By Stephen Burton, Research Analyst at Analysys Mason.
“Operators and vendors need to prove their use cases for RedCap and drive ecosystem maturity to pursue new revenue and monetization opportunities.”
5G Capability Reduction (RedCap) is a connectivity standard that allows IoT devices to operate more efficiently and use less bandwidth than traditional 5G devices (such as smartphones). This reduces the cost of related applications by not requiring full 5G capacity. RedCap technology has the potential to expand the target market for 5G while providing additional functionality to existing low-performance IoT solutions. Both vendors and carriers should view 5G RedCap as an opportunity to diversify network use cases and drive network monetization. However, carriers and vendors also need to ensure they consider the strengths and limitations of the technology as part of proving the technology’s use case and fostering its maturation within the ecosystem.
RedCap technology can provide a functional “middle ground” between high-performance 5G and NB-IoT.
RedCap technology was first standardized in 3GPP Release 17 in 2022. This allows IoT devices to leverage a subset of the 5G network’s capabilities to support applications that fall between the performance requirements of 5G and narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). In this way, 5G RedCap provides a connectivity middle ground. In addition to leveraging 5G’s advanced features (such as low latency, high reliability, and higher peak data rates), it also outperforms 5G enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) in terms of component cost and battery life (see Figure 1). reference).
Figure 1: Comparison of RedCap capabilities with those of Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), LTE-M Enhanced Machine Type Communications (eMTC), and NB-IoT.
In some scenarios, RedCap may provide a viable alternative to two existing 4G-based IoT standards: LTE Category (Cat) 1-4 and NB-IoT. This technology offers the following advantages over existing IoT standards:
- Reduced waiting time Comparison with existing LTE-M (eMTC) and NB-IoT technologies. This enables RedCap to support applications that require near real-time data communication.
- Higher peak data rate Supports new IoT applications that require greater bandwidth than LTE Cat 1 and NB-IoT.
- Ability to take advantage of new 5G capabilities This includes 5G core benefits such as network slicing and advanced positioning.
Reducing RedCap device functionality also provides the following benefits that 5G URLLC or eMBB for IoT devices and applications do not offer:
- Improving power efficiency. Compared to eMBB and URLLC, RedCap’s improved power efficiency creates a middle ground in terms of functionality and battery life.
- cost reduction. RedCap devices not only potentially cost less than traditional devices, but also use half-duplex frequency division duplex (FDD) transmission mode to take advantage of cheaper switches rather than expensive duplexers.
There are also other emerging 5G IoT technologies that stakeholders should consider, such as mMTC, advanced 5G sensing, and passive IoT. However, 5G RedCap offers an alternative to these technologies that is best suited for specific use cases and may create different opportunities for new and existing applications.
RedCap technology enhances existing applications and enables new use cases, but the ecosystem is not yet mature
The following major applications for RedCap are anticipated:
- industrial wireless sensor. This includes connected sensors for remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, energy management, and asset tracking. RedCap’s high cost and power consumption currently limit its suitability for narrowband applications, but its advantages in latency and reliability make it suitable for more critical applications. The ability to leverage 5G’s improved positioning and network slicing expands the addressable market beyond his 4G IoT market.
- wearable. Small connected devices (such as smart watches, health monitoring devices, fitness trackers, and AR/VR headsets) can be worn on the body and equipped with sensors and processors to collect and transmit data. RedCap technology allows wearables to access 5G’s low latency, high data rates, and advanced positioning while reducing device size, improving power efficiency, and lowering costs.
- monitoring device. This includes cameras or recording devices such as security cameras, body cameras, and facial recognition systems. RedCap technology has the potential to provide a lower-cost alternative to 5G eMBB connectivity for these applications, potentially improving the business case for 5G-connected cameras.
- smart grid. Smart power grids are connected to networks to improve efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. Many smart grid applications rely on connectivity such as smart meters, grid sensors, and real-time monitoring. RedCap can improve latency, peak data rates, and reliability for these applications compared to traditional IoT connections such as NB-IoT and LTE-M.
- Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). RedCap technology enables lower 5G FWA costs, reduced performance, and more compact customer premise equipment (CPE). This could allow his FWA to better address some emerging market opportunities where CPE prices are a major barrier to adoption.
5G RedCap offers a new balance of cellular connectivity for IoT that can be applied to a variety of applications, but it remains an emerging technology and must prove that it can add value to end users. At this time, RedCap has not yet reached substantial commercialization and its ecosystem remains immature, which may delay the adoption of the technology.
Operators and vendors must view 5G RedCap as a significant opportunity, but it still requires demonstration and ecosystem support
Although RedCap does not serve all IoT applications, it is a valuable opportunity as it has the potential to enhance carriers’ IoT services and support new market segments. Over the past year, trials of RedCap chipsets and products have continued to break ground, and performance enhancements in 5G Advanced are expected to further increase their usefulness. Therefore, both vendors and carriers should view 5G RedCap as an opportunity to diversify network use cases and drive network monetization. However, the investment to support RedCap’s capabilities is only justified if the industry can prove its benefits and use cases to customers.
Operators and vendors need to be considered key enablers of RedCap, not only from a connectivity perspective, but also in driving ecosystem maturity. In applications such as surveillance, smart grids, sensors, and wearables, both operators and vendors are building specialized partnerships to support new device manufacturers and leverage the benefits that RedCap can deliver to both existing markets and new applications. need to be proven. By doing so, carriers and vendors can accelerate the pace of ecosystem maturation, increasing RedCap adoption and new revenue opportunities.
