption
Phones could stop working for ‘days’ if rapid Huawei ban goes ahead, networks warn
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/huawei-ban-phone-stop-working-vodafone-bt-a9610676.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1594475020
Removing equipment would also cost the companies billions of pounds
Phone signals may cut out for days if networks are forced to remove Huawei equipment, executives from operators informed Members of Parliament.
Representatives from Vodafone and BT told the Science and Technology Select Committee they would need at least five years to completely remove the Chinese firm’s equipment without causing disruption.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei: UK prepares to change course on 5G kit supplier
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53398487
Six months after agreeing it could have a limited role, ministers look set to exclude the Chinese company, with no new equipment installed from next year.
The move is in part a result of pressure from Washington.
US officials have claimed China could use the firm as a gateway to “spy, steal or attack” the UK – Huawei denies this and its founder has said he would rather shut the company down than do anything to damage its clients.
But the decision will be as much about geopolitics and domestic politics as it is about technicalities.
A long lead time for Huawei kit to be removed of seven to 10 years would leave critics unhappy but cause less disruption.
Three to five years would placate them, but impose many more costs because of the need to rip out existing Huawei equipment, which is sometimes integrated with 4G and older equipment.
If the telecom networks fall behind with their 5G rollout as a result, it would make it harder for the government to deliver on its promises of increasing connectivity for the country in the coming years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/507197-united-kingdom-bans-huawei-from-its-5g-network-in-reversal
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.motorola.com/we/smartphones-moto-g-5g-plus/p
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones, base stations, and military radars will all benefit after tumultuous R&D efforts finally deliver an “ideal switch” based on RF MEMs.
How RF MEMS Tech Finally Delivered the “Ideal Switch”
https://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/devices/how-rf-mems-tech-finally-delivered-the-ideal-switch
Twenty years ago, engineers specializing in radio-frequency circuits dared to dream of an “ideal switch.” It would have superlow resistance when “on,” superhigh when “off,” and so much more. It would be tiny, fast, readily manufacturable, capable of switching fairly high currents, able to withstand billions of on-off cycles, and would require very little power to operate. It would conduct signals well up in the tens or even hundreds of gigahertz with no distortion at all (close-to-perfect linearity).
The new devices combine some of the best features of electromechanical relay switches—superlow resistance and leakage currents, and very high linearity—with some pluses of semiconductor switches: small size, very high reliability, and ruggedness. Conceptually, they’re similar to the relay switches. In operation, an electrostatic force pulls a conductive beam, called an actuator or a cantilever, toward an electrical contact. Unlike a relay, whose actuation is triggered by an electromagnet, the RF MEMS switches use a simple DC voltage in the range of 50 to 100 volts to produce a static electric field that pulls the beam to the contact. (The relatively high voltage comes from a DC-to-DC converter fed by the 3- to 5-V circuit voltage.) Because the field is static, the current and therefore power consumption are extremely low.
One of the most difficult technical challenges, says Giovaniello, was finding an electrically conductive alloy that could withstand billions of bending-unbending cycles.
Giovaniello says that some of Menlo’s customers are using the devices, which measure about 50 by 50 micrometers, in wireless base stations, military radios, or phased-array radars. Increasingly, advanced radios and wireless systems are handling many different frequency bands, each selected by one or more different filters. “We’ve got customers that have 20 filters in their radio,” he says. “When you have to select between many filters with a traditional switch, you can have significant losses going through all the switches to select all the different filters.” The power losses can amount to 3 to 4 decibels, he explains, noting that a 3-dB reduction translates to a whopping 50 percent loss.
Qorvo, meanwhile, is targeting applications inside smartphones (as is Menlo Micro). It’s a gigantic market—around a billion and a half smartphones are sold each year—but it’s also one that makes extremely stringent demands on components
There are a couple of obvious possible uses for the devices in smartphones, Costa explains. The first one Qorvo is pursing is antenna tuning. A modern smartphone has up to eight antennas to accommodate a number of frequency bands that is growing as wireless transitions from 4G to 5G. To better match the antennas to frequency, switches embedded along an antenna can change its configuration and also switch in resonant devices, like capacitors or inductors, to fine-tune the antenna’s response. For this application, handset makers now use semiconductor switches, based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. But the higher frequencies and linearities possible with the MEMS devices make them an attractive alternative, particularly for some 5G bands
“Every few generations, there’s a new technology that comes along that gives you a different way to make switches,” he adds. “There was only mechanical back 100 years ago and then there were vacuum tubes, and then the transistor, and then the integrated circuit. They’re all just different ways of making switches if you think about it.
