Since the 80's
Since the earliest part of the eighties we began using the mobile phone.
So primitive and not available for everyone and with great shadow cover areas, sometimes we had to stop to continue the call. Lines, phones and minutes with high prices.
Lucky for us in the almost last 20 years the change has been amazing. Electronic equipment each time with lower size, many more components integrated on it and with the costs lower too. The technology involved to reduce the transmission band with the same quality developed very much to make it possible to increase the traffic of the mobile network.
In the beginning, all we wanted was to speak from any place to any place not only with fixed phones.
The next figure will give us an idea about the developments since the beginning of mobile technology.
We can see the timeline of mobile technology with the typical applications and speed of each G.
In the beginning, we had AMPS, TDMA and CDMA technology. But the GSM technology came to reduce the price of the smartphones, the plan was to have GSM all around the world not only more than one technology that would cause problems when traveling to another country with different technology. GSM became the worldwide standard and to stayed compatible with the technology evolution.
So, as we see that the differences are very important. We can see the applications available up to the 4G. As 5G is being written it is not possible to illustrate it. I will give some examples later.
The next figure shows a complete timeline with the standards and the time of each. The essential information is shown for our goal to explain about 5G.
This figure shows us that every 10 years of evolution is happening fast, very fast. When the new standards were being discussed, considering 1G to 2G, they noticed that there should be a new way of writing new standards but included in an overall one “Shell or Umbrella”, my way to try to explain what LTE is – Long Term Evolution, and when 3G was implanted the LTE was just at the beginning.
From 2G to 3G/4G, it was a disruptive technology. Just because of the new way of using our mobile phones, not only for speaking on it but with applications used only on fixed internet, not in the mobile network.
From 4G to 5G it is totally disruptive with no restriction. The 5G will allow many kinds of services, we will see later, integrating many different applications and transmission ways.
Considering the expectations on 5G and the great applications and way of using, I am sure that it will last more than ten years, I would say up to 35 years even.
It is time to know a little bit more about LTE
LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, boasts theoretical downlink speeds of 100 Mbps and uploads of 75 Mbps. LTE, which is an IP-based system, is a complete redesign and simplification of the 3G network architecture, resulting in a significant reduction in transfer latency. Because of this, LTE is not compatible with 2G and 3G networks and also functions on an entirely different wireless spectrum. Unfortunately, this means that erecting an LTE network requires it to be built from the ground up.
The next figure shows us the timeline with the launch and peak of each G phase.
We can see that the interval of each G is ten years, typically, but the LTE beginning just made longer the interval and the reason, is in my opinion, that the applications at this time fit well for the users and the implementation is not so cheap. The Mobile Service Provider must have investment and revenue at a certain level, no company makes high investment without a revenue that pays for it. This figure has no projection of 5G and means that 4G will be used, by the way the LTE was created to make it possible.
Later I show that 4G will co-exist with 5G, and others Gs too. The 5G does not arrive to kill all the other Gs. There are some applications using 2G and it will still be used.
Some 5G use cases and challenges
Latency. Reliability. Throughput. Density. Speed. Flexibility
Why do we need 5G?
Where will 5G be used? The 5G is meant to bring revolutions in many fields.
General use of 5G
- Mobile data traffic is rising rapidly, mostly due to video streaming
- With multiple devices, each user has a growing number of connections
- Internet of Things (IoT) will require networks that must handle billions more devices
- With a growing number of mobiles and increased data traffic both mobiles and networks need to increase energy efficiency
- Network operators are under pressure to reduce operational expenditure, as users get used to flat rate tariffs and do not wish to pay more
- The mobile communication technology can enable new use cases (e.g. for ultra-low latency or high reliability cases) and new applications for the industry, opening up new revenue streams also for operators
Applications of 5G – Practical view
- IoT – Internet of Things
- Health care - Remote
- Public safety and infrastructure
- Autonomous vehicles
- Factory automation
- Entertainment/Gaming
- Supply-chain management
- Smart Cities
- Fixed Wireless Network Access
- Energy
- High Speed Rail
- Virtual & Augmentation Reality
- Facilitate the automation of rural farms
- Machine learning
- Artificial intelligence
So 5G should deliver significantly increased operational performance (e.g. increased spectral efficiency, higher data rates, low latency), as well as superior user experience (near to fixed network but offering full mobility and coverage).
