5G What will it be?
The evolution of mobile communication
5G will operate in a highly heterogeneous environment characterised by the existence of multiple types of access technologies, multi-layer networks, multiple types of devices and multiple types of user interactions. In such an environment, there is a fundamental need for 5G to achieve seamless and consistent user experience across time and space. Here are some of the exciting technology advances consumers can expect from 5G.
Video Video communication with extremely high resolution will have a much wider usage with more advanced and extreme capabilities. An environment will emerge in which video is available to everyone, regardless of the physical location, the device being used and the network connection. Smart Clothes Clothes consisting of multiple types of devices and sensors will become mainstream. These sensors can measure various environmental and health attributes such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and skin moisture.
High-Speed Train Passengers will use high-quality mobile internet for information, interaction, entertainment or work - watching a HD movie, gaming online or having a video conference, for example - while the train is in motion. Air 3D Connectivity Passenger services offered will comprise of similar applications to those available on the ground. 3D connectivity will be used at sporting event live services where the user is moving physically in all 3 dimensions, e.g., balloonists, gliders, or skydivers. Higher User Mobility Vehicles will demand enhanced connectivity for in-vehicle entertainment, accessing the internet, enhanced navigation through instant and real-time information, autonomous driving, safety and vehicle diagnostics.
What could it mean to the consumer?
What are the technical challenges involved? www.cobham.com/wireless
5G presents far greater challenges to all wireless engineering disciplines than earlier technology generations. 5G offers the promise of delivering the quality of experience that users are demanding, and will also open up opportunities for a truly connected society, powered by applications that may still be unimagined today. 5G will be designed from the outset to support high-speed data services, and will also be the enabler for a rapid expansion in M2M and the IoT. 5G will drive new use cases for wireless technology, but many of these concepts depend on proving that new radio interface technologies can deliver the throughput, latency and capacity to empower the real-world applications of 5G.
Achieving these targets will require innovative breakthroughs in both system design methodology and validation techniques. Rather than being a single ‘generation-defining’ wireless technology, 5G will be defined by a number of different services being delivered to the end user across multiple access technologies and multi-layer networks. 5G will effectively be a dynamic, coherent and flexible technological framework, and very different to the previous generations of wireless standards. It will provide a system that leverages a variety of technologies depending on the precise needs of the application. For example many IoT applications do not need a high data rate, but may require very low latency, such as in the case of remotely controlled surgery. As IoT is adopted by industries such as automotive, manufacturing and consumer electronics, the applications for wireless technology will differ
dramatically, but the sheer volume will place heavy demands on network capacity and availability. Taking these new applications from the concept phase to prototype, and eventually to rollout, will also require new and sophisticated testing and validation techniques. A new set of test solutions needs to be in place to support the development of 5G, looking at everything from the chipset and the radio antenna to the end-to-end network performance. 5G testing needs to begin at the design phase. By adopting this methodology, it’s possible to start at the ground level and work your way up, refining processes along the way to understand, validate and improve system design and performance. This ‘design for testing’ principle can provide the foundation for 5G and the services it will enable. Illustration: 5G trends, drivers, scenarios and design/test paradigm shifts
Cobham Wireless is one of the founding partners of 5GIC, which is conducting research and development into advanced technologies for the 5G network of the future. The project aims to establish a world-leading position in mobile broadband communications. Participants include leading global mobile network operators, infrastructure and tools providers, along with media and communications organisations, in addition to the University of Surrey: home to the research centre itself.
5G Innovation Centre, Surrey, UK
The 5GIC program gives Cobham an excellent platform for collaboration with world-class researchers and companies in this exciting mobile communications field.
Cobham’s early engagement in 5G research will consolidate its position as a leading innovator in wireless network infrastructure test technologies and systems, providing test and measurement products to enable all stages of the R&D cycle for this new generation of wireless technology. Our involvement includes assuring the testability of the future high-complexity, high-density, intelligent large scale wireless systems by developing advanced wireless network simulation and modelling techniques for effective and efficient test scenario generation. Cobham has been a key partner in 5G research right from the beginning, just as we have been with LTE-A, we are playing a pivotal role in test and measurement innovations to enable the core wireless technology research to develop concept-proving system prototypes, towards 5G and beyond.
Cobham Wireless 5G technology In co-operation with 5GIC, we are evaluating and developing the use of the industry benchmark TM500 infrastructure test platform for research into new air interface technologies that may be suitable for 5G. A FBMC modem architecture with IOTA has been selected as the first of the new air interface options to be explored, and we are developing a practical IOTA modem on the TM500 test mobile platform. Combining 5GIC’s core algorithm research and our wireless system engineering capabilities has already yielded positive initial results in experimental modem design. These include evaluation of physical layer performance gains resulting in potential system design enhancements that could be achieved using FBMC technologies. It has also facilitated the validation of theoretical analysis, and helped both in understanding and solving practical design issues and in identifying recommendations for future areas of research.
How will Cobham Wireless be ahead of the curve? www.cobham.com/wireless
About Cobham Wireless Delivering state-of-the-art wireless and connectivity solutions that give our customers a competitive edge. At Cobham Wireless, we are global leaders in the provision of advanced wireless coverage and mobile communications systems, producing innovative, cost-effective solutions that address market requirements for improved connectivity, greater capacity and better quality of experience.
www.cobham.com/wireless