📥 🤘🏽 🍛 Why and how 5G will change everything: technology, phased implementation and element base for subscriber equipment 🚼 🎥 👩🏽‍🏫

5G is not just a new standard for mobile communications, the introduction of 5th generation networks in the long term will transform our perception of the world and lead to social transformation of society. At the same time, the economy of networks will change: the average transmission speed will increase by 40 times, and the cost of delivery, on the contrary, will decrease by 30 times. By 2024, according to analysts, up to 30% of mobile traffic will go through devices with 5G support. 5G technology will account for 15% of the global mobile telephony sector by 2025 (GSMA forecast, www.gsma.com ); in Europe and China, this figure will be 30%, and in the US 50%.

This article will try to open the topic of the applicability of 5th generation mobile communications (hereinafter - 5G) in our, not too distant, future. The material of the article, without claiming to be the academic nature of the story, will tell you what 5G is interesting for and how developers of user equipment (User Equipment or UE) can begin to form the market for 5G devices today. UE access to 5G networks can be achieved through appropriate cellular modules; at the end of the article, we briefly consider the nomenclature range of 5G-modules SIMCom Wireless Solutions , their main characteristics and the difference between them.

Longrid

Key 5G benchmarks and technology

5G (from the English fifth generation - fifth generation) - a generation of mobile communications that works in accordance with telecommunication standards that follow the existing technology LTE (4G).

The 3GPP consortium began to formulate the 5G-NR specification (NR - New Radio, radio access technology for 5th generation mobile networks) in 2015. Then the plans for the preparation of specifications were announced. In accordance with these plans, the first phase of the specifications was to be completed before the second half of 2018 (as part of the release of 15 3GPP), and the second phase - by December 2019 (as part of the release of 16 3GPP). At the moment, the first phase is completed with a delay of one year, and the second is shifted to the third quarter of 2020.

3GPP Specification Release Plan (source: https://www.3gpp.org )

3GPP standards and specifications were created by market participants and take into account a variety of business tasks, each of which, of course, has its own specific requirements. So, the 3GPP TR 38.913 recommendation identified the following key indicators of the new generation networks:

Peak downlink data rate (Downlink) 20 Gbit / s (spectral efficiency 30 bit / s / Hz);
Peak uplink data rate (Uplink) 10 Gb / s (spectral efficiency 15 bit / s / Hz);
the minimum delay in the radio access subsystem for URLLC services is 0.5 ms, for eMBB services - 4 ms;
the maximum density of devices from the IoT world connected to the network in urban conditions is 1'000'000 devices / sq km;
Autonomous operation of devices from the world of IoT without recharging the battery for 10 years;
mobility support at a maximum speed of movement of objects of 500 km / h.

And now briefly about some technologies through which the actual implementation of fifth-generation networks becomes possible.

Frequency and bandwidth

The 3GPP TS 38.211 V1.2.0 (2017-11) specification defined new radio frequency bands for 5G (see table 1) and divided them into two frequency blocks: FR1 (frequencies up to 6 GHz or sub6G) and FR2 (frequencies above 6 GHz or mmWave) . Working at higher frequency ranges allows you to eliminate various interference in the network that distort the transmission of data. In addition, higher frequency - higher bandwidth, and channel bandwidth directly depends on it. So, for the FR1 block, depending on the SCS used (Sub-Carrier Spacing, a variant of the separation of the radio frequencies of the subcarriers), the width of one radio channel is allowed up to 100 MHz, for the FR2 block - from 50 to 400 MHz! Unlike LTE networks, which allow channels with a width of only 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz. And if you combine the channel width with frequency aggregation (CA), then for one connection you can achieve a spectrum of 2 GHz or more.

*Frequency ranges for 5G networks*
Radio Frequency Unit	Radio frequency range
FR1	450 MHz - 6 000 MHz
FR2	24'250 MHz - 52'600 MHz

Massive MIMO and Beam Forming

Beam formation using MIMO antennas is not a new concept and already exists in the cellular market as AAS (Active Antenna System, active antenna system). The AAS MIMO antenna mounted on the tower allows you to split the coverage area into static cells, thereby increasing the efficiency of spectrum use, and therefore increasing the number of channels. But modern congested networks need dynamic digital beamforming to maximize spectrum efficiency.

