India’s TSDSI candidate IMT 2020 RIT with Low Mobility Large Cell (LMLC) for rural coverage of 5G services
India’s telecom standards organization TSDSI has submitted its candidate IMT-2020 Radio Interface Technology (RIT) to the IMT-2020 evaluation at the ITU-R WP 5D meeting #32 being held in Buzios, Brazil from 9 July 2019 to 17 July 2019. TSDSI’s IMT 2020 submission is one of five candidate RIT proposals- see NOTE at bottom of this article for more information.
TSDSI’s RIT is described in document ITU-R WP5D-AR Contribution 770. This RIT has been developed to address the rural requirements by enabling the implementation of Low Mobility Large Cell (LMLC), particularly with emphasis on low-cost rural coverage of 5G wireless network services. TSDSI believes that this RIT will also help to meet the rural requirements of other developing countries. This author agrees!
TSDSI proposal on Low Mobility Large Cell (LMLC) configuration has been included as a mandatory test configuration under the Rural eMBB (enhanced Mobile BroadBand) test environment in IMT 2020 Technical Performance Requirements (TPR) in ITU-R with an enhanced Inter Sire Distance (ISD) of 6 km. Incorporation of LMLC in IMT2020 will help address the requirements of typical Indian rural settings and will be a key enabler for bridging the rural-urban divide with 5G rollouts.
–>The Indian administration (ITU member country) extends its support to the RIT of TSDSI and solicits the support of ITU Member States to support this proposal.
Indian wireless network operators, including Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, have expressed interest in LMLC.
About TSDSI:
*TSDSI is a Standards development organization similar to ETSI, SRIB, ATIS, CCSA, TTA, TTC, etc.
*TSDSI is an Organisational Partner of 3GPP and oneM2M, an Associate member of ITU-R and ITU-T and a member of GSC.
*TSDSI delegations have been actively participating and contributing in Standards development Working Groups in all these forums.
*TSDSI has formal affiliations (MoUs/Agreements) with – ETSI, 5GIA, ATSC, BIF, CCICI, GCF, IEEE-SA, TIA, TAICs, TTA, WWRF, ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, TTC
*TSDSI conducts several joint activities – projects, workshops, conferences etc. with its affiliates
*TSDSI’s operating procedures have been derived based on best practices being followed by similar Global SDOs.
*TSDSI Rules & Regulations, Working Procedures and IPR Policy are all transparent and available on our website – http://www.tsdsi.in. A brief perusal will show the similarity with the processes and policies followed by other SDOs.
*TSDSI strictly follows the Rules and Procedures. It provides an open, transparent and collaborative platform for its members to participate and contribute in the development of Standards with a special focus on India Specific Requirements and Indian Innovations. The governance model is also very inclusive, open and transparent with fresh elections being conducted for all positions every 2 years.
Submitted by: Chair TSDSI , Vice Chair TSDSI and DG TSDSI
http://www.tsdsi.in
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Kiran Kumar Kuchi, a professor at IIT Hyderabad is building a 5G testbed there. The system will exceed IMT 2020 5G performance requirements including Low Mobility Large Cell.
IIT Hyderabad 5G Testbed. Photo courtesy of IIT Hyderabad.
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TSDSI’s baseline RIT (initial description template) is documented in ITU-R WP 5D Document 5D/980: Revision 2 to Document IMT-2020/7-E, submitted on 14 February 2019. Several updates to TSDSI RIT included the updated characteristics template, initial link budget template, etc. They are in Document 5D/1138: Attachment Part 1: 5D/1138!P1; Attachment Part 2: 5D/1138!P2; Attachment Part 3: 5D/1138!P3; Attachment Part 4: 5D/1138!P4)
Here are a few key excerpts from the TSDSI baseline RIT:
Describe details of the radio interface architecture and protocol stack such as: – Logical channels – Control channels – Traffic channels Transport channels and/or physical channels.
RAN/Radio Architectures: This RIT contains NR standalone architecture. The following paragraphs provide a high-level summary of radio interface protocols and channels.
Radio Protocols: The protocol stack for the user plane includes the following: SDAP, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY sublayers (terminated in UE and gNB). On the Control plane, the following protocols are defined: – RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY sublayers (terminated in UE and gNB); – NAS protocol (terminated in UE and AMF) For details on protocol services and functions, please refer to 3GPP specifications (e.g. [38.300]).
