5G TRIALS
CONTEXT
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), approved permissions to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for conducting trials for use and applications of 5G technology
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The duration of the trials, at present, is for a period of 6 months. This includes a time period of 2 months for procurement and setting up of the equipment.
The TSPs are encouraged to conduct trials using 5Gi technology in addition to the already known
5G Technology
It will be recalled that International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has also approved the 5Gi technology, which was advocated by India, as it facilitates much larger reach of the 5G towers and Radio networks. The 5Gi technology has been developed by IIT Madras, Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT) and IIT Hyderabad.
The objectives of conducting 5G trials include testing 5G spectrum propagation characteristics especially in the Indian context; model tuning and evaluation of chosen equipment andvendors; testing of indigenous technology; testing of applications (such as tele-medicine, tele-education, augmented/ virtual reality, drone-based agricultural monitoring, etc.);and to test 5G phones and devices.
India’s telecom ministry has left out Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE from its 5G trials, becoming the latest country to lock the firms out.
o The US says Huawei could be used by China for spying, via its 5G equipment and its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has even ordered certain US telecommunications companies to remove Huawei equipment from their network.
India is yet to implement any type of official ban on the Chinese companies, which currently supply a significant amount of equipment to India’s mobile providers.
5G TECHNOLOGY
5G technology is the next generation of wireless communications. It is expected to provide internet connections that are at least 40 times faster than 4G LTE.
5G technology may use a variety of spectrum bands, including millimeter wave (mmWave) radio spectrum, which can carry very large amounts of data a short distance. The drawback of the higher frequencies is that they are more easily obstructed by the walls of buildings, trees and other foliage, and even inclement weather.
As the 5G technology market comes into focus, we’re seeing a number of technologies emerge as vital to the 5G experience. These include the aforementioned mmWave technology; small cells; massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO); full duplex; software-defined networking (SDN); and beamforming.
5G Technology: Millimeter Wave
o Millimeter waves are broadcast at frequencies between 30 GHz and 300 GHz, compared with the bands below 6 GHz used for 4G LTE.
o The new 5G networks will be able to transmit very large amounts of data — but only a few blocks at a time.
o Although 5G will offer the greatest benefits over these higher frequencies, it will also work in low frequencies as well as unlicensed frequencies that WiFi currently uses,
without creating conflicts with existing WiFi networks. For this reason, 5G networks will use small cells to complement traditional cellular towers.
Small Cells
o Small cells are low-powered portable base stations that can be placed throughout cities. Carriers can install many small cells to form a dense, multifaceted infrastructure. Small cells’ low-profile antennas make them unobtrusive, but their sheer numbers make them difficult to set up in rural areas.
Massive MIMO
o 5G technology enables base stations to support many more antennas than 4G base stations. With MIMO, both the source (transmitter) and the destination (receiver) have multiple antennas, thus maximizing efficiency and speed. MIMO also introduces interference potential, leading to the necessity of beamforming.
5G Technology: Beamforming
o Beamforming is a 5G technology that finds the most efficient data-delivery route to individual users. Higher-frequency antennas enable the steering of narrower transmission beams. This user-specific beamforming allows transmissions both vertically and horizontally. Beam direction can change several times per millisecond. Beamforming can help massive MIMO arrays make more efficient use of the spectrum around them.
5G Technology: Full Duplex
o Full duplex communication is a way to potentially double the speed of wireless communication. By employing a 5G full duplex scheme on a single channel, only one channel is needed to transmit data to and from the base station, rather than two. A potential drawback of full duplex is that it can create signal interference.
WHAT WILL 5G ENABLE?
5G will enable instantaneous connectivity to billions of devices, the Internet of Things (IoT) and a truly connected world.
5G will provide the speed, low latency and connectivity to enable a new generation of applications, services and business opportunities that have not been seen before.
There are three major categories of use case for 5G:
o Massive machine to machine communications – also called the Internet of Things (IoT) that involves connecting billions of devices without human intervention at a scale not seen before. This has the potential to revolutionise modern industrial processes and applications including agriculture, manufacturing and business communications.
o Ultra-reliable low latency communications – mission critical including real-time control of devices, industrial robotics, vehicle to vehicle communications and safety systems, autonomous driving and safer transport networks. Low latency communications also opens up a new world where remote medical care, procedures, and treatment are all possible
o Enhanced mobile broadband – providing significantly faster data speeds and greater capacity keeping the world connected. New applications will include fixed wireless internet access for homes, outdoor broadcast applications without the need for broadcast vans, and greater connectivity for people on the move.
For communities, 5G will enable the connection of billions of devices for our smart cities, smart schools and smart homes, smart and safer vehicles, enhance health care and education, and provide a safer and more efficient place to live.
For businesses and industry, 5G and IoT will provide a wealth of data allowing them to gain insights into their operations like never before. Businesses will operate and make key decisions driven by data, innovate in agriculture, smart farms and manufacturing, paving the way for cost savings, better customer experience and long term growth.
New and Emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality will be accessible by everyone. Virtual
reality provides connected experiences that were not possible before. With 5G and VR you will be able to travel to your favourite city, watch a live football match with the feeling of being at the ground, or even be able to inspect real estate and walk through a new home al l from the comfort of your couch.