2D MIMO antenna (left) and Massive MIMO antenna (right)

The application of the concept of MIMO antennas in the millimeter range of FR2 becomes even more interesting since millimeter-wave radio waves have good directivity due to the increase in the number of antenna elements per antenna. An array of such antenna elements (256 or more) can be combined into one so-called. Massive MIMO antenna. By controlling the phase and amplitude of the signals, such an antenna is capable of dynamically generating many strong and sharp rays in the directions of specific users. So, with Massive MIMO we get:

powerful output signal towards the UE;
strong signal to noise level from the UE;
lack of inter-cell interference;
a significant increase in the number of communication channels per cell.

Thus, MIMO technology takes on different meanings in the sub6G and mmWave ranges as shown in the table below:

*MIMO in the sub6G and mmWave bands*
	Sub6G	mmWave
MIMO	88	22

	, . , .	. .

SRS (Sounding Reference Signal, )

The technology, known since the 14th release of 3GPP, is an important addition to Beamforming. It allows the base station to learn about the quality of the channel through a special packet sent from the UE. Typically, most UEs can only support sending SRS via their primary transmit antenna. Therefore, the base station can receive channel information only for this antenna. However, using the technology of selecting a transmitting antenna, you can get complete information about the channels of all antennas of the UE. Therefore, the base station can generate the beam in the direction of the UE in the best way. As a result, UE throughput will increase significantly, especially at points at the far and medium distances from the base station (up to + 40%).

Network Slicing or Network Slicing

According to the logic of this concept, mobile operators will be able to deploy isolated from each other networks, each of which can be allocated / assigned a set of key indicators - for the Internet of things, wide coverage, for urban transport - a wide band and low response. The work of this technology will be possible when switching to the core of a new generation network.

Scenarios and examples of the provision of mobile services in 5G networks

If you notice, some of the previously listed indicators, such as, for example, peak data transfer rate and autonomy, are simply incompatible and even mutually exclusive. But all of these indicators at once should not be performed by one device at a time or, in principle, be supported by the entire list. The idea is to distinguish between different types of scenarios for the provision of mobile services, depending on the degree of importance (high, medium, low) of a particular indicator. In the Network Slicing concept, the 5G physical architecture will be divided into many virtual networks or layers, each of which is designed for its own use case. Each of the scenarios will satisfy one or another set of previously indicated indicators and, accordingly, is aimed at its own market segment.
The specification defines only three scenarios:

eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), ;
URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication), ;
mMTC (Massive Machine-Type Communications), .

NB-IoT eMTC mMTC

mMTC is a scenario of inter-machine interaction, when human involvement is minimal, and all processes are automated. MMTC devices include: water, gas, electricity meters; street lighting controllers; parking space sensors; GPS / GLONASS bookmarks; various smoke / fire sensors; hacking sensors; “Smart” garbage cans and other IoT devices. As you can see, high speed and ultra-low latencies are not important here, but autonomy and a huge number of network connections are very important. This is the so-called LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) devices - about mass, simple and cheap devices with ultra-low consumption, capable of running on a single battery for up to 10 years.

Standards and specifications for LPWA networks were laid down in releases 13 (Cat.NB1 and Cat.M1) and 14 (Cat.NB2 and Cat.M2) 3GPP and currently NB-IoT networks (aka LTE Cat.NB1 / NB2) and eMTC (LTE Cat.M1 / M2) are already in commercial use. Networks for such devices are characterized by low transmission speeds (up to 150 kbit / s in LTE Cat.NB2 and up to 1 Mbps in LTE Cat.M1), wide and "deep" coverage. It should be noted that the charm of NB-IoT and eMTC is that the deployment of networks by mobile operators does not require huge investments and the allocation of separate frequency bands - these LPWA networks can work in existing frequency bands and on existing network equipment, while one basic the station can serve a larger territory compared to existing 2G, 3G or LTE networks.

You can read about how to access NB-IoT networks using SIMCom Wireless Solutions cellular modules in our articles.

5G for URLLC and eMBB

Formally, NB-IoT and eMTC networks can be attributed to networks of the 5th generation, but in this article, speaking about 5G, we will talk about high-speed technology. So, the scenarios URRLC (will be included in 3GPP release 16) and eMBB (already defined in 3GPP release 15) are in the 5G area of responsibility. The URRLC script, from its name, means ultra-reliable communications with low latency. And eMBB is ultra-wideband, which means high-speed communications.

It would seem that the speed and delay time in existing LTE networks satisfy most modern users. Why is a 5G consumer and what is the use of it?

Let's look at the infogram in Figure 4, it reflects the scope of services depending on bandwidth requirements and delays. In the light part, we see modern areas of application that have become everyday for us - such as: online games, viewing and downloading videos, remote telemetry, monitoring objects, sensors, etc. All these applications are content with a channel of up to 100 Mbit / s and delays of more than 10 ms.