Radio Channels (Physical, Transport and Logical Channels):
- The physical layer offers service to the MAC sublayer transport channels. The MAC sublayer offers service to the RLC sublayer logical channels.
- The RLC sublayer offers service to the PDCP sublayer RLC channels.
- The PDCP sublayer offers service to the SDAP and RRC sublayer radio bearers: data radio bearers (DRB) for user plane data and signalling radio bearers (SRB) for control plane data.
- The SDAP sublayer offers 5GC QoS flows and DRBs mapping function.
The physical channels defined in the downlink are: – the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), – the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), – the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH).
The physical channels defined in the uplink are: – the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), – the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), – and the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). In addition to the physical channels above, PHY layer signals are defined, which can be reference signals, primary and secondary synchronization signals.
The following transport channels, and their mapping to PHY channels, are defined:
Uplink: – Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH), mapped to PUSCH – Random Access Channel (RACH), mapped to PRACH
Downlink: – Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH), mapped to PDSCH – Broadcast channel (BCH), mapped to PBCH – Paging channel (PCH), mapped to (TBD)
Logical channels are classified into two groups: Control Channels and Traffic Channels.
Control channels: – Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH): a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. – Paging Control Channel (PCCH): a downlink channel that transfers paging information and system information change notifications. – Common Control Channel (CCCH): channel for transmitting control information between UEs and network. – Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH): a point-to-point bi-directional channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and the network.
Traffic channels: Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH), which can exist in both UL and DL. In Downlink, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels exist: – BCCH can be mapped to BCH, or DL-SCH; – PCCH can be mapped to PCH; – CCCH, DCCH, DTCH can be mapped to DL-SCH;
In Uplink, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels exist: – CCCH, DCCH, DTCH can be mapped to UL-SCH.
Enhancements:
1. Method to improve broadcast and paging control channel efficiency over access elements.
2. Reduce the impact of congestion in the data path and control path to improve overall efficiency in the network.
3. Other aspects
– NR QoS architecture The QoS architecture in NG-RAN (connected to 5GC), can be summarized as follows: For each UE, 5GC establishes one or more PDU Sessions. For each UE, the NG-RAN establishes one or more Data Radio Bearers (DRB) per PDU Session. The NG-RAN maps packets belonging to different PDU sessions to different DRBs. Hence, the NG-RAN establishes at least one default DRB for each PDU Session. NAS level packet filters in the UE and in the 5GC associate UL and DL packets with QoS Flows. AS-level mapping rules in the UE and in the NG-RAN associate UL and DL QoS Flows with DRBs
– Carrier Aggregation (CA) In case of CA, the multi-carrier nature of the physical layer is only exposed to the MAC layer for which one HARQ entity is required per serving cell.
– Dual Connectivity (DC) In DC, the radio protocol architecture that a radio bearer uses depends on how the radio bearer is setup.
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Four bearer types (information carrying channels) exist: MCG bearer, MCG split bearer, SCG bearer and SCG split bearer.
The following terminology/definitions apply:
– Master gNB: in dual connectivity, the gNB which terminates at least NG-C.
– Secondary gNB: in dual connectivity, the gNB that is providing additional radio resources for the UE but is not the Master node.
– Master Cell Group (MCG): in dual connectivity, a group of serving cells associated with the MgNB
– Secondary Cell Group (SCG): in dual connectivity, a group of serving cells associated with the SgNB
– MCG bearer: in dual connectivity, a bearer whose radio protocols are only located in the MCG.
– MCG split bearer: in dual connectivity, a bearer whose radio protocols are split at the MgNB and belong to both MCG and SCG.
– SCG bearer: in dual connectivity, a bearer whose radio protocols are only located in the SCG.
– SCG split bearer: in dual connectivity, a bearer whose radio protocols are split at the SgNB and belong to both SCG and MCG.
In case of DC, the UE is configured with two MAC entities: one MAC entity for the MCG and one MAC entity for the SCG. For a split bearer, UE is configured over which link (or both) the UE transmits UL PDCP PDUs. On the link which is not responsible for UL PDCP PDUs transmission, the RLC layer only transmits corresponding ARQ feedback for the downlink data.
What is the bit rate required for transmitting feedback information? The information will be provided in later update.
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LMLC Detailed Description – Characteristics template for TSDSI RIT:
The description template provides the characteristics description of the TSDSI RIT.
For this characteristic template, it has chosen to address the characteristics that are viewed to be very crucial to assist in evaluation activities for independent evaluation groups, as well as to facilitate the understanding of the RIT.