“And that’s how we like to describe this ideal-switch technology. It’s a combination of the best of the mechanical and the semiconductor worlds but in the end it’s a new process technology for making switches that will allow us and our partners to make hundreds or even thousands of different products over the next decade.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
It is so interesting watching companies who don’t understand that they are merely a utility managing a pipe that shovels bits and that they will never be anything more than a utility managing a pipe that shovels bits trying to establish a walled garden monopoly at the application layer.
From https://m.facebook.com/groups/2204579521?view=permalink&id=10160310103154522
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G allowed surgeons to carry out the delicate operation over a staggering distance.
Surgeon Remotely Operates On A Cadaver From 15 Kilometers Away
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/surgeon-remotely-operates-on-a-cadaver-from-15-kilometers-away/
A surgeon recently achieved the astonishing feat of remotely operating on a cadaver from a staggering distance of 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) away. The medical marvel, demonstrating the pinnacle of social distancing, was facilitated by robotic technology that the clinician operated via the 5G network.
The telesurgery, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, was able to be carried out from such a distance due to the high bandwidth of 5G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
China May Retaliate Against Nokia and Ericsson If EU Countries Move to Ban Huawei
https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-may-retaliate-against-nokia-and-ericsson-if-eu-countries-move-to-ban-huawei-11595250557
Beijing is considering retaliating against the Chinese operations of two major European telecommunication-equipment manufacturers, Nokia Corp. and Ericsson AB, should European Union members follow the lead of the U.S. and U.K. in barring China’s Huawei Technologies Co. from 5G networks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chinese Commerce Ministry weighs export controls on Nokia and Ericsson China-made products
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/07/22/teleinvestoinnit-laskivat-5g-rakentamisesta-huolimatta/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eli Blumenthal / CNET:
AT&T says its low-band 5G network is now available to 205M people, joining T-Mobile as a nationwide 5G network
AT&T’s low-band 5G network is now available nationwide
The carrier is also adding 5G access to its cheapest unlimited plan.
https://www.cnet.com/news/at-ts-low-band-5g-network-is-now-available-nationwide/
AT&T’s 5G network crossed an important milestone Thursday, with the telecom giant announcing on its second-quarter earnings call that its low-band 5G network is now available to 205 million people.
By crossing the 200 million mark the company now meets the Federal Communication Commission’s definition of a nationwide network.
AT&T joins T-Mobile, which has had a nationwide 5G network since last December when it turned on its low-band 5G service, as the only two US carriers with nationwide 5G. T-Mobile’s network currently covers over 225 million people, while rival Verizon plans to launch its own nationwide low-band 5G network later this year.
Low-band is one of three different flavors of 5G airwaves. While not much faster than a good 4G LTE connection (or what AT&T calls “5G E”), it has the best range of the bunch. AT&T’s other 5G network uses what’s known as millimeter-wave, a higher-frequency technology that has much faster speeds but significantly weaker range, and is largely only available on certain city blocks and can’t work indoors.
AT&T has deployed millimeter-wave 5G, what it calls 5G Plus, in 35 cities around the country.
The third flavor is known as midband, which has the best mix of speeds and coverage. AT&T has largely been using these airwaves for its 4G LTE network, but it is beginning to share some of that network with its growing 5G service.
The 5G expansion arrives ahead of what is expected to be a busy smartphone season for 5G.
