This week we talk about the secrets of making 5G work with MIMO and Beam-Steering, new trials announced by DoCoMo, KT and LG Plus with their respective OEM/Chipset partners, and a cooperation agreement between China and Taiwan to research and develop 5G technologies.
Weekly 5G business, technology & market updates – Nov 12-19, 2016
31 Gbps In LG UPlus Demo with Huawei Basestation
LG Uplus in cooperation with Huawei reports reaching 31Gbps using a 5G test basestation and test terminal operating in the 28 GHz frequency band, which is one of the candidate spectrum bands that South Korea could allocate to commercial 5G deployments. The equipment for the trial emphasizes the importance of a ‘Massive MIMO’ antenna configuration, and the importance of ultra high frequency (mmWave) spectrum. Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) increases the number of transmission antennas at the basestation from two or three to more than 100, delivering data to a large number of users at the same time. Massive MIMO combined with ultra broadband support makes possible to provide 5G service to large numbers of users at a high speed without any speed degradation. Therefore, making feasible Virtual Reality(VR), Augmented reality(AR), Ultra High Definition(UHD) Broadcasting and other high-speed streaming services to the masses.
LG Uplus is actively engaged in early commercialization of 5G in cooperation with global equipment manufacturers. LG Uplus claims that it needs 5G to respond to surging data traffic as well as to secure network leadership with the early introduction of next-generation mobile technologies. LG Uplus Network Technology Department’s Kang Jeong-ho said, “Ericsson has demonstrated speeds of up to 26Gbps through 5G test bases, but at this demonstration, LG Uplus introduced 5G technology-based base stations and equipment faster than previously developed base stations.” and he added that “We expect to contribute greatly to the activation of high-quality services such as 4K and 8K UHD and VR in the future.”
Source: Korea IT Times
Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm & Samsung Rally behind KT’s Commercialization of 5G-SIG in 2019
Korea Telecom (KT) announced in November 2015 that it was working with global partners on the definition of 5G. In June 2016, KT confirmed that it had a set of complete 5G specifications called 5G-SIG. Finally this last Tuesday, KT announced reaching a consensus with global network and chipset manufacturers Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung to commercialized 5G-SIG in 2019. This 5G standard by KT and its partners is based on the 28GHz mmWave spectrum. “We have been on an upward track to push for setting a global standard for the upcoming 5G era after we established the 5G-SIG in November last year,” Seo Chang-seok, vice president at the firm’s network strategy division, said in a press conference. “The 5G specifications will serve as a backbone for our 5G demonstration plan at the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018,” he added.
Earlier this year (April 2016), KT announced another 5G trial using the E-Band spectrum to establish mobile backhaul networks for 5G services in mountainous areas where it is difficult to lay optical fiber. Reportedly the trial, will use NEC’s ultra-compact microwave iPASOLINK EX communications system supporting ultra-multilevel modulation (256QAM) that yields a capacity of up to 3.2Gbps.
Source: Korea Times, The Telecom Times
DoCoMo, Ericsson and Intel to Trial 5G in Tokyo Starting in 2017
This week NTT DOCOMO (DoCoMo), Ericsson and Intel announced to further advance 5G development by building a 5G test network in various areas of Tokyo, starting in 2017.The primary aim is to trial use case applications and radio performance. Ericsson said that it will provide 5G end-to-end equipment including 5G radio, baseband, virtualized RAN, and core network. Intel will contribute its chipset in user device in a mobile device trial platform. The trial will be conducted using the 28GHz frequency band; one of the candidate bands that Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is considering designating for use by commercial 5G networks in Japan.
Seizo Onoe, DoCoMo’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, says: “DoCoMo and Ericsson have been working together on joint 5G projects including outdoor trials, and this is a further development of our joint efforts. Adding Intel’s expertise, we will be on track to evaluate the feasibility of services that leverage 5G technologies together with ecosystem partner companies.”
Source: Ericsson
China, Taiwan Team up for 5G
This year at the Cross-Straits Forum, China and Taiwan discussed a plan to work together to promote research and industrial cooperation on 5G, and help formulate a global standard. China finished the first phase of 5G research and testing in September. Yang Zemin, vice president and secretary general at China Communications Standards Association, said that he has an optimistic view of the opportunity for Taiwan-based firms to participate in the mainland’s second phase of experimental work on 5G. “Both the mainland and Taiwan have open minds for deep cooperation in [the] future, and the two sides can work together to help formulate global 5G standard,”
At the forum, Taiwan mobile network operators said that they have launched the VoLTE service. However, Taiwan-based firms lack a strong driving force for enhancing its development based on business model concerns. Through the cooperation, Taiwan can access China’s market and compete with foreign chipmakers, such as Qualcomm. Taiwan’s ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute), the major research force behind 5G technology, has proposed six possible directions for the cooperation: mmWave, ultra dense networks, mobile edge computing, IoT (Internet of Things), IoV (Internet of Vehicles) and virtualization. As Taiwan has accumulated considerable ICT hardware and software strength and has devoted to innovative applications, Taiwan is an ideal partner for developing 5G technologies.
Source: China Daily
Real Secrets of Making 5G Work: MIMO & Beam-Steering
What technology advances and products we need to make 5G development a reality? The major drivers for 5G development are increased cellular capacity, a shortage of LTE spectrum, demand for higher data rates to support video use cases, VR/AR app support, and ultra low latency for real-time features. Other drivers include support for a massive number of IoT devices, and connectivity for the next 1 billion. Meeting the demands of these drivers involves new technologies at the different levels of a mobile system: backhaul transport links, core network, devices, basestations, etc.
As far as the wireless link of this 5G mobile system, the real secret to making it work is the use of massive MIMO and phased-array beam steering. Beam steering focuses the beam to produce boosted transmitter power and higher receiver gain and sensitivity. It also increases link reliability and minimizes interference with nearby cells. The real challenge of 5G design is implementing the MIMO and beam steering. A K-band transceiver implementing these functionalities is given a thumbs-up from Electronic Design, for sure it will be on its way to make 5G cell sites happen soon.
Source: Electronic Design
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