Channel access: Describe in detail how RIT/SRIT accomplishes initial channel access, (e.g. contention or non-contention based).
Initial channel access is typically accomplished via the “random access procedure” (assuming no dedicated/scheduled resources are allocated). The random access procedure can be contention based (e.g. at initial connection from idle mode) or non-contention based (e.g. during Handover to a new cell). Random access resources and parameters are configured by the network and signaled to the UE (via broadcast or dedicated signaling). Contention based random access procedure encompasses the transmission of a random access preamble by the UE (subject to possible contention with other UEs), followed by a random access response (RAR) in DL (including allocating specific radio resources for the uplink transmission). Afterwards, the UE transmits the initial UL message (e.g. RRC connection Request) using the allocated resources, and wait for a contention resolution message in DL (to confirming access to that UE). The UE could perform multiple attempts until it is successful in accessing the channel or until a timer (supervising the procedure) elapses. Non-contention based random access procedure foresees the assignment of a dedicated random access resource/preamble to a UE (e.g. part of an HO command). This avoids the contention resolution phase, i.e. only the random access preamble and random access response messages are needed to get channel access.
From a PHY perspective, a random access preamble is transmitted (UL) in a PRACH, random access response (DL) in a PDSCH, UL transmission in a PUSCH, and contention resolution message (DL) in a PDSCH.
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| Radio interface functional aspects: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Multiple access schemes
Which access scheme(s) does the proposal use? Describe in detail the multiple access schemes employed with their main parameters. – Downlink and Uplink: The multiple access is a combination of ● OFDMA: Synchronous/scheduling-based; the transmission to/from different UEs uses mutually orthogonal frequency assignments. Granularity in frequency assignment: One resource block consisting of 12 subcarriers. Multiple sub-carrier spacings are supported including 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz and 120kHz for data (see Item 5.2.3.2.7 and reference therein). 1. CP-OFDM is applied for downlink. DFT-spread OFDM and CP-OFDM are available for uplink. 2. Spectral confinement technique(s) (e.g. filtering, windowing, etc.) for a waveform at the transmitter is transparent to the receiver. When such confinement techniques are used, the spectral utilization ratio can be enhanced. ● TDMA: Transmission to/from different UEs with separation in time. Granularity: One slot consists of 14 OFDM symbols and the physical length of one slot ranges from 0.125ms to 1ms depending on the sub-carrier spacing (for more details on the frame structure, see Item 5.2.3.2.7 and the references therein). ● SDMA: Possibility to transmit to/from multiple users using the same time/frequency resource (SDMA a.k.a. “multi-user MIMO”) as part of the advanced-antenna capabilities (for more details on the advanced-antenna capabilities, see Item 5.2.3.2.9 and the reference therein) At least an UL transmission scheme without scheduling grant is supported for initial access. Inter-cell interference suppressed by processing gain of channel coding allowing for a frequency reuse of one (for more details on channel-coding, see Item 5.2.3.2.2.3 and the reference therein). (Note: Synchronous means that timing offset between UEs is within cyclic prefix by e.g. timing alignment.) For NB-IoT, the multiple access is a combination of OFDMA, TDMA, where OFDMA and TDMA are as follows · OFDMA: n UL: DFT-spread OFDM. Granularity in frequency domain: A single sub-carrier with either 3.75 kHz or 15 kHz sub-carrier spacing, or 3, 6, or 12 sub-carriers with a sub-carrier spacing of 15 kHz. A resource block consists of 12 sub-carriers with 15 kHz sub-carrier spacing, or 48 sub-carriers with 3.75 kHz sub-carrier spacing → 180 kHz. n DL: Granularity in frequency domain: one resource block consisting of 6 or 12 subcarriers with 15 kHz sub-carrier spacing→90 or 180 kHz · TDMA: Transmission to/from different UEs with separation in time n UL: Granularity: One resource unit of 1 ms, 2 ms, 4 ms, 8 ms, with 15 kHz sub-carrier spacing, depending on allocated number of sub-carrier(s); or 32 ms with 3.75 kHz sub-carrier spacing (for more details on the frame structure, see Item 5.2.3.2.7 and the references therein) n DL: Granularity: One resource unit (subframe) of length 1 ms. Repetition of a transmission is supported |
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| Modulation scheme | ||||||||||||||||||
| What is the baseband modulation scheme? If both data modulation and spreading modulation are required, describe in detail.
