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Tag: 5G

  • Spark taps Nokia to prepare network for 5G

    Spark taps Nokia to prepare network for 5G

    New Zealand’s Spark has contracted Nokia to upgrade the operator’s core infrastructure in preparation of 5G, ultra-fast broadband and the IoT.

    Spark will expand the capacity of its wireless network, which is primarily based on a Nokia IP/MPLS network, with a new router with terabit capacity.

    The three-year contract will see Nokia providing advanced IP and optical equipment and software for the Spark network. The agreement follows Spark’s recent launch of 200Gbps per wavelength fiber link using Nokia optical transport network technology.

    Spark general manager of partnering, procurement and vendor management Rajesh Singhh said the operator is committed to ensuring New Zealand is one of the first countries globally to be ready to adopt 5G. He said upgrading to 5G will help enable the government’s goal of improving broadband services in rural areas.

    “This strategic partnership is a key step for us to realize our vision of a data-driven future for New Zealand. Nokia is helping us to achieve worldwide leadership in preparing for 5G,” he said.

    “It will allow us to offer our customers the most advanced mobile and fixed broadband services anywhere, efficiently and securely.”

    “We are very pleased to continue our strategic partnership with Spark, which is committed to keeping New Zealanders at the cutting edge of technology,” added Kent Wong, head of Nokia’s Asia-Pacific IP business.

    “Spark’s investment will safely accommodate future growth as they benefit from Nokia’s global reach, expertise and agility. We are excited to help them be among the first customers to begin the move to 5G.”

  • China launches consultation on 5G spectrum

    China launches consultation on 5G spectrum

    China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is launching a consultation regarding the planning and use of millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum for the development of 5G networks.

    The MIIT is seeking industry advise on the planning and use of the 24.75-27.5GHz, 37-42.5GHz and other millimeter-wave bands, which “will be key spectrum for 5G systems”, the regulator said in a notice posted on Thursday.

    The public consultation is intended to collect feedback from the industry on such aspects as suggestions regarding the deployment status of the proposed frequency bands, future planning on the use of these bands for 5G system; the key technical problems (including RF devices, chips, test and measurement, etc.) for the deployment of these frequency bands, as well as feasible solutions and a spectrum roadmap.

    It also aims to identify any compatibility and co-existence issues between 5G networks on these bands and other wireless systems in adjacent bands.

    The consultation will close on August 7.

    Earlier the MIIT also launched a public consultation on the use of the 3300-3600MHz and 4800-5000MHz bands for 5G. The consultation released on Tuesday and to be closed on July 7, hints that China will allocate 3300-3600MHz and 4800-5000MHz spectrum for the deployment of 5G.

    While the MIIT has not yet announced the exact timeline for the release of 5G spectrum, the country’s three mobile operators China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom have announced plans for 5G trials, in preparation of a commercial launch in 2020.

    China Mobile, for instance, announced at Mobile World Congress in February that the operator will launch large-scale pre-commercial 5G trials in China in 2019.

  • Gigabit LTE set to make up 30% of LTE subs by 2026

    Gigabit LTE set to make up 30% of LTE subs by 2026

    Gigabit LTE – a configuration of the LTE Advanced Pro standard – is on track to grow to account for 30% of total LTE subscriptions by 2026, according to ABI Research.

    The research firm predicts that Gigabit LTE will grow to nearly 2 million subscriptions by the end of this year, which will be less than 5% of total LTE Advanced Pro subscriptions.

    But the configuration is expected to grow to account for 70% of LTE Advanced Pro subscriptions and 30% of overall LTE subscriptions by 2026.

    ABI Research senior analyst Prayerna Raina said Gigabit LTE demonstrates that 4G still has a lot to offer.

    “Gigabit LTE… is a critical network milestone for operators in an increasingly competitive environment in the evolution to 5G,” he said. “It is essential for operators to support the ever-rising bandwidth needs of consumers, while also upgrading the network to support 5G networks in future.”

    The first Gigabit LTE service for mobile devices was launched in the US by Sprint in March. Australia’s Telstra meanwhile launched a Gigabit LTE mobile hotspot service in Sydney in February and is expected to support Gigabit LTE mobile devices as they become available.

    Market trends indicate that LTE Advanced and Gigabit LTE will coexist with 5G for some time, Raina said.

