According to a Global Market Insight report, the 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) market size is expected to be more than $25 billion in 2022-2023 and envisions a CAGR of 30% from 2023-2032 due to growth. It’s ready. Demand for high-speed broadband in rural and suburban areas. A traditional FWA is a tall fixed infrastructure of a radio access network that provides wireless connectivity. At the same time, the increasing adoption of CBRS-based spectrum sharing in GAA technology for 5G FWA is already providing growth opportunities for the market, as shown in NTIA’s recent report.
GAA is a frequency band that will become more in demand for both 5G and 6G. However, the GAA has significant challenges that need to be addressed. Without efficient spectrum sharing technology and improvements in CBRS uplink (UL) coverage, the market for FWA is likely to shrink. The main reason is that no service provider wants flexible bandwidth in the form of n*10 MHz. This is because it impacts SLAs and guaranteed service commitments. Low UL costs result in network deployments that are too dense and very costly for new service providers.
Spectrum sharing is a technique that shares GAA licenses among all CBRS GAA and PAL transmitters within a given cluster, keeping interference and noise levels low. It also includes a coexistence mechanism for 5G-A/6G cells to continue radiating while operating by existing federal users. Currently, LTE-CBRS uses SAS servers and turns off the cell when the ESC (Federal Radar Sensor) detects an existing server.
Other smart technologies we have today include License Shared Access (LSA), which uses regulatory frameworks to share spectrum with existing users, and the ability to sense and adapt to the spectrum environment. Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA). However, all the above mechanisms are very time consuming. In the 3GPP Release 19 version, the 5G-A/6G consideration (3GPP TR 22.837 V19.0.0 (2023-06) – Feasibility Study for Integrated Sensing and Communications (Fs_Sensing) allows for spectrum variation. new spectrum sharing is proposed. time.
The specific mechanisms in 3GPP Release 19 rely on advanced features of 5G-A/6G RAN. 6G challenges in spectrum sharing include:
- Predictable resources available in CBRS-GAA at any time
- Interference detection and intelligent mitigation
- Holistic management of spectrum using the same technology (3GPP-3GPP) and different technologies (3GPP-non-3GPP).
The proposed RAN will be enabled by new continuous sensing signaling, new UE capabilities to report 5G-A/6G RAN using 3GPP sensing data, location information, and ambient UE ID. The proposed new RAN shall be capable of sensing CBRS-GAA transmissions from existing by acquiring 3GPP sensing data without actively involving SAS/ESC/existing radar. 5G-A/6G RAN systems must be able to process 3GPP sensing data in real-time and generate sensing results from 5G sensing processing entities (through newly developed applications).
Based on operator policies and in accordance with regulatory requirements, the RAN system can adjust cell parameters and frequency allocation to avoid conflicts with existing users or PAL users. The new proposal will also allow 5G systems to provide mechanisms for network operators to configure and adjust sensing operations (authorization, sensing area, sensing operation period, sensing operation time frame, etc.). ORAN RIC also has a new use case of “spectrum processing” for efficient spectrum allocation in real-time based on instantaneous network conditions via reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms.
Efficient spectrum sharing also requires fast interference management and processing techniques. Current LTE-CBRS combines his DU (distribution unit) and CU (centralized unit), which makes high-speed interference coordination between cells very difficult. However, 5G’s partitioned design and shared DU through ORAN architecture allows for the most effective interference management, both within and between cells. Advanced interference management algorithms using AI/ML technology identify interference patterns and dynamically optimize spectrum resources in real-time between cells, different users, or existing devices such as radar. Designed.
The ORAN separation architecture provides greater flexibility in adjusting software functionality, nRT-RIC/NRT-RIC (Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller/Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller).
Another issue is the insufficient uplink coverage of the CBRS spectrum. A report from Charter Communications on CBRS FWA Design for Coverage and Capacity Field Study (NCTA Technical Paper-2019) shows that outdoor UL is insufficient when using outdoor CPE. The report covers all possible field scenarios and found that the cell footprint of a 12-foot CPE with 4×4 MIMO is close to 4.2 miles. Adjacent RF interference is not considered in this study.
Despite growth in both fixed and mobile broadband, there is a large underserved residential market. This market can be addressed cost-effectively to a large extent using FWA. As with IMT-2020, there are several ways to enhance UL coverage and the concept of Low Mobility Large Cells (LMLC) was introduced for rural coverage. This new configuration focuses on low-speed users (a mix of pedestrians at <3 km/h and vehicles at 30 km/h) and site-to-site distances of 6 km (effective up to 21 km).
3GPP Release 15-based 5G includes a “supplementary uplink”-based for enhanced uplinks that allows the UE to switch to a co-located second frequency band if it detects a low uplink SINR. There is a function. As claimed in some literature, supplementary uplink extends NR-CBRS coverage by about 4-7 dB due to semi-static power sharing. In Release 17, 3GPP added technology to extend the uplink coverage of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).
In Release 18, 3GPP plans to enhance the coverage of the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) by allowing multiple transmissions when the UE is switched on. Research techniques are planned to improve the power efficiency of the UE in coverage extension waveform and quadrature phase shift keying scenarios. 5G-A/6G optimizes uplink data rates within a specified link budget by dynamically changing uplink waveforms. The new RAN dynamically prioritizes coverage enhancement waveforms when the UE is near the center of the cell, the edge of the cell, or indoors. FWA and indoor/outdoor CPE are planned for UL-MIMO enhancements such as support for 8X8 MIMO (both high receive/transmit diversity and high DL/UL data streams), which will allow indoor and cellular CBRS -Can significantly improve GAA coverage. corner.
conclusion
5G-A/6G network architectures will further evolve towards cloud-native network designs. His R15-based RAN and core partitioning could be replaced by a more scalable, self-intelligent and flexible architecture, considering co-design and consistent decisions by protocols for even more diverse services in 6G . CBRS-GAA 80 MHz is likely the most valuable mid-band as it is the most tested and deployed 5G frequency (NAR/EU/Japan regions) and its popularity is generally Because it is available in The FCC plans to extend this further to an additional 100 MHz.
Editor’s Note: This article was submitted by Ayan Sharma, a senior at Plano West High School who has recently become interested in telecommunications concepts, research and development, and future advances.