Describe the modulation scheme employed for data and control information. What is the symbol rate after modulation? – Downlink: ● For both data and higher-layer control information: QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM and 256QAM (see [T3.9038.211] sub-clause 7.3.1.2). ● L1/L2 control: QPSK (see [T3.9038.211] sub-clause 7.3.2.4). ● Symbol rate: 1344ksymbols/s per 1440kHz resource block (equivalently 168ksymbols/s per 180kHz resource block) – Uplink: ● For both data and higher-layer control information: π/2-BPSK with spectrum shaping, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM and 256QAM (see [T3.9038.211] sub-clause 6.3.1.2). ● L1/L2 control: BPSK, π/2-BPSK with spectrum shaping, QPSK (see [T3.9038.211] sub-clause 6.3.2). ● Symbol rate: 1344ksymbols/s per 1440kHz resource block (equivalently 168ksymbols/s per 180kHz resource block) The above is at least applied to eMBB. For NB-IoT, the modulation scheme is as follows. · Data and higher-layer control: π/2-BPSK (uplink only), π/4-QPSK (uplink only), QPSK · L1/L2 control: π/2-BPSK (uplink), QPSK (uplink), QPSK (downlink) Symbol rate: 168 ksymbols/s per 180 kHz resource block. For UL, less than one resource block may be allocated. |
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| PAPR
What is the RF peak to average power ratio after baseband filtering (dB)? Describe the PAPR (peak-to-average power ratio) reduction algorithms if they are used in the proposed RIT/SRIT. The PAPR depends on the waveform and the number of component carriers. The single component carrier transmission is assumed herein when providing the PAPR. For DFT-spread OFDM, PAPR would depend on modulation scheme as well. For uplink using DFT-spread OFDM, the cubic metric (CM) can also be used as one of the methods of predicting the power de-rating from signal modulation characteristics, if needed. – Downlink: The PAPR is 8.4dB (99.9%) – Uplink: ● For CP-OFDM: The PAPR is 8.4dB (99.9%) ● For DFT-spread OFDM: The PAPR is provided in the table below.
Any PAPR-reduction algorithm is transmitter-implementation specific for uplink and downlink. For NB-IoT, – Downlink: The PAPR is 8.0dB (99.9%) on 180kHz resource. – Uplink: The PAPR is 0.23 – 5.6 dB (99.9 %) depending on sub-carriers allocated for available NB-IoT UL modulation. |
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| Error control coding scheme and interleaving | ||||||||||||||||||
| Provide details of error control coding scheme for both downlink and uplink.
For example, – FEC or other schemes? The proponents can provide additional information on the decoding schemes. – Downlink and Uplink: ● For data: Rate 1/3 or 1/5 Low density parity check (LDPC) coding, combined with rate matching based on puncturing/repetition to achieve a desired overall code rate (For more details, see [T3.9038.212] sub-clauses 5.3.2). LDPC channel coder facilitates low-latency and high-throughput decoder implementations. ● For L1/L2 control: For DCI (Downlink Control Information)/UCI (Uplink Control Information) size larger than 11 bits, Polar coding, combined with rate matching based on puncturing/repetition to achieve a desired overall code rate (For more details, see [T3.9038.212] sub-clauses 5.3.1). Otherwise, repetition for 1-bit; simplex coding for 2-bit; reedmuller coding for 3~11-bit DCI/UCI size. The above scheme is at least applied to eMBB. Decoding mechanism is receiver-implementation specific For NB-IoT, the coding scheme is as follows: · For data: Rate 1/3 Turbo coding in UL, and rate-1/3 tail-biting convolutional coding in DL, each combined with rate matching based on puncturing/repetition to achieve a desired overall code rate; one transport block can be mapped to one or multiple resource units (for more details, see [T3.9036.212] sub-clause 6.2) · For L1/L2 control: For L1/L2 control: Rate-1/3 tail-biting convolutional coding. Special block codes for some L1/L2 control signaling (For more details, see [T3.9036.212] sub-clauses 5.1.3.1) |
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| Describe the bit interleaving scheme for both uplink and downlink.