Applications depending on bandwidth requirements and delays in the mobile network

And now let's pay attention to the blue part of the infogram - this is the area that opens with 5G. It can be seen that, on the whole, 5G can both improve existing applications and generate new ones. Let's consider some of the most interesting applications separately. They will help us understand how important it is for us to really implement 5G networks. Let's start with the simple thing - streaming video.

Video streaming

Market participants are forecasting the shift of such a classic application as "video streaming" to the right, towards increasing data transfer speeds without any special requirements for delays. The main driver for this will be the need for high-quality 8K video.

Today, there are TVs with support for 4K video and some providers provide video content of this quality. But reliable access to such content can be obtained only if they are connected to the fiber-optic Internet, access to which is not available in all settlements. With the advent of 5G 4K and even 8K, video will become the norm for all residents of the city and the suburbs, and in the field of film / photo production, such quality as detail will be given even more attention.

Network bandwidth requirements for various video formats

The consumption of video content on a widescreen TV sets the bandwidth requirements for downloading. However, 5G opens up higher speeds for unloading. This will open the door to the implementation of urban video surveillance systems with intelligent face recognition on all continents. In such systems, the entire computing part with artificial intelligence is located on the network, all that is required from surveillance cameras is to be able to transmit video of the proper resolution to the server. In the world there are examples of the introduction of such systems.

The government of Shanghai (China) has been using such a system since 2015. More than 170 million "smart" video cameras are connected to it. For an example [2], this system helped to find a criminal in the 50 thousandth crowd on the way from a concert of a popular singer. He came to the concert with his wife and, according to the detainee, he expected to get lost in the crowd.

In practice, such systems bring the city not only savings on security and operational-search measures, but also generate a positive socio-economic effect - citizens and tourists are not afraid to buy expensive things, visit public places at any time of the day, and business is not afraid for customer safety and property, now it is the task of the city.

With the advent of 5G, this system only became more efficient and less costly to deploy and maintain, and therefore more affordable.

The work of an intelligent face recognition system by streaming video from street cameras

Sky office

In the early stages of the commercial deployment of 5G, with the exception of smartphones, it is expected that the laptop with the Sky Office connection will be the key 5G product. Sky Office is a concept of transferring laptop computing power to the cloud when equipping a laptop with an integrated 5G modem. So, in the cloud can be placed not only user files (Cloud Drive), but also software, such as MS Office 365 (Cloud Office) or gaming software products (Cloud Games). In this concept, a laptop becomes, simply put, a screen with a keyboard and a camera.

Sky Office Concept

If cellular networks provide a delay of a few milliseconds and provide a dedicated reliable communication channel on an unlimited basis (Network Slice), then working with Sky Office in the future may become a popular way to use a laptop. At the same time, the consumer will receive a number of interesting consumer qualities unattainable with ordinary laptops:

low consumption at the tablet level with a battery life of 14 hours or more;
“Always ready”, the laptop does not waste time downloading software, it already works - in the cloud;
“Ready everywhere”, the loss of a laptop no longer means the loss of data and licenses;
thin and light body, the composition and structure of the laptop are simplified, and this leads to a reduction in size and weight;
passive cooling, the laptop no longer performs energy-intensive computing and is slightly heated;
Communication is safer than Wi-Fi because 5G is almost impossible to crack, the communication channel is protected by the latest encryption algorithms.

Of course, translating the Sky Office concept into reality requires building an entire ecosystem with the participation of players from several industries at once, such as manufacturers of operating systems and software, laptop manufacturers, mobile operators, cloud service providers, chipset manufacturers, eSIM manufacturers and 5G modules. But despite the complexity of implementation, in the near future it is expected that Sky Office will have rapid growth in China and many other countries.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

The entertainment industry has always been a locomotive in the development of consumer electronics. The highest performance requirements come from consumers of gaming consoles. The most advanced, but less common technologies in the gaming world are virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

The well-known companies Sony and Microsoft have been offering VR accessories and related 3D games for several years now.

VR from Sony PlayStation, source: www.playstation.com

VR from Microsoft, source: www.microsoft.com

Gradually, VR and AR will go beyond the framework of the gaming industry and inevitably spread to education, medicine, industry - it’s difficult to overestimate the potential. Figures 10–13 show some examples of using AR from Microsoft Hololens 2 presentation materials. The next step in this industry will be the combination of AR and VR with 5G. Technically, this is already feasible thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset, combining a 5G modem and a specialized XR (from VR + AR) processor with support for artificial intelligence, which responds to the pilot’s facial expressions.