5G needs to cater for massive deployment of the Internet of Things, while still offering acceptable levels of energy consumption, equipment cost and network deployment and operation cost. It needs to support a wide variety of applications and services.
Who is interested in using 5G?
The 5G offers network operators the potential to offer new services to new categories of users.
The figure above is a practical view about 5G applications and provides an idea on the need of bandwidth.
I would summarise this as 5G operating on 3 different spectrum bands
- Low-band spectrum – Expect peak speeds up to 100Mbps – Low active
- Mid-band spectrum – Expect peak speeds up to 1Gbps – Present and active
- High-band spectrum – Expect peak speeds up to 10Gbps – Very active
Later, I will explain an important point concerning the frequencies that 5G will use. The higher the frequencies have a lower range of signals. The cell size will be reduced as a consequence, we need more antennas for the same area coverage. The traditional Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidth (ERB) antennas do not support this.
MIMO (Multiple Input and Multiple Output) antennas will be used to increase the number of ERBs.
The MIMO antennas will satisfy the condition of the lower cell size. More antennas should be installed. The MIMO antennas have an array with a great number of small antennas and attenuate perfectly. The next figure shows the practical application of the MIMO antenna.
The frequencies that 5G will use is being discussed in several regions. There is an issue on the use of the 3.5 GHz for 5G. Brazil uses TV RO, TV receive only, satellite C Band. The antennas of the TV RO will suffer interference and will stop working if a 5G antenna uses this frequency nearby. The Brazilian Regulatory Agency – ANATEL made some tests and decided that TV RO should use a filter on the antenna. The issue is who is going to pay the bill?
Another solution is to migrate TV RO to Ku Band, the same question applies: who is going to pay the bill? I think that the migration to Ku Band may be a decision for the End Users. The main reason is that the modern Ku satellite band has more power on their transmission line and their antennas are bigger, it will work with smaller Ku reception antennas. But the bill should be paid by whom?
Another issue on the use of the band 3.7–3.98 GHz by 5G
The Radio Technical Committee for Aeronautics (RTCA) is warning that a plan to allow 5G cell signals in the radio spectrum adjacent to the frequencies used by radio altimeters could threaten flight safety. The private, not-for-profit organization has submitted a technical study to the Federal Communications Commission saying that 5G signals, including those coming from cellphones aboard aircraft, can interrupt radio altimeter operations, causing a cascading series of errors in aircraft flight control systems. “The results presented in this report reveal a major risk that 5G telecommunications systems in the 3.7–3.98 GHz band will cause harmful interference to radar altimeters on all types of civil aircraft—including commercial transport airplanes; business, regional, and general aviation airplanes; and both transport and general aviation helicopters,” RTCA says in its executive summary of the data it compiled.
“The results of the study performed clearly indicate that this risk is widespread and has the potential for broad impacts to aviation operations in the United States, including the possibility of catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities, in the absence of appropriate mitigations.”
I am not saying that these two frequency bands should not be used by 5G, but it must be well evaluated and depending on the results, it should not be used by 5G.
5G at the Connected Farm
The figure shows a modern farm with monitoring and controlling the entire farm routine.
The farm areas, generally here in Brazil, have a poor mobile network, for this reason, IoT is being used. IoT deserves a special explanation in itself, but it is time to see the mixing of 5G with IoT.
The need for bandwidth at the connected farm is low, considering, the applications. IoT is imperative to be used. Considering that in rural areas, here in Brazil may not have 3G, using IoT goes hand-in-hand with the mobile infrastructure.