– Downlink: ● For data: bit interleaver is performed for LDPC coding after rate-matching (For more details, see [T3.9038.212] sub-clauses 5.4.2.2) ● For L1/L2 control: Bit interleaving is performed as part of the encoding process for Polar coding (For more details, see [T3.9038.212] sub-clauses 5.4.1.1) – Uplink: ● For data: bit interleaver is performed for LDPC coding after rate-matching (For more details, see [T3.9038.212] sub-clauses 5.4.2.2) ● For L1/L2 control: Bit interleaving is performed for Polar coding after rate-matching (For more details, see [T3.9038.212] sub-clauses 5.4.1.3) The above scheme is at least applied to eMBB. NB-IOT Uplink For Control (Format 2) : Bit interleaver is not applied For Data (Format1): Bit interleaver is performed after rate matching only for multitone transmissions (3,6,12). For single tone transmissions it is not applicable. -Downlink Bit interleaver is not applied
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| Describe channel tracking capabilities (e.g. channel tracking algorithm, pilot symbol configuration, etc.) to accommodate rapidly changing delay spread profile.
To support channel tracking, different types of reference signals can be transmitted on downlink and uplink respectively. – Downlink: ● Primary and Secondary Synchronization signals (PSS and SSS) are transmitted periodically to the cell. The periodicity of these signals is network configurable. UEs can detect and maintain the cell timing based on these signals. If the gNB implements hybrid beamforming, then the PSS and SSS are transmitted separately to each analogue beam. Network can configure multiple PSS and SSS in frequency domain. ● UE-specific Demodulation RS (DM-RS) for PDCCH can be used for downlink channel estimation for coherent demodulation of PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel). DM-RS for PDCCH is transmitted together with the PDCCH. ● UE-specific Demodulation RS (DM-RS) for PDSCH can be used for downlink channel estimation for coherent demodulation of PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel). DM-RS for PDSCH is transmitted together with the PDSCH. ● UE-specific Phase Tracking RS (PT-RS) can be used in addition to the DM-RS for PDSCH for correcting common phase error between PDSCH symbols not containing DM-RS. It may also be used for Doppler and time varying channel tracking. PT-RS for PDSCH is transmitted together with the PDSCH upon need. ● UE-specific Channel State Information RS (CSI-RS) can be used for estimation of channel-state information (CSI) to further prepare feedback reporting to gNB to assist in MCS selection, beamforming, MIMO rank selection and resource allocation. CSI-RS transmissions are transmitted periodically, aperiodically, and semi-persistently on a configurable rate by the gNB. CSI-RS also can be used for interference measurement and fine frequency/time tracking purposes. – Uplink: ● UE-specific Demodulation RS (DM-RS) for PUCCH can be used for uplink channel estimation for coherent demodulation of PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel). DM-RS for PUCCH is transmitted together with the PUCCH. ● UE-specific Demodulation RS (DM-RS) for PUSCH can be used for uplink channel estimation for coherent demodulation of PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel). DM-RS for PUSCH is transmitted together with the PUSCH. ● UE-specific Phase Tracking RS (PT-RS) can be used in addition to the DM-RS for PUSCH for correcting common phase error between PUSCH symbols not containing DM-RS. It may also be used for Doppler and time varying channel tracking. DM-RS for PUSCH is transmitted together with the PUSCH upon need. ● UE-specific Sounding RS (SRS) can be used for estimation of uplink channel-state information to assist uplink scheduling, uplink power control, as well as assist the downlink transmission (e.g. the downlink beamforming in the scenario with UL/DL reciprocity). SRS transmissions are transmitted periodically aperiodically, and semi-persistently by the UE on a gNB configurable rate. Details of channel-tracking/estimation algorithms are receiver-implementation specific, and not part of the specification. Details of channel-tracking/estimation algorithms are receiver-implementation specific, e.g. MMSE-based channel estimation with appropriate interpolation in time and frequency domain could be used. NB-IOT NB-IoT is based on following signals transmitted in the downlink: the primary and secondary narrowband synchronization signals. The narrowband primary synchronization sequence is transmitted over 11 sub-carriers from the first subcarrier to the eleventh subcarrier in the sixth subframe of each frame, and the narrowband secondary synchronization sequence