It is clear that with 5G online games will only get. With the transfer of computing power to the cloud (Cloud Gaming), game consoles will become less busy, this video will become smoother, more detailed and more dynamic. Having overcome the technological barrier with 5G, the market for AR / VR games will become more popular. Many will discover virtual trips to other cities, dives to the bottom of the ocean, and even flights into space. It is a well-known fact that a person’s perception of the world strongly depends on what he sees, with XR + 5G the horizons of the average layman will expand significantly, will change society’s approaches to studying the world and constructive activities in all areas.

Students study the structure of microorganisms. A

medical worker analyzes the results of MRI.

An engineer carries out adjustment of equipment

Factory worker assembling engine

Continuing the theme of XR and artificial intelligence, I must say separately about the derived direction, like the tactile Internet. Tactile Internet (hereinafter referred to as TI) - the transfer of tactile sensations, touches at any distance with a minimum, almost imperceptible delay. The name of the technology was proposed at the Dresden Technical University, where work began in 2012 to create robotic systems that can remotely transmit sensations.

Scientists are now working on creating an artificial touch by introducing sensors into soft robotic structures and the most sensitive touch sensors. Now sensors are already able to reproduce the strength and nature of the touch, distinguish between different materials: metal, wood, textiles, etc.

TI puts forward requirements that 5G networks will be able to:

delays less than 1 ms;
reliability - to perform critical tasks (for example, remote operation), network losses, equipment failure, etc .;
high data transfer rate - more than 10 Gb / s;
high network density - support for connecting more than 100 devices per 1 sq. km.

To reproduce the sensations, it is assumed that there are any devices that are in contact with the recipient, for example, clothing (t-shirts, sweaters, pants), accessories (gloves), shoes, hats, exoskeletons or special devices, which are tactile displays with tiny drives, which move the movable elements (needles, pins).

With the help of TI, one can learn to draw, play musical instruments, do remote surgical operations ie, everything that requires the skills of fine motor skills. In electronic commerce, you can apply this technology in order to touch or try on a product before buying it. Museum exhibits can be touched and even felt in the hand the weight of ancient artifacts. Multiplayer online shooters with XR + TI will become more realistic, you can feel the pain, jerks, bumps, heat and cold.

The first practical examples of the use of TI in surgery are already there today. In the United States, tests are underway to introduce the so-called "Telesurgery" when the surgeon performs a surgical operation remotely through a 5G network. Telesurgery is very different from classical telemedicine - this is not about simple video broadcasting in conference mode, but about the "presence" of the surgeon during the operation. His movements, accuracy, personal skills, instant reaction to events - everything will be transmitted through 5G networks without physical presence and without compromising the quality of the operation. Thus, the services of rare specialists will become more affordable, and patients will be able to choose a surgeon, regardless of country of residence.

UAV (drones)

Telesurgery places high demands on latency and reliability of communications, but there is another area that requires a massive amount of connectivity - UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or “drones”). Today you will not surprise anyone with light unmanned drones of various purposes - from entertainment to specialized military drones. With their help, they shoot spectacular videos, conduct reconnaissance of the area, save people, transport goods, etc. But almost all of them are controlled directly by a person who has direct wireless reliable contact at an unlicensed frequency.

Regarding the implementation of 5G, in progressive countries, regulatory authorities have already paid serious attention to this topic today, in connection with which standardization and security in this area are being carried out. For example, in Europe there is a special expert group 5G PPP (5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership, www.5g-ppp.eu/5gdrones) on the basis of the European Commission and representatives of the information and communication technology industry (operators, providers, institutes, small and medium-sized businesses) from Britain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Greece, Poland and Estonia. The public-private partnership 5G PPP will offer solutions, architectures, technologies and standards for UAVs. Through this state initiative, the European Union sees one of the ways to strengthen its technological leadership on the world stage.

With the standards governing the mass turnover of drones, artificial intelligence systems, a reliable, constant and fast 5G wireless communication channel for a whole hive of drones, new markets and services can be opened up in a variety of areas. Imagine: drone couriers delivering food from stores or important medicines to hard-to-reach places; rescue drones looking for people lost in a forest or sea day and night; fire drones, extinguishing fires at the initial stage; agrocopters spraying crops - and all on a global scale, and not in special cases.

Swiss post drone Swiss Post from Matternet

Transporting people to hard-to-reach spots on a cargo drone.

Agrocopter carries out the processing of agricultural land

Predator-100 fire drone (China) puts out a fire

Rescue and search drone of the Swiss aviation rescue organization Rega, independently looking for people

DJI Matrice 600 Pro drone delivers the kidneys of a deceased person (USA)

C-V2X Infrastructure

We’ll move from UAVs to unmanned vehicles. Many have seen the Tesla video presentation (www.tesla.com), where an electric vehicle driven by artificial intelligence moves around the city with minimal driver involvement. Or another example - the Waymo service (www.waymo.com), which allows you to call a taxi using the mobile application and get there to the selected point without a driver driving.

Tesla autopilot working in motion with a driver driving

Waymo working in motion without a driver driving

Both services are built on different operating principles, under the control of powerful artificial intelligence built into the car. Auto makes a situational decision based on visual information and data from the lidar (Waymo). A “smart” car is surrounded by “not smart”, unpredictable cars that are under human control.

There is an infrastructure approach to unmanned driving, enshrined in the 14th release of 3GPP - C-V2X. The abbreviation C-V2X means Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything, it is the concept of transmitting information from a vehicle to any object that may affect the vehicle, and vice versa. This approach allows the vehicle to “communicate” with other cars (V2V), infrastructure (V2I), the LTE network (V2N), the electricity network (V2G), pedestrians (V2P) and even houses (V2H). The 15th release of 3GPP also introduced the ability to communicate with the car and the 5G network, which made the C-V2X more attractive thanks to the URLLC service.

Thus, vehicles connected to the C-V2X system will be able to “see” the whole picture of the road situation, “know” about the relative position, obstacles, hazardous areas, and the artificial intelligence located on the network will not just form a separate trajectory for them , and will do this taking into account the mutual influence on the transport system. Such systems will solve the transportation problem better and safer than any driver, reduce the travel time of each participant in the movement, make the movement predictable, safe and energy efficient.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), an international consulting company, predicts that the first cars without drivers will appear on public roads in 2021, and by 2040 all megalopolises around the world will be unmanned. However, at first such transport will require attention from the driver in certain situations along the way. During this period, legal issues related to unmanned and electric vehicles will also be addressed. In particular, legal and insurance aspects. A certain amount of time will be spent on creating a network of charging stations for electric cars.

In Russia, this service is already at the stage of research and prototyping. In 2018, the Russian operator Megafon, in partnership with KAMAZ, conducted a simulation of the V2X service in the pilot area based on the ShATL unmanned electric bus.

Modeling V2X in the pilot area on the 12-seat ShATL unmanned passenger bus from KAMAZ (Kazan, June 12, 2018)

Now, listing many examples, where 5G will be more useful than ever, we’ll figure out what the state of 5G networks is today and what barriers need to be overcome to a fantastic future.

The state of 5G networks in the world and in Russia

The process of introducing 5G networks into commercial operation began already in 2019, however, while the coverage of such networks is very modest. At the beginning of 2020, 5G networks were put into operation by 47 operators in 22 countries of the world, and along with those who planned to launch or conduct testing, there will be 279 operators in 109 countries.

Number of 5G-NR base stations in commercial use [3]

5G commercial, planned, and pilot networks

As for the subscriber equipment, there are already many 5G smartphones, routers, and CPE models on sale.

5G Smartphone Models

The first users have already appreciated a significant increase in transmission speed in 5G mode. Qualcomm test results (May 2019) show a 3.3-fold increase in download speed for 5G devices compared to LTE devices. In the future, this figure will be higher due to more dense coverage and the transition from LTE EPC core to a packet 5G core network.

In Russia, the “Big Four” operators from August to September 2019 already conducted the first tests and the launch of pilot segments of 5G networks. According to the test results at this stage, delays in the network in traffic came out less than 10 ms, and speeds reached 2 Gbit / s for downloading. 5G pilot zones can be found on the streets of Moscow (Park Zaryadye, Moscow City, Vorobyovy Gory, VDNH, Skolkovo, GMS-Hospital, SK Luzhniki, metro station Gorky), Kazan, Kronshtadt and in the laboratories of mobile operators.

(1.3 /) Huawei “Mate X” ()

5G ( NSA, LTE FDD 1800 FR1 mmWave n257)

According to the Russian Digital Economy program, sustainable 5G network coverage should be provided by 2024 in all major cities with a population of more than 1 million people. At the moment, the development model of Russian 5G networks is not fully defined. The problem, as in other countries, is the choice of radio frequency bands. Operators consider the 3.4-3.8 GHz band (n78 and n79) to be the most attractive for 5G, however, it is occupied by other users, mainly military and special services, and requires release work. More clarity with the frequency ranges will appear in the 4th quarter of 2020 after open bidding, at which Roskomnadzor should distribute radio frequencies in an auction format.

