Partner content: China Unicom Beijing and Huawei completed a large-scale 5G advanced (5G-A) networking demonstration earlier this year, providing continuous coverage and showcasing a wide range of advanced technologies and applications. This demo provides insights and reproducible experiences to help make 5G-A a reality.
Yang Lifan, deputy general manager of China Unicom Beijing, suggested that advanced technologies need to be used on a large scale in industry, and 5G-A is no exception. “Just as his prediction four years ago that 5G would be used primarily in B2B scenarios turned out to be wrong. 5G-A will only be applied in targeted scenarios. The same goes for the misunderstanding that
He argued that deployment scale and adaptability to common use cases will determine the viability of 5G-A, adding that the value of 5G-A network projects does not lie in specialized experience or networking scale. Ta. “Rather, its value lies in its ability to accelerate the 5G-A experience at minimal cost before large-scale deployment.”
The 5G Capital Innovation Project was formed between carriers and Huawei to improve the reach, coverage, and experience of 5G networks, and the most important innovations encountered in large-scale 5G-A deployments. The aim is to solve the problem of high frequency discontinuous networking.
He said networks will need to integrate the advanced technology of equipment vendors and the operational capabilities of carrier networks, adding that advances in social technology, levels of network intelligence and the ability to optimize networks will be essential. It pointed out.
The two companies launched the 5G Capital project in 2020 and have collaborated to explore the 5G-A ecosystem. The 5G-A demonstration zone in Beijing Financial District has become a good example of technology spreading globally and applications being carefully selected, said Cao Ming, president of Huawei’s Wireless Solutions.
Cao highlighted three key elements of the demo. It is his 5G-A network capability offering such as 10GB/s downlink peak rate. Validation of key 5G technologies including very large antenna arrays (e.g. ELAA technology) and end-to-end capabilities for planning, building, maintaining and optimizing 5G-A networking.
This year marks the commercial launch of 5G-A as 3GPP Release 18 standards are frozen and key elements of 5G, such as technology and ecosystem, become increasingly mature. Many carriers around the world are planning to implement it. According to a study by GSMA Intelligence, half of global carriers are expected to deploy commercial 5G-A networks within two years of the release of the relevant standards.
What’s next?
Looking to the opportunities and challenges that 5G-A may bring, Yang said that for mobile communications networks to be successful, they must be available and accessible to customers. Evolving along with other industries, especially the IT sector. And it must be economically viable.
By these standards, 5G-A may still have many obstacles, he said. For example, if single-point deployment is possible, is large-scale deployment possible? How do we address deployment in outdoor scenarios? What about permanent and temporary indoor scenarios? Even if the metrics are satisfactory in a particular area, what about the end-to-end process as a whole?”
“Even if average latency continues to drop, what will the worst-case metrics be? The higher the bandwidth, the more potential AI seems to have. These are the problems 5G Capital is trying to solve. ”
Rapid technological innovation across various industries is creating new requirements for 5G networks, and Huawei will need to develop and provide new capabilities for carriers, Cao said. Ta.
To meet growing network requirements, Huawei pursues five innovation directions: multi-band, multi-antenna, broadband, green, and intelligence, providing 10 times more network and multi-dimensional connectivity capabilities. Accelerate connectivity upgrades between people, homes, and things. , industrial and vehicle.
He said that in cooperation with China Unicom Beijing, MetaAAU was installed in many rural locations to realize a green gigabit network. “In the next stage of 5G advancement, Huawei is committed to building innovative solutions that can help carriers improve efficiency by 10 times and achieve higher profitability.”
new use case
In the 5G era, new applications revolve around AI and industrial control, creating new challenges for carriers and vendors, Yang noted. “These areas hold the key to his 5G-A breakthrough. We must never underestimate people’s dreams for a better life. Our business is aligned with the needs of society’s progress. There has to be unity and we have to play a role in moving it forward.”
He pointed out that in the 5G era, China Unicom Beijing has introduced innovative 3D and XR applications and taken the lead in providing cloud gaming services to customers.
Meanwhile, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) will connect hundreds of millions of vehicles to intelligent traffic cameras on the road, improving efficiency, control, and reducing accidents. He cited data estimating that IoV technology can prevent more than 95 percent of accidents. “We have verified that IoV can reduce both traffic accidents and congestion by more than 20%. This will accelerate the development of reliable and intelligent transportation.”
The cost of reduced functionality (RedCap) modules decreased in 2023. Around 10,000 factories are fully connected and hundreds of applications are in commercial use, covering 80% of industry scenarios and reducing costs for local governments.
Mr. Cao said that the commercial use of 5G will advance rapidly around the world in 2023, and that 5G-A is currently in the trial stage in various industries, and there are several plans for global commercial use. He pointed out that the standard had been set. Examples of industries using this technology include manufacturing and ports in Europe, mining in southern Africa, oil and gas in the Middle East, and healthcare in Thailand.
He added that the integration of 5G-A and industry has become seamless. “The technology has significantly boosted economic development and smart manufacturing in certain regions through infrastructure upgrades and industry innovations. By 2024, widespread commercial use and large-scale deployment of 5G-A will We believe there will be stronger support for governance, economics and industry intelligence.”