is transmitted over 12 sub-carriers in the NB-IoT carrier in the tenth subframe of every other frame. ● Demodulation RS (DM-RS) for NPUSCH format 1&2 (used for Data and control respectively) can be used for uplink channel estimation for coherent demodulation of NPUSCH F1 & F2 (Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel Format 1 and 2). DM-RS for NPUSCH F1& F2 is transmitted together with the NPUSCH F1 & F2. They are not UE specific, as they do not depend on RNTI. The reference sequence generation is different for single tone and multi tone. For more details refer to [T3.9036.211] For single-tone NPUSCH with UL-SCH demodulation, uplink demodulation reference signals are transmitted in the 4- th block of the slot for 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, and in the 5-th block of the slot for 3.75 kHz subcarrier spacing. For multi-tone NPUSCH with UL-SCH demodulation, uplink demodulation reference signals are transmitted in the 4-th block of the slot. The uplink demodulation reference signals sequence length is 16 for single-tone NPUSCH with ULSCH transmission, and equals the size (number of sub-carriers) of the assigned resource for multi-tone transmission. For single-tone NPUSCH with UL-SCH transmission, multiple narrow band reference signals can be created: – Based on different base sequences; – A common Gold sequence. For multi-tone NPUSCH with UL-SCH transmission, multiple narrow band reference signals are created: – Based on different base sequences; – Different cyclic shifts of the same sequence. For NPUSCH with ACK/NAK demodulation, uplink demodulation reference signals are transmitted in the 3-rd, 4-th and 5-th block of the slot for 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, and in the 1-st, 2-nd and 3-rd block of the slot for 3.75 kHz subcarrier spacing. Multiple narrow band reference signals can be created: – Based on different base sequences; – A common Gold sequence; – Different orthogonal sequences (OCC). |
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| Physical channel structure and multiplexing | ||||||||||||||||||
| What is the physical channel bit rate (M or Gbit/s) for supported bandwidths?
i.e., the product of the modulation symbol rate (in symbols per second), bits per modulation symbol, and the number of streams supported by the antenna system. The physical channel bit rate depends on the modulation scheme, number of spatial-multiplexing layer, number of resource blocks in the channel bandwidth and the subcarrier spacing used. The physical channel bit rate per layer can be expressed as Rlayer = Nmod x NRB x 2µ x 168 kbps where – Nmod is the number of bits per modulation symbol for the applied modulation scheme (QPSK: 2, 16QAM: 4, 64QAM: 6, 256QAM: 8) – NRB is the number of resource blocks in the aggregated frequency domain which depends on the channel bandwidth. – µ depends on the subcarrier spacing, , given by For example, a 400 MHz carrier with 264 resource blocks using 120 kHz subcarrier spacing, , and 256QAM modulation results in a physical channel bit rate of 2.8 Gbit/s per layer. NB-IOT The physical channel bit rate depends on the modulation scheme, number of tones used in the channel bandwidth in the resource block and the subcarrier spacing used. The physical channel bit rate per user can be expressed as : Uplink NPUSCH Format 1 R = Nmod x Ntone x 12 kbps for carrier spacing of 15kHz where – Nmod is the number of bits per modulation symbol for the applied modulation scheme (QPSK: 2, BPSK:1) – Ntone is the number of tones . This can be 1,3,6,12 R = Nmod x 3 kbps for carrier spacing of 3.75kHz Downlink R = Nmod x 12 x 12 kbps |
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| Layer 1 and Layer 2 overhead estimation.
Describe how the RIT/SRIT accounts for all layer 1 (PHY) and layer 2 (MAC) overhead and provide an accurate estimate that includes static and dynamic overheads. – Downlink The downlink L1/L2 overhead includes: 1. Different types of reference signals a. Demodulation reference signals for PDSCH (DMRS-PDSCH) b. Phase-tracking reference signals for PDSCH (PTRS-PDSCH) c. Demodulation reference signals for PDCCH d. Reference signals specifically targeting estimation of channel-state information (CSI-RS) e. Tracking reference signals (TRS) 2. L1/L2 control signalling transmitted on the up to three first OFDM symbols of each slot 3. Synchronization signals and physical broadcast control channel including demodulation reference signals included in the SS/PBCH block 4. PDU headers in L2 sub-layers (MAC/RLC/PDCP) The overhead due to different type of reference signals is given in the table below. Note that demodulation reference signals for PDCCH is included in the PDCCH overhead.