The path from LTE to 5G

As was said, current 4G networks do not withstand the requirements put forward by new application scenarios. In addition to the density of connections, the bandwidth of the radio part, etc., the delays in 4G networks are quite large. Delays consist of delays in the radio part and in the infrastructure part and today they amount to tens of milliseconds. In the long run, for full-fledged 5G networks, including support for Network Slicing and URLLC, both the new NGCN (Next Generation Converged Network) network infrastructure and the modernization of the radio access network will be required. It is clear that to crank out such a volume of work at once is impossible.

4G network delays

The 3GPP consortium initially took into account the complexity of deploying new networks and adopted the scenarios of transition from the standard configuration of LTE networks (# 1) to 5G. The introduction of 5G is proposed to be carried out first on top of the existing LTE EPC infrastructure in NSA mode (Non-Standalone, # 3), as mobile operators did all 2019. In this configuration, the delays on the radio components will be reduced, but in view of the limitations of the LTE core of the EPC, the overall delay rate will be far from the requirements of URLLC. The main point of this configuration is different - in the radio part we will get a significant increase in the bandwidth sufficient for most existing eMBB applications, as well as stability of the connection with a large number of connected subscribers to one base station.

Scenarios for building a 5G network of initial and intermediate periods

Initial NSA model ( # 3) aims to improve the quality of mobile broadband Internet to increase the reliability and volume of data transmitted by using the connection in the EN-DC mode (E-UTRAN New Radio - Dual Connectivity). User terminals that support EN-DC can simultaneously connect to LTE and 5G base stations, while the LTE base station is anchor (requires upgrading to ng-eNb, or new generation eNB). The user terminal (UE) is initially registered in the network via E-UTRAN at low frequencies (<2 GHz) and begins to transmit to the network the results of measurements performed on the 5G-NR radio access network. With satisfactory “5G radio signal quality”, the LTE ng-eNb base station initiates a request to the 5G gNB base station to allocate network resources to the UE.Upon completion of the procedure, the UE connects simultaneously to the LTE ng-eNB and 5G gNB base stations. Of course, the coverage area of the 5G base station will be significantly narrower than LTE, as high-frequency millimeter-wave signal has a higher attenuation coefficient.

Connecting the UE to LTE ng-eNB and 5G gNB in EN-DC mode

Further, using the combined LTE + 5G-NR base stations, it is possible to expand the 5G coverage area by using DSS technology (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, Dynamic Spectrum Division), when the lower range Frequency E-UTRAN (<2 GHz) is shared dynamically with 5G-NR. Prior to operators introducing the 5G core, networks will be able to work this way.

Expanding 5G Coverage with Low Frequency LTE (DSS)

Next from step # 3 , when mobile operators integrate the 5G NGCN core, they can switch to target and final SA modes (options # 2 and # 5) when one radio access technology is used - either E-UTRAN or 5G-NR. Below is the final view of a 5G network capable of providing URLLC services.

The final view of the 5G network

To meet the growing need for eMBB, you can use the middle frequencies (2 GHz-7 GHz), thereby increasing data transfer speeds, including due to frequency aggregation. Lower frequency - more coverage, but less channel width. However, there is a way to increase coverage while maintaining a high discharge rate using an optional uplink channel (SUL, Supplementary Uplink). How it works? The figure below shows how a “paired” (UL / DL) midrange radio resource is assigned to the UE an additional unpaired uplink (SUL) channel from low frequencies. Then, in one cell, the UE receives 1xDL (middle frequencies) and 2xUL (low and middle frequencies) of the channel, the use of which will be controlled by the network. In this case, at the cell boundary in the DL channel, a mid-frequency signal with increased power from the “paired” range is used,and in the UL channel - a low-frequency signal in the unpaired SUL range. As a result, the base station “sees” the UE at longer distances, and the download speed is maintained as using medium frequencies.

The expansion of the coverage area of the middle frequencies due to the unpaired channel

5G & Last Mile Coverage Forecast

From the deployment scenarios of 5G networks and the applied frequency bands, the logic of the distribution of frequency bands for different scenarios follows, as shown in Table 3. This concept obeys the Network Slicing technology defined by the 3GPP specification; it will allow mobile operators to deploy networks isolated from each other, each of them can be allocated for specific needs (for the Internet of Things, broadcast video streaming, etc.).