    “Today, operators globally are in various stages of upgrading their LTE networks. Over the next four to six years, we expect mobile networks to evolve considerably with the proliferation of LTE Advanced, LTE Advanced Pro, and Gigabit LTE on one hand and the launch of 5G on the other hand,” Raina said.

    “The vendor ecosystem is essential to this network evolution with device availability being critical for the service launch. It is, therefore, imperative for vendors to align their competitive strategies with the operators’ network transition timeline as well as alliances in the ecosystem.”

    LTE overall is meanwhile forecast to grow to account to around 30% of total mobile subscriptions this year and 50% by 2024, ABI Research forecasts.

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  • Ericsson-led 5GCAR project to get EU funding

    Ericsson-led 5GCAR project to get EU funding

    A consortium of companies led by Ericsson known as the 5GCAR project will secure European Union funding as part of phase 2 of the 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP).

    The consortium, which also includes Huawei, Nokia and French operator Orange, will work to develop a 5G system architecture to provide optimized end-to-end vehicle-to-everything network connectivity.

    The 5GCAR Project will run for two years and have a budget of around €8 million ($9 million). It will employ around 30 full-time researchers.

    The EU has allocated a total budget of €154 million for phase 2 of the 5G PPP.

    According to Ericsson’s France head Franck Bouetard, the EU funding “will allow our initiative to further develop in order to meet the market needs by 2020. Having such projects in Europe is key in this worldwide race, as it will secure additional business and employment in the continent in the future.”

    The remaining members of the 14-partner consortium are Bosch, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia, Chalmers University of Technology, King’s College London, Marben, PSA group, Sequans, Viscoda and Volvo Cars.

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  • 5G networks key to healthcare transformation

    5G networks key to healthcare transformation

    The transformative potential of 5G connectivity is becoming increasingly important in healthcare as patients start to demand more connected care through wearables, apps, and telehealth, according to Ericsson’s latest consumer lab report.

    The report, titled ‘From Healthcare to Homecare’, reveals consumer insights into the impact of 5G on the future of healthcare and its transformation across preventative, routine, and post-operative care.

    It shows that 5G will be pivotal in healthcare transformation, providing transmission efficiency in an ecosystem of feedback and alerts, mobility and low latency.

    For instance, in remote health monitoring, wearable devices – such as heart monitors and glucose monitors, require high frequency updates of the central data repository at low-data rates. Experts say that existing networks cannot provide the desired quality of support while connecting a large number of such devices, and they believe that 5G can address this challenge.

    The study cites data showing consumers were concerned with the reliability of health tracking devices — which could include reliability of the network they’re on.

    “As healthcare becomes more dependent on wearables and connectivity, consumers express concern about reliability. In fact, 59% of consumers say that they are concerned about poor connectivity affecting data transmission. Battery charging is another issue – 56% of consumers with chronic ailments worry about their health patches suddenly running out of battery. Fourty-two percent of cross-industry decision makers expect devices connected to 5G networks to consume less power, reducing the frequency of recharges,” the report says.

    Thus telecom operators could enable medical grade devices that connect directly to the internet rather than relying on the patient’s own smartphone.

    “Use of a centralized repository to store patient health records will expose healthcare to data breaches. Forty-seven percent of telecom decision makers say that developing secure networks to access an online central repository is a key challenge. 5G networks are expected to be secure enough to adhere to sensitive patient data regulations.”

    In addition, 5G is also expected to significantly improve connectivity. For instance, 35% of cross-industry decision makers expect 5G to provide reliable and sub-1ms latency connections, which enable haptic feedback to underpin surgeons’ capabilities to carry out remote robotic surgery.

    The report represents the results of two surveys carried out in Germany, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US. The first was a survey of 4,500 advanced smartphone users.

    The sample is not representative of the general population, but Ericsson predicts these early adopters could point the way toward the healthcare trends of the future. The second survey included 900 hospital decision makers. The results were augmented with patient and provider focus groups held in the US and UK.

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  • ZTE calls for globally harmonized 5G ecosystem

    ZTE calls for globally harmonized 5G ecosystem

    ZTE has called on mobile operators to work towards a globally harmonized 5G ecosystem to ensure the healthy development of the telecoms industry.

    In an address at the third global 5G Event in Tokyo last week, ZTE’s director of wireless standardization and industrial relationships Wang Xinhui said that industry standardization for the future of both mobile broadband and the IoT should move forward in parallel.

    “This year is a critical year for 5G,” Wang said during his address.