Earlier this week the carrier announced it would be carrying the LG Velvet 5G and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5G. Other notable smartphones rumored to feature 5G over the next few months are Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 and Apple’s 2020 iPhone lineup.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smarter and more flexible production have never been more important – here’s how 5G is helping the manufacturing industry become more efficient and resilient
Promotion
Why 5G will make our factories more efficient and resilient
Now more than ever, we need flexibility in manufacturing
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ericsson-5g-manufacturing?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Traffic+Campaign&utm_campaign=Wired+Ericsson+Traffic+Campaign+Burst+2+July+2020
We are living through strange, difficult times. The coronavirus pandemic has inevitably put pressure on nearly all businesses, including manufacturing plants. In the same breath, the crisis has highlighted the importance of resilience and agility in this sector: many factories that rely on manual, on-site labour, have been closed – but some have been able to adjust their setup and ramp up production to meet increased demand for essential products.
5G connectivity might boost those factories’ ability to meet such a challenge, while accelerating a shift that is already underway.
According to Erik Josefsson, Ericsson’s vice president and head of advanced industries, “It is just not viable to put cables on every sensor or machine [in your factory]. To change the game you have to start to adopt wireless technology like 5G.”
Relying on cables has historically made production processes “more static”,
“There is an interest, of course, to have flexibility. Take for example the Covid-19 pandemic: if you manufacture cars and suddenly the next day you would like to produce masks – if you do have a lot of cables, [rejigging the production] will take you much more time and will be more costly,” Osseiran says.
Over time, thanks to 5G’s low-latency, security and reliability, some machines will come to be almost like colleagues, working seamlessly alongside human workers – able to work in close proximity with them, and assisting them throughout the production process. Connectivity might, in other words, propel forward the era of collaborative robots.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Design and verify #5G systems: 5G will put an end to the congestion and #latency issues hampering the aging 4G standard #communications Mentor Graphics Corp
https://www.edn.com/design-and-verify-5g-systems-part-1/?utm_content=bufferd44a3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=edn_facebook&utm_campaign=buffer
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/07/27/5g-piirisarja-nyt-keskihintaisiin/
Yli tuhannen euron hintaisten 5G-puhelimien lisäksi tarjolle ovat tulleet ensimmäiset neljän sadan euron puhelinmallit. Takana on uudet aiempaa edullisemmat piirisarjat Huawein ja Samsungin omien piirien lisäksi Qualcommilta ja Mediatekiltä, joista uusin on taiwanilaisyhtiön Dimensity 720.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.edn.com/toolset-enables-end-to-end-5g-wireless-device-testing/?utm_content=buffer15bd9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=edn_facebook&utm_campaign=buffer
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers around the globe are not waiting around for 5G to take root before working on the next generation in wireless tech.
With 5G Rollout Lagging, Research Looks Ahead to 6G
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/with-5g-rollout-lagging-research-looks-ahead-to-6g
Amid a 5G rollout that has faced its fair share of challenges, it might seem somewhat premature to start looking ahead at 6G, the next generation of mobile communications. But 6G development is happening now, and it’s being pursued in earnest by both industry and academia.
Much of the future landscape for 6G was mapped out in an article published in March of this year in an article published by IEEE Communications titled “Toward 6G Networks: Use Cases and Technologies.” The article presents the requirements, the enabling technologies and the use cases for adopting a systematic approach to overcoming the research challenges for 6G.
“6G research activities are envisioning radically new communication technologies, network architectures, and deployment models,”
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9040264
Tomi Engdahl says:
With a revised set of standards released last month by 3GPP, things are getting weird for 5G. While earlier releases focused on the core of 5G as a generation of cellular service, Release 16 supercharges connected robots, cars, factories, and dozens of other applications.
5G Just Got Weird
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/standards/5g-release-16
recent 5G standards codified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the industry group that establishes the standards for cellular networks. 3GPP finalized Release 16 on July 3.
Release 16 is where things are getting weird for 5G. While earlier releases focused on the core of 5G as a generation of cellular service, Release 16 lays the groundwork for new services that have never been addressed by cellular before. At least, not in such a rigorous, comprehensive way.
“Release 15 really focused on the situation we’re familiar with,” says Danny Tseng, a director of technical marketing at Qualcomm, referring to cellular service, adding, “release 16 really broke the barrier” for connected robots, cars, factories, and dozens of other applications and scenarios.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The state is a decade or more behind the game. Modern companies that care about security assume that all networks are compromised and act accordingly. See https://cloud.google.com/beyondcorp
The Clean Network program is the Trump Administration’s comprehensive approach to safeguarding the nation’s assets including citizens’ privacy and companies’ most sensitive information from aggressive intrusions by malign actors, such as the Chinese Communist Party.