*Application scenarios in different 5G frequency ranges*
Frequencies	The width of the line	Scenarios	Characteristic
above 7 GHz (FR2)	800 MHz	eMBB	Ultra high speed, low coverage and only on the streets
2 GHz ... 7 GHz (FR1)	100 MHz	eMBB, URLLC, mMTC	, ,
< 2 (FR1)	20	eMBB, URLLC, mMTC	,

Considering the feasibility of these scenarios in megacities, small towns and villages, it is possible to draw up a generalized network coverage scheme as in Figure 34. As you know, in the world 3G networks have either been abandoned or plans to disconnect have already been announced. Therefore, in figure 3G is shown by a dashed line. According to the plans of European operators, instead of slow 3G, fast LTE (scenario # 5 ) will come to the villages while saving 2G for voice traffic. Coverage in the suburbs will be characterized by higher speeds and lower delays, and megalopolises, in addition, will boast a large number of connections and ultra-fast Internet in places where the frequency range of FR2 is covered. As you can see, in the coming years, 5G networks will not replace 4G networks, but will gradually integrate with 4G networks, significantly improving the overall situation.

A generalized scheme of coverage with 2G, LTE and 5G networks until 2025.

It should be noted separately that such a distribution of networks will give rise to a sharp growth in the FWA market (Fixed Wireless Access, see below). Manufacturers of CPE (Customer Premises Equipment, wall-mounted or in-house telecommunication equipment located in the subscriber’s premises) will be able to provide high-speed Internet to residents of territories where high-speed and reliable 5G coverage has not “reached” for some reason.

Usually providers of wired and fiber-optic Internet come to such places. But 5G FWA will pose a serious threat to this business sector. Indeed, with 5G at FWA, the quality of broadband Internet will not be inferior to fiber-optic Internet, and the cost of connection will be completely out of competition, since the elimination of fiber / cable, installation work and configuration for each subscriber separately are excluded. Installing a CPE is as simple as installing a Wi-Fi router and requires almost no maintenance.

FWA and Wired / Fiber Connections at Last Mile

CPE Indoor (Indoor CPE) and Wall (Outdoor CPE)

Perhaps, as a result, the fiber / wired Internet market will be strongly transformed, will find its specific application, but will never be as widespread as it is today. In contrast, according to the forecast of SNS Telecom experts (www.snstelecom.com), by 2030, 345 million subscribers will be connected via 5W via FWA service, and over 90 million units will be sold to CPE subscriber units. In Russia, this service due to the length of the territory can be very popular even at the initial stage of 5G network deployment.

Number of FWA Connections Using 5G (Source: SNS Telecom)

5G Subscriber Modules SIMCom Wireless Solutions

As said, 5G smartphones and tablets are already on sale. SIMCom Wireless Solutions (www.simcom.com), which has been specializing in the development and production of cellular communication modules for the M2M market since 2002, announced plans to expand the product line with 5G modules in 2019. Today, the portfolio of modules is replenished with 4 models: SIM8200G, SIM8200EA-M2, SIM8300NA (while the version for North America) and SIM8300G-M2.

The 5G line of SIMCom Wireless Solutions sub6G modules (“a” and “b”) and sub6G + mmWave (“c” and “d”)

All four modules are built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 (or SDX55) SoC platform, manufactured using 7 nm technology. The modules comply with the 15th release of the 3GPP specification. Fallback is supported on LTE-FDD / LTE-TDD / 3G, EN-DC mode, massive MIMO and a global set of frequency ranges (see table below). Subscriber equipment based on melon modules will be able to work both in transition 5G networks in NSA mode and in final 5G networks in SA mode, i.e. wherever there is E-UTRAN or 5G-NR coverage. The modules of the 82nd series support operation in the sub6G range, while the 83rd series also supports the millimeter range (mmWave). The modules are executed in two form factors - in the LGA solder housing and in the form of an M2 card. The first is interesting,when the module requires an extensive set of interfaces and / or a mechanical installation method is contraindicated in the operating conditions of the final product. M2 cards have a standard size and interfaces (PCIe 3.0, USB 3.1, USIM ...), which makes it possible to provide cellular communication as optional in the product. In some cases, an LTE card can even be changed to a 5G card.