    “Standardization for next-generation mobile broadband and the Internet of Things should go hand-in-hand, and cooperation with industries should be enhanced. For example, it is vital for 5G to integrate with vertical applications such as the Internet of Vehicles.”

    He said 5G standards should simultaneously meet the requirements of enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communications and massive machine type communications. To ensure this, he said industry participants should collaborate more openly to build unified standards and ecosystems.

    Global 5G Events are sponsored by industry groups including the IMT-2020 promotion group, Europe’s Fifth Generation Mobile Communications Promotion Forum, the 5G Infrastructure Association, South Korea’s 5G Forum and the 5G Americas.

    At last week’s event, industry experts gathered to discuss 5G policies, spectrum, security and further cooperation in various industry verticals.

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  • Nokia, DoCoMo to test 5G in 4.5-GHz

    Nokia, DoCoMo to test 5G in 4.5-GHz

    Nokia and NTT DoCoMo have jointly announced plans to conduct interoperability testing of multi-vendor technology using the 4.5-GHz frequency band, as part of broader efforts to help develop Japan’s 5G ecosystem.

    The companies will be testing 5G applications using Nokia’s AirScale base station and 5G radio interface using the Intel 5G mobile trial platform.

    End-to-end applications will be tested over the air between the base station and the device using the 4.5-GHz spectrum, which is one of the 5G candidate frequency bands in Japan.

    Nokia’s AirScale active antenna with Massive MIMO technology and digital beamforming will be used to test applications including low-latency 4K video streaming.

    “This is a vital first step to allow us to ensure that we have the 5G network infrastructure available for when we commercially introduce the technology, with an ecosystem of device vendors to offer our subscribers the best possible choice and highest quality,” NTT DoCoMo CTO Seizo Onoe said.

    “This trial is an important milestone for the development of 5G in Japan, which will be one of the first countries in the world to adopt the technology,” added Nokia Japan head Jae Won.
    “Furthermore, the initiative is an important step forward in our collaboration with NTT DOCOMO, as well as other key technology partners, as we develop a technology that will meet the ever-growing demands of huge numbers of people living in megacities.”

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  • Satellites key for 5G

    Satellites key for 5G

    Without next generation satellites, 5G networks will take longer to deploy, lack the necessary coverage and will be more expensive to build, a satellite industry executive told a keynote audience at CommunicAsia2017.

    Dr Ashok Rao, VP of product development at O3b Networks, said that the current generation of GEO, MEO and LEO satellites has a critical role to play in making 5G a reality, and that new networks will be transformative for the satellite business, during his presentation: “The Future of the Global Network.”

    The satellite business, he said, “is not a dinosaur industry for rural and remote communities any more.”

    There had been a “lot of innovation” in the satellite industry, and terrestrial infrastructure alone will not be able to deliver networks which can truly be rated as 5G.

    “A major characteristic of 5G is 99.9% coverage, and that’s where satellite comes in,” said Rao.

    “Traditionally satellite has been used in places which are remote and not well connected, but new use cases in 5G such as autonomous cars require the almost universal coverage which satellite can support.”

    Data hungry users are driving a big uptake in the use of mobile video, and satellites also has a role in delivering this capacity.

    Rao quoted UK research which claims that to deliver 5G in the UK requires an additional 400,000 masts, each about 25 meters high.

    “Britain is not a large geography, so imagine what would be required in larger countries,” he said.

    “But this is not going to happen in the UK, because of the zoning and community issues which would require negotiation.”

    Rao said next generation GEO satellites are significantly more powerful than those launched only ten years ago.

    Satellites launched in 2007 had a capacity of 8Gbps and download speeds of 2 Mbps, while those launched in 2020 will offer 800Gbps and 100 Mbps, respectively.

    “Satellites will enable low cost access to 5G, and reduce the capex burden on operators,” he said.

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  • Nokia drives T-Mobile’s 5G plans

    Nokia drives T-Mobile’s 5G plans

    Nokia said it was playing an integral role in T-Mobile’s plans to launch nationwide 5G coverage in the United States by 2020.

    Forthcoming 5G networks will bring many benefits to service providers and consumers, with exponential increases in bandwidth and massive throughput, along with advancements in vertical industries and new entrants — just a few of the myriad possibilities of these next-generation networks.

    T-Mobile’s announced plans to use all of its spectrum resources align strongly with Nokia’s strategy of multi-radio platforms and advanced antenna technologies.

