Today, we are in the midst of rapidly expanding 5G’s global footprint. Around the world, over 70 mobile operators have deployed commercial 5G services, and many more are expected to follow by the end of 2020. This continuous expansion and evolution of 5G will not be as successful without the existence of technology inventions that support its deployment.
Expanding 5G to reach new use cases and industries is an ambitious goal. However, it is achievable with the right technology inventions that are core to continued 5G evolution. In this article, we will discuss the various inventions that may help to drive 5G expansions.
Advanced Power Saving & Mobility
To date, most 5G mobile devices are still battery powered. If we want to drive further enhancements to the 5G technology foundations, it is imperative that we are able to push the power efficiency envelope further by developing a system of power saving features. For instance, a wakeup signal (WUS) that minimizes control signaling monitoring in low power mode. As a result of this feature, devices only wake up when the WUS is detected, thus reducing device power consumption. Another power-saving feature that is expected to bring broader benefits are streamlined random access procedure (RACH) and low-power carrier aggregation control that are able to efficiently power down secondary carriers when they are not in use.
Mobility is another important factor that is crucial to the wider adoption of 5G. For example, a device-driven conditional handover, early measurement reporting, and dual-connectivity master cell group (MCG) failure recovery will be beneficial to lower handover interruption time, thus further improving device mobility performance.
High-Precision Positioning
For a long time, the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) has been the unique source for accurate position estimates for user devices. However, as applications become more widespread, GNSS has become obsolete and hence the demand for the next-generation cellular communication technology that provides high-precision positioning is increasing. This is where the benefits of 5G come in, as it is predicted to allow tracking of mobile devices in indoor and urban areas where GNSS is not sufficiently accurate nor available.
The cellular 5G standard is made to target a lower latencies of under one millisecond, data rates of up to 10 GB per second, extremely high network reliability, and better accuracy in positioning. With location awareness becoming one of the most essential features of many new markets, positioning is consequently considered as an integral part of the system design of upcoming 5G mobile networks.
Accurate device positioning is imperative to enable vertical applications of 5G, such as public safety and indoor navigation. High precision cellular-based positioning is beneficial due to its ability to perform well both outdoors and indoors, which can open doors to new use cases especially in the vertical industries.
Test Equipments
As one of the most important supports, fiber networks & the testing of fiber optics will contribute significantly in the evolution of 5G. 5G networks require numerous new design elements and standards to achieve the latency, speed, and bandwidth expected by the next-generation network, as well as meeting the needs of many mission-critical use cases. All these new standards and designs have contributed in making the process of verifying the performance of 5G networks a greater challenge. As a result, testing becomes more important, as well as the performance specifications associated with next-generation networks.
As such, field test tools must address the standards and measurement requirements in a simple and efficient manner for optimal deployment, installation, and operation of 5G networks. VIAVI Solutions is a global provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications service providers, enterprises, network equipment manufacturers, and others. VIAVI’s 5G test and verification solutions will deliver essential validation, verification and visibility for 5G. We can provide you with the opportunity to test, enable and assure your operations on 5G and optimise moving forward with essential experts in the industry.