*5G SIMCom Wireless Solutions*
		SIM8200G	SIM8200EA-M2	SIM8300G-M2
3GPP		Rel.15
NSA/SA		+
	mmWave			7 / (), 3 / ()
	sub-6G	4 / (), 450 /	4 / (), 300 /	4 / (), 600 / ()
	LTE	2 / (), 150 / ()	2.4 / (), 200 / ()
	HSPA+	42 / (), 5.76 / ()
	5G NR mmWave	-	-	n257/n258/n260/n261
	5G NR Sub6G	n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n25/n28/n40/n41/n66/n71/n77/n78 (n79 SIM8200G SIM8300G-M2)
	LTE-FDD	B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71
	LTE-TDD	B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B43/B48 (B46 SIM8300G-M2)
	WCDMA	B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8
GNSS		, GPS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
		USB2.0, USB3.1, UART, PCIe Gen3.0, USIM, I2S/PCM, I2C, xGPIO, SPI, ADC, RGMII, SDIO3.0, PMI, WiFi	USB2.0, USB3.1, PCIe Gen3.0, 2xUIM, I2S/PCM, I2C, xGPIO	USB2.0, USB3.1, PCIe Gen3.0,USIM, I2S/PCM, I2C, xGPIO
		8	6	14
		NDIS/RNDIS/PPP/TCP/IPv4/IPv6/Multi-PDP/FTPS/HTTPS/DNS/SSL/TLS
		VoNR, VoLTE, CSFB
		USB FOTA
		41.0 43.6	30.0 52.0	30.0 52.0
		3.3…4.3
		-30…+85 C

At the moment, there are already several examples of projects based on 5G modules, such as CPE, routers, a drone plane and USB modems, and so on. According to the experience of the company, I must say that the developer is required to have high competence in the field of designing high-frequency equipment of this class, especially in the case of modules of the 83rd series, because they require connection from 2 to 4 external antenna modules QTM525-2 or QTM527-2 for operation in the millimeter range (mmWave), which must satisfy certain conditions of relative positioning.

5G-USB Dongle UM80 based on SIM8200EA-M2

Antenna modules of the millimeter range QTM525-2 (a) and QTM527-2 (b)

Antenna modules inside the housing combine a layered antenna structure, a power supply, filters, amplifiers and a frequency conversion circuit. The antenna module is connected to the 5G module through a flexible cable and a pair of RF cables (blue lines in the figure below), through which signals of vertical and horizontal polarization (IF-V and IF-H) propagate. To operate the antenna modules, two power supplies are required, one of them is supplied directly from the module (1.9V, the yellow line in the figure below), and the other from an external source (3.3V, the red line in the figure below). In this case, the module controls the switching on and off of the antenna modules with a separate digital signal.

Connect 4 sub6G antennas and 4 modular antennas to the 5G module on the device board

For testing 5G modules, developers are provided with debugging kits, with which you can initially evaluate the work in the sub6G and mmWave ranges without a lot of time.

In Russia, 5G modules were first presented in January 2020 at the specialized conference “5G: from technology to implementation” at St. Petersburg State Telecommunications University. prof. M.A. Bonch-Bruevich. Within the framework of the conference, interested market participants, such as: Qualcomm, Huawei, Megafon, SIMCom Wireless Solutions and others, discussed the current state of 5G networks in Russia and the world, technical solutions, implementation problems and many other issues, including the frequency spectrum for networks fifth generation. The frequency ranges for the 5G network in Russia have not yet been fully determined; mobile operators have yet to conduct many tests, including cellular communication modules of various manufacturers, in order to determine the choice of bands in certain regions. However, in the presented 5G modules, the list of supported bands is extensive,which means that almost any range combinations selected by operators, modules will be supported.

As a conclusion

It’s too early to say that 5G networks have acquired their mature, final appearance. We have to wait for the 16th release, which, according to the consortium’s intention, will close the 2nd phase of specifications and determine the beginning of the mass implementation of 5th generation core networks. However, this does not prevent us from starting work on the study of new technology today, which will lay the foundation for future projects, because 5G-NR radio access networks are already publicly available, albeit in a limited form. We must understand that 5G networks will sooner or later become our daily routine and the transition from the NSA mode to SA will be smooth and inconspicuous, and the achievements made today will not be wasted.

Materials used

Batuev B.B. SIM7000E / SIM7000E-N: Applying Power-Saving PSM and eDRX Modes on NB-IoT Networks. Wireless Technology. 2017. No2.
www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAK-dRtTEjnQnD96L6UMsQ - video from the RosBusinessConsulting Youtube channel.
www.speedtest.net/ookla-5g-map - Ookla service.

Why and how 5G will change everything: technology, phased implementation and element base for subscriber equipment