    Specifically, this will bring 5G radio air interface improvements — particularly spectral efficiency — to low bands such as 600MHz, thus allowing for enhanced coverage benefits. Additionally, Nokia will look to enable the 5G network capabilities where 600MHz spectrum is the preferred coverage layer.

    One of the key benefits of 5G is enhanced mobile broadband that will allow users to consume content when and where they desire. Nokia, along with T-Mobile, will provide a multi-layer, cross-spectrum blueprint for how the networks of the future will come into existence.

    “Nokia and T-Mobile share a vision of innovating in mobile networks to deliver real benefits to consumers,” said Marc Rouanne, president of mobile networks business group for Nokia.

    “This collaboration to maximize spectrum is a very exciting development, and is a strong example of Nokia’s commitment to supporting its customers’ ambitions to create new capabilities to make 5G a reality, connecting everything to everything,” said Rouanne.

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  • Samsung, Cisco, Verizon to pioneer multi-vendor 5G Trials

    Samsung, Cisco, Verizon to pioneer multi-vendor 5G Trials

    Samsung Electronics America and Cisco are working with Verizon in what they described as the successful deployment of the first multi-vendor end-to-end 5G field trial, which took place in Detroit, Michigan.

    Earlier this year, Verizon announced plans for customer trials of 5G technology for home broadband service (Fixed Wireless Access). Five US cities are scheduled to begin trials in the second quarter of 2017, with pilot trials in a total of 11 markets expected by midyear.

    Each location offers a unique set of test parameters, including vendors, geographies, population densities and demographics, and the Ann Arbor location in Detroit was the first to tackle a multi-vendor deployment of 5G.

    The solution includes a 5G virtualized packet core as part of the Cisco Ultra Services Platform with Cisco Advanced Services and Samsung virtual RAN solutions (vRAN), paired with Samsung’s 5G Radio base stations and 5G home routers that will deliver broadband services to Verizon’s trial customers.

    Based on Verizon’s 5G Technical Forum specification, the three companies followed a series of comprehensive network vendor interoperability tests (NVIOT) that demonstrated seamless interworking between core network, radio edge and user devices that showcased a core principle of next-generation network virtualization via multi-vendor support.

    This trial demonstrates that service providers can deploy 5G networks specialized to their unique market needs by selecting individual network infrastructure components from a selection of multiple vendors.

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  • Cobham debuts 5G network test solution

    Cobham debuts 5G network test solution

    Cobham Wireless has made available of its new network test solution dubbed TM500 which can validate 5G network performance.

    Touted as an industry first, the TM500 provides operators and network equipment manufacturers with a scalable system to test network performance as experienced by end users.

    The TM500 5G test solution simulates multiple devices connecting to a 5G network, modelling real world conditions. When used in combination with Cobham Wireless’ application emulation and security performance solution, the company is providing a complete, end-to-end 5G test solution to the market.

    “Cobham Wireless’ 5G test solution directly addresses the immediate KPIs for 5G, helping the industry accelerate the development and deployment of next generation mobile and broadband services,” said Ian Langley, SVP and GM at Cobham Wireless.

    “Developing and validating their 5G networks using the TM500 will give our customers the confidence to deploy the infrastructure needed to support next generation technologies, such as mobile edge computing,” said Langley. “This will offer reduced latency and faster processing for new services, expediting the commercial roll-out of IoT applications such as connected cars, smart healthcare devices, and advanced AR and VR.”

    Easily incorporated into a user’s existing workflow, the TM500 solution facilitates the transition from legacy to future standards, in line with the industry’s progression to 5G.

    With flexible deployment options, it allows the user to upgrade or adapt functionality and test parameters, tailoring the solution to specific scenarios and requirements.

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  • KT, Ericsson moving forward with 5G trial network

    KT, Ericsson moving forward with 5G trial network

    South Korea’s KT is in the final stages of testing for the 5G trial network that will support next year’s Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang.

    Technology partner Ericsson announced that the companies have recently agreed on the details of the planned deployment and optimization of a trial 5G network in the nation this year.

    The 28-GHz trial network will include a virtualized radio access network and core system.

    Ericsson and KT have also jointly been testing components of the planned trial network along the new high speed rail line linking Seoul with the Incheon International Airport. The tests included a handover between 5G base stations along the railway, and achieved a peak throughput of 4Gpbs.

    The companies now plan to jointly develop beam forming and tracking technology for 5G and 5G-LTE interoperability technology to help operators optimize capacity and coverage.

    “Stability and interoperability among multiple services, systems and device manufacturers needs to be verified well in in advance of the trial network. We are raising the bar through our collaboration with partners such as Ericsson who are leading 5G technology and standardization,” KT head of networks Seong-Mok Oh said.

    Ericsson head of networks Fredrik Jejdling added that the companies have been working closely on 5G development since signing the 5G collaboration agreement in 2015.

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  • 25 cellcos test 5G in Q1, says GSA

    25 cellcos test 5G in Q1, says GSA

    The GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) has said that in the first quarter alone at least 25 operators from 15 countries have demonstrated 5G technologies, or announced 5G tests, or trials.

    And 18 operators are currently committed to the implementation of services based on pre-standards 5G technology by or before 2019, says the GSA quarterly “Evolution from LTE to 5G” report.

    Although the GSA does not name all the specific pre-5G operators within the report, it does mention Etisalat, Telia Sonera, TIM and Verizon as four examples.

    A further 26 operators are trialling, deploying or planning LTE-Advanced Pro networks exhibiting multiple Rel-13 features such as those related to carrier aggregation, modulation scheme, MIMO, latency and MCPTT (mission-critical push-to-talk).

    An important milestone was reached in March 2017 when the 3GPP agreed on an intermediate target for early completion of Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G NR mode for enhanced mobile broadband. NSA mode anchors connections in 3G, using 5G NR carriers to augment data rates and reduce latency where needed. It was agreed to work towards finalization of the NSA standard by March 2018.

    At the same time, the group said it was still committed to completing the standard for Standalone (SA) 5G NR mode by September 2018. In February 2017, a large group of operators and vendors had lent their public support to this new approach, expressing the view that it will enable standards-based field trials to begin in 2019.

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  • Ericsson, MTS test new 5G features

    Ericsson, MTS test new 5G features

    Ericsson have built a prototype 5G network and completed a successful test of new radio network features.

    The scope of the trial covered features such as massive and multi-user MIMO (multiple input multiple output), beam tracking and dynamic TDD (time division duplex), concepts and technologies that are available in Ericsson’s commercial portfolio, and included stationary and mobile test cases.

    The prototype system comprises a base station with integrated multiple antennas and two sets of user equipment, and is located in Moscow.

    The massive and multi-user MIMO features are based on hardware including up to 512 smart antennas with integrated transceivers per cell, which significantly improves throughput for subscribers.

    Also, the multi-user MIMO feature enables operators to serve multiple subscribers in one sector of a cell with the same spectrum, and thus increase the efficiency of frequency use and the cell capacity.

    “With a scalable and dynamic 5G network as a base, an array of new services and revenue streams will be available to operators,” said Hannes Ekstrom, head of customer unit MTS in Europe & Latin America. “It will enable the automation and business transformation required for the Internet of Things, as well as services like virtual and augmented reality.”

    Ericsson and MTS plan to further develop the 5G prototype system to an extended 5G demo zone in time for the 2018 international soccer competition in Russia.

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  • 5G smartphone sales to hit 100m in 2021

    5G smartphone sales to hit 100m in 2021

    About 2 billion mobile phones will be shipped in 2017, a 2% rise from 2016, and this growth rate is expected to continue resulting in a staggering 10 billion mobile phones being shipped over the next five years, CCS Insight estimates

    Smartphones will continue to account for most sales, with an expected 1.53 billion shipped in 2017. This figure will rise to 1.9 billion in 2021, when smartphones will account for 92% of the total mobile phone market.

    “Although total shipment volumes will remain largely flat over the next five years, the proportion of smartphones continues to grow and the technology landscape is changing rapidly,” said Marina Koytcheva, VP of forecasting at CCS Insight.

    The forecast reveals the strong progress that 4G LTE technology has made in mobile phones over the past decade. CCS Insight expects 68% of phones shipped in 2017 to be LTE-capable, climbing to 84% in 2020.

    CCS Insight’s forecast also reveals the emerging potential for 5G-capable handsets, despite the fact that early deployment of 5G networks will focus on providing fixed wireless connections. The analyst firm expects 100 million 5G-capable phones will be shipped in 2021, and leading markets will be North America and developed markets in Asia–Pacific such as Japan and South Korea.

    China will remain the largest global market, with sales reaching half a billion units in 2021. Principal growth markets during the forecast period will be in Africa, India and some other markets in Southeast Asia.