Here is a typical low-band spectrum use.
Let me introduce a new concept - OpenRAN
OpenRAN consists of using open standards in mobile access networks. Functions and resources run in a virtualized way on common servers, which increases the possibility of innovation and the entry of new competitors in the concentrated market of mobile service providers.
In Brazil, studies are well underway for OpenRAN.
One of the advantages is the competition that the model brings. “With OpenRAN you can choose a different supplier for 5G. Many new suppliers are appearing. We will evaluate the possibility of opening to OpenRAN as we will become the laboratory of the world. We are going to attract investment and analysis for this technology to Brazil, make a leap and stay ahead of the others. It is a provocation, but perhaps with provocation and taking some risk, we turn delay into success”, says Pietro Labriola CEO of TIM Brazil at one event organized by TeleSíntese.
The mobile service providers must bet on OpenRAN to increase the number of technology providers for mobile networks and the country to become a development centre in the standard.
The OpenRAN concept has awoken the interest of large companies as investors
Satellites and 5G use
Satellites have been widely used to connect locations with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure deficiency. They have been used a lot in fixed and mobile telephony as cellular backhaul – access to the mobile network. In the new 5G standard, satellites will play a functional role. One of the characteristics of 5G is low latency. Low and medium orbit satellites will be able to meet this requirement very well. Geostationary satellites, on the other hand, have a signal delay time well above the required distance. They can be used for some applications where low latency is not essential.
Satellite communication is essential in 5G and beyond as a complementary solution for coverage any place or anywhere, broadcast/multicast provision, aeronautical & maritime communications, emergency/disaster recovery, and remote rural area coverage.
Note: There are, basically, three types of satellite orbits, Low Earth Orbit – LEO typical distance 1,000 km (typical up and down link-time 10 ms), Medium Earth Orbit - MEO typical distance 10,000 km (typical up and down link-time 100 ms) and Geostationary Orbit - GEO typical distance 36,000 km (typical up and down link-time 250 ms).
You cannot have 5G without satellites as part of the communications network.
Conclusion
One very important aspect of 5G technology is that the Mobile Service Providers should have a business plan to reach the end consumer. My simple question is: How much more on our mobile phone bill are we willing to pay for 5G?
I understand that 5G cannot take the same time that other generations took to have their standards written and implemented. The 5G Technology is disruptive and this requires a lot of planning to write the standards and evaluate the possible applications initially. There will be progress for sure, but we need a minimum so that mobile service providers can make their investments with a revenue forecast that will make it possible.
To reinforce what I wrote I can mention just one example, which was to incorporate GPS in the smartphone. How many applications are there today that use location?
I am going to write a Latin expression used in aviation to associate it with 5G technology: "AD ASTRA."
"Towards the Stars."
So 5G is at the very beginning to achieve applications and uses that will be born. We cannot predict, now, what will be developed!
References and Figures
https://sigmatelecom.com/the-latest-5g-technology-status-in-the-world/
https://mse238blog.stanford.edu/2017/07/ssound/1g-2g-5g-the-evolution-of-the-gs/
https://krazytech.com/technical-papers/5g-wireless-technology
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/5g/5g_advantages_disadvantages.htm
2017_ITUNews02-en
https://www.etsi.org/technologies/5g
https://www.accton.com/Technology-Brief/the-emergence-of-5g-mmwave/
http://www.emfexplained.info/?ID=25916
BLOG WRITTEN BY GILBERTO FERNANDES
Gilberto is available immediately for opportunities in Brazil and worldwide - check his profile and experience on our 'Consultants' webpage on the SpaceSpecialists website here
https://spacespecialists.com/gilberto-fernandes/
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Gilberto Fernandes is an Electronic and Telecommunications Engineer with a solid commercial background in the satellite industry, telecommunications to support aviation and an emerging technology enthusiast.
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