The overhead due to the L1/L2 control signalling is depending on the size and periodicity of the configured CORESET in the cell and includes the overhead from the PDCCH demodulation reference signals. If the CORESET is transmitted in every slot, maximum control channel overhead is 21% assuming three symbols and whole carrier bandwidth used for CORESET, while a more typical overhead is 7% when 1/3 of the time and frequency resources in the first three symbols of a slot is allocated to PDCCH. The overhead due to the SS/PBCH block is given by the number of SS/PBCH blocks transmitted within the SS/PBCH block period, the SS/PBCH block periodicity and the subcarrier spacing. Assuming a 100 resource block wide carrier, the overhead for 20 ms periodicity is in the range of 0.6 % to 2.3 % if the maximum number of SS/PBCH blocks are transmitted. – Uplink L1/L2 overhead includes: 1. Different types of reference signals a. Demodulation reference signal for PUSCH b. Demodulation reference signal for PUCCH c. Phase-tracking reference signals a. Sounding reference signal (SRS) used for uplink channel-state estimation at the network side 2. L1/L2 control signalling transmitted on a configurable amount of resources (see also Item 4.2.3.2.4.5) 3. L2 control overhead due to e.g., random access, uplink time-alignment control, power headroom reports and buffer-status reports 4. PDU headers in L2 layers (MAC/RLC/PDCP) The overhead due to due to demodulation reference signal for PUSCH is the same as the overhead for demodulation reference signal for PDSCH, i.e. 4 % to 29 % depending on number of symbols configured. Also, the phase-tracking reference signal overhead is the same in UL as in DL. The overhead due to periodic SRS is depending on the number of symbols configured subcarrier spacing and periodicity. For 20 ms periodicity, the overhead is in the range of 0.4% to 1.4% assuming15 kHz subcarrier spacing. Amount of uplink resources reserved for random access depends on the configuration. The relative overhead due to uplink time-alignment control depends on the configuration and the number of active UEs within a cell. The amount of overhead for buffer status reports depends on the configuration. The amount of overhead caused by 4 highly depends on the data packet size. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. For NB-IoT, the overhead from Narrowband RS (NRS) is dependent on the number of cell-specific antenna ports N (1 or 2) and equals 8 x N / 168 %. The overhead from NB-IoT downlink control signaling is dependent on the amount of data to be transmitted. For small infrequent data transmissions, the downlink transmissions are dominated by the L2 signaling during the connection setup. The overhead from L1 signaling is dependent on the configured scheduling cycle. The overhead due to Narrowband synchronization signal and Narrowband system information broadcast messages is only applicable to the NB-IoT anchor carrier. The actual overhead depends on the broadcasted system information messages and their periodicity. The overhead can be estimated to be around 26.25%.
For NB-IoT UL, data and control are sharing the same resources and the overhead from L1/L2 control signaling depend on the scheduled traffic in the DL. The UL control signaling is dominated by RLC and HARQ positive or negative acknowledgments. A typical NB-IoT NPRACH overhead is in the order of 5 %. |
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| Variable bit rate capabilities:
Describe how the proposal supports different applications and services with various bit rate requirements. For a given combination of modulation scheme, code rate, and number of spatial-multiplexing layers, the data rate available to a user can be controlled by the scheduler by assigning different number of resource blocks for the transmission. In case of multiple services, the available/assigned resource, and thus the available data rate, is shared between the services. |
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| Variable payload capabilities:
Describe how the RIT/SRIT supports IP-based application layer protocols/services (e.g., VoIP, video-streaming, interactive gaming, etc.) with variable-size payloads. See also 5.2.3.2.4.3.
The transport-block size can vary between X bits and Y bits. The number of bits per transport block can be set with a fine granularity. See [T3.9038.214] sub-clause 5.1.3.2 for details.
For NB-IoT, the maximum transport block size is 680 bits in the DL and 1000 bits in UL for the lowest UE category and 2536 bits for both DL and UL for the highest UE category. See [T3.9036.213] sub-clause 16.4.1.5.1 for details. |
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| Signalling transmission scheme:
Describe how transmission schemes are different for signalling/control from that of user data. – Downlink L1/L2 control signalling is transmitted in assigned resources time and frequency multiplexed with data within the bandwidth part (BWP, see item 5.2.3.2.8.1). Control signalling is limited to QPSK modulation (QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM and 256QAM for data). Control signalling error correcting codes are polar codes (LDPC codes for data). – Uplink L1/L2 control signalling transmitted in assigned resources and can be time and frequency multiplexed with data within the BWP. L1/L2 control signalling can also be multiplexed with data on the PUSCH. Modulation schemes for L1/L2 control signalling is π/2-BPSK, BPSK and QPSK. Control signalling error correcting codes are block codes for small payload and polar codes for larger payloads (LDPC codes for data).
For both downlink and uplink, higher-layer signalling (e.g. MAC, RLC, PDCP headers and RRC signalling) is carried within transport blocks and thus transmitted using the same physical-layer transmitter processing as user data.
