Does anybody really know what 5G is? Does anybody really care? Dean Mischke P.E., V.P. Finley Engineering Company, Inc.
What is 5G? Salvation for Wireless Companies *Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf s keynote at CES 2017
What is 5G? 5G is an evolution of the Radio Access Network (RAN) through the application of software and hardware developments to create the next generation fixed and mobile wireless network Key performance targets: enhanced Mobile Broadband (embb) Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) massive Machine Type Communications (mmtc) 5G PPP 5G IA Innovations for New Business Opportunities, Page 3
What is 5G? Specified by the yet to be released ITU standard, IMT 2020 We define 5G by a combination of: Draft specifications Use case scenarios driving innovation Technologies behind the new networks 5G networks will include: Enhanced network architectures New antenna capabilities New licensed and unlicensed spectrums for 5G Higher speeds and capacity Low Latency
Technologies Driving 5G Software Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Single device performing multiple functitons Change on the fly Software Defined Network (SDN) Flow through Provisioning, both in the core and in the RAN Services at the Network Edge [SESAME] Drives low latency Virtual RAN (VRAN) Open Source Hardware capable of being reconfigured as needed Radio Resource Management (RRM) Aggregates multiple frequency bands to meet bandwidth needs
Technologies Driving 5G
Technologies Driving 5G MIMO Multiple input, multiple output antenna systems Another term is multipath Used to be called Ghosting or Noise Modern equipment has the processing power to separate each multipath and use the information carried in the signal Current MIMO supports 4x4 and 8x8 systems 5G supports 16, 64 and 128 way MIMO
Technologies Driving 5G Beam Forming The use of multiple antenna and software to direct a radio signal to a target. Works based on the ½ wavelength separation of multiple antenna (example at right is based on 8 antenna spaced at ½ wavelength) More effective at higher frequencies Directs transmitter power only to the intended receiver and does not waste power where there is no receiver http://blogs.broughturner.com/2010/02/broadband wireless the future is 5 ghz.html
Technologies Driving 5G New RF spectrum 5G will take advantage of mm wavelengths (>6GHz) FCC allocated additional spectrum in July, 2016: 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum in 64 71 GHz band 3.85 GHz of licensed spectrum in 28, 37 and 39 GHz bands 600 MHz of shared access spectrum in 37 37.6 GHz bands
Technologies Driving 5G New RF spectrum Future Actions under consideration by the FCC 150 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band Repurpose of the 2.5 GHz BRS/EBS band 650 MHz in the 3.7 4.2 GHz band 450 MHz in the 3.1 3.55 GHz band Lower spectrum Band may be more suitable for Rural Deployments of 5G
Technologies Driving 5G 5G Millimeter waves Advantages The FCC has allocated large frequency blocks Large Channel Allocations within each block (think Hundreds instead of tens) The higher the frequency, the more bits per second Disadvantages Line of sight Bounces off instead of penetrates Absorption Limits Range Verizon announces that they do not see line of sight a hindrance to fixed 5G. Keep in mind that wireless carriers will apply 5G across their entire wireless spectrum and plan to use multiple frequencies and multi path to overcome this limitation. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam as reported by Telecompetitor http://www.telecompetitor.com/verizon ceo fixed 5g line of sight notneeded 5g leadership is on track/
5G Why? Use Cases Driving 5G Internet of Things (IoT) Smart vehicles Smart cities Smart homes Smart agriculture Last mile broadband Consumer applications
Internet of Things Internet of things (IoT) Millions of devices talking to each other Low cost radios and extended battery life Real Time applications
Smart Vehicles Not just self driving cars o o o o o Traffic management Adjust Speed and Route to decrease overall travel time Vehicle to vehicle Rear end collision avoidance Self driving vehicles Semis Local delivery Trucking Autonomous robotics
Smart Cities Public amenities and infrastructure connecting and harmonizing E Health o Continuous patient monitoring IoT making remote actions seem local Real time user centric network
Smart Homes o Security o Energy efficiency o Home automation o Machine to machine
Smart Agriculture IoT Machine to machine communications Sensors everywhere Wireless to the cow Weather monitoring Livestock and field monitoring
Consumer Applications Virtual / Augmented Reality Video Pokemon Go Remote control with virtual reality headsets Real time video conferencing HD videos in seconds
So will 5G be an opportunity or threat for the Rural Provider???
5G Opportunities for Rural Carriers Antenna sites The increase in number of antennas required to provide coverage will multiply 100 s of antennas required instead of 10 s for 4G coverage Fiber backhaul Low latency requirements will limit the use of Ethernet based services but may increase the need for dark fiber or optical wavelength based services.
5G Opportunities for Rural Carriers Last Mile Broadband Drop Replacement Eliminates the cost of the drop and house wiring Speeds Customer Deployment May use wireless radios for back haul AT&T Air GIG Uses power lines as a wave guide to allow longer distances between nodes. AT&T plans to use for backbone, drops, and mobile deployment At least 2 trial locations scheduled for 2017
5G Opportunities for Rural Carriers CLEC Adjacent Communities/ Business Parks Ability to reach new business customers Fiber can be delayed until critical mass is reached Potential to place thin fiber routes Time to market potentially faster Simplify permitting
5G Opportunities for Rural Carriers Edge computing Movement of computing requirements from a centralized location in the cloud to the network edge will require additional investment in small scale data centers at local locations 1 millisecond response times limit max allowable distance of fiber cable to 150 miles or less
5G Threats for Rural Carriers Urban Wireless Data (CLEC) Ability to reach your business customers from existing infrastructure Thin fiber routes reduce cost and increased viability Time to market potentially faster Simplify permitting
5G Threats for Rural Carriers LTE Advanced 3 Gbps Down 1.5 Gbps Up Spectral Efficiency increases from 16 bps/hz to 30 bps/hz Higher number of active users Frequency aggregation from dissimilar bands
5G Timeline 2017 Experimental trials Verizon AT&T Testing fixed wireless at 28GHz in 11 cities Speeds >1Gbps Plans to test mobile 5G later this year Business and DirectTV Now fixed trials in Austin (Requires specific Samsung 8 Phone) Plans to use 4 carrier aggregation for 1Gbps
5G Timeline 2018: 4.5G Roll out using existing 4G radios to support new 5G applications and technologies 2020: 5G rollout of consumer enabled products
Questions? Dean Mischke, P.E. Finley Engineering Company, Inc.