The Clean Network addresses the long-term threat to data privacy, security, human rights and principled collaboration posed to the free world from authoritarian malign actors.
The Clean Network is rooted in internationally accepted digital trust standards. It represents the execution of a multi-year, all-of-government, enduring strategy, built on a coalition of trusted partners, and based on rapidly changing technology and economics of global markets.
The Clean Network
https://www.state.gov/5g-clean-network/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.ericsson.com/en/5g/5g-for-consumers
Tomi Engdahl says:
Newer 5G/6G mobile devices and base stations, as well as WiFi 6, will need to use beamforming to provide high power transfer. Learn more about different types of beamforming here:
https://www.nwengineeringllc.com/article/types-of-beamforming-and-their-uses-in-rf-pcbs.php
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Just Got Weird – Industry group 3GPP takes 5G in new directions in
latest set of standards
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/standards/5g-release-16
Release 16 is where things are getting weird for 5G. While earlier
releases focused on the core of 5G as a generation of cellular
service, Release 16 lays the groundwork for new services that have
never been addressed by cellular before. At least, not in such a
rigorous, comprehensive way. One of the flashiest things in Release 16
is V2X, short for “Vehicle to Everything.” In other words, using 5G
for cars to communicate with each other and everything else around
them. Hanbyul Seo, an engineer at LG Electronics, says V2X
technologies have previously been standardized in IEEE 802.11p and
3GPP LTE V2X, but that the intention in these cases was to enable
basic safety services. Seo is one of the rapporteurs for 3GPP’s item
on V2X, meaning he was responsible for reporting on the item’s
progress to 3GPP. Release 16 also includes information on location
services. In past generations of cellular, three cell towers were
required to triangulate where a phone was by measuring the round-trip
distance of a signal from each tower. But 5G networks will be able to
use the round-trip time from a single tower to locate a device. That’s
because massive MIMO and beamforming allow 5G towers to send precise
signals directly to devices, and so the network can measure the
direction and angle of a beam, along with its distance from the tower,
to locate it. Then there’s private networks. When we think of cellular
networks, we tend to think of wide networks that cover lots of ground
so that you can always be sure you have a signal. But 5G incorporates
millimeter waves, which are higher frequency radio waves (30 to 300
GHz) that don’t travel nearly as far as traditional cell signals.
Millimeter waves means it will be possible to build a network just for
an office building, factory, or stadium. At those scales, 5G could
function essentially like Wi-Fi networks. Release 16 has introduced a
lot of new areas for 5G service, but very few of these areas are
finished. “The Release 17 scope was decided last December, ” says
Tseng. “We’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s in there.” In general,
that means building on a lot of the blocks established in Release 16.
For example, Release 17 will include more mechanisms by which
devicesnot just carscan sidelink.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://semiengineering.com/power-performance-bits-july-14/
5G switches
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and University of Lille built a new radio frequency switch that could save power in 5G devices when not actively jumping between different networks and spectrum frequencies.
“It has become clear that the existing switches consume significant amounts of power, and that power consumed is useless power,” said Deji Akinwande, a professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UT Austin. “The switch we have developed is more than 50 times more energy efficient compared to what is used today. It can transmit an HDTV stream at a 100 gigahertz frequency, and that is unheard of in broadband switch technology.”
Instead of remaining on and drawing processing power, the new switches stay off, saving battery life for other processes, unless they are actively helping a device jump between networks. They have also shown the ability to transmit data well above the baseline for 5G-level speeds. It is capable of functioning across the spectrum from the low-end gigahertz frequencies to high-end terahertz frequencies.
New 5G Switches Mean Battery Life Improvements, Higher Bandwidth and Speeds
https://news.utexas.edu/2020/05/26/new-5g-switches-mean-battery-life-improvements-higher-bandwidth-and-speeds/
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G Propels IoT into the Future
https://www.sealevel.com/2020/06/30/5g-propels-iot-into-the-future/