For NB-IoT the L1/L2 control signaling is confined to a configured set of resource blocks and can be time multiplexed with data and are transmitted in scheduled subframes |
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| Small signalling overhead
Signalling overhead refers to the radio resource that is required by the signalling divided by the total radio resource which is used to complete a transmission of a packet. The signalling includes necessary messages exchanged in DL and UL directions during a signalling mechanism, and Layer 2 protocol header for the data packet. Describe how the RIT/SRIT supports efficient mechanism to provide small signalling overhead in case of small packet transmissions. There are multiple control channel formats that have included, and provide various levels of overhead. There is an overhead versus scheduling flexibility trade-off that can be used by the scheduler to reduce the signalling overhead.
NB-IOT: In case of small data packet transmission, the L1/L2 control signalling during the connection setup procedure is dominating the uplink and downlink transmissions. To minimize this overhead NB-IoT, allows a UE to resume of an earlier connection. As an alternative, the data can be transmitted over the control plane, which eliminates the need to setup the data plane connection. |
NOTES:
1. TSDSI’s RIT is one of five proposals for the IMT 2020 RIT/SRIT.
The other four are from: 3GPP, South Korea, China, and ETSI/DECT Forum. All but the latter are based on 3GPP “5G NR.”
- The Candidate RIT/SRIT submission from China, as acknowledged in IMT-2020/5, is technically identical to the 5G NR RIT submitted from 3GPP as acknowledged in IMT-2020/3.
- The candidate RIT/SRIT submission from South Korea, as acknowledged in IMT-2020/4, is technically identical to the 5G NR RIT submitted from 3GPP as acknowledged in IMT-2020/3.
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2. 3GPP release 16:
As we have stated numerous times, 3GPP’s final IMT 2020 RIT/SRIT submission to ITU-R WP 5D will be largely based on 3GPP release 16 (with perhaps some elements of release 15 also included). From the 3GPP website:
Release 16 will meet the ITU IMT-2020 submission requirements and the time-plan as outlined in RP-172101.
Some Background on 3GPP Release 16:
- Early progress on Rel-16 bands for 5G
- “Working towards full 5G in Rel-16″…See a webinar presentation (Bright talk webinar)
- Preparing the ground for IMT-2020
- SA1 completes its study into 5G requirements
Here is the active status of 3GPP release 16 project.
The 3GPP release 16 completion date has been delayed by at least 3 months (1Q 2020) with no new completion date specified at this time.
3. DECT Forum/ETSI submission for IMT 2020 SRIT:
From a July 1, 2019 contribution to ITU-R WP5D Brazil meeting:
DECT Forum would like to announce its support and endorsement for the IMT-2020 contribution from ETSI for an SRIT candidate for inclusion in IMT-2020. The proposed SRIT consists of two component RITs:
⦁ DECT-2020 NR RIT
⦁ 3GPP 5G CANDIDATE FOR INCLUSION IN IMT-2020: SUBMISSION 2 FOR IMT-2020 (RIT)
DECT Forum confirms its continuation as a proponent of this IMT-2020 proposal.
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References:
India delays 5G trials; Advocates “the Indian Way” within ITU-R WP 5D for IMT 2020
3GPP Workshop: IMT 2020 Submission to ITU-R WP5D and Timelines for 5G Standards Completion
LPWAN to Application standardization within the IETF
By Juan Carlos Zuniga, Sigfox, IETF Internet Area Co-Chair, (edited by Alan J Weissberger)
Introduction:
Amongst the plethora of different Internet of Things (IoT) technologies [see Addendum], Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) [1] offer mature and well-established solutions for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Note 1. A LPWAN is a type of wireless telecommunication wide area network designed to allow long range communications with low power consumption, low cost interface and a relatively low bit rate for the IIoT. There are many types of LPWANs. Some like LTE-M and NB-IoT use licensed spectrum, while others such as Sigfox and LoRaWAN use unlicensed spectrum.
LPWANs enables IoT systems to be designed for use cases that require devices to send small amounts of data periodically over often-remote networks that span many miles and use battery-powered devices that need to last many years.
LPWANs achieve those attributes by having the IoT devices (“things”) send only small packets of information periodically or even infrequently—status updates, reports, etc.—upon waking from an external trigger or at a preprogrammed time interval.
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In order to enable these IIoT connectivity solutions, a common standard is needed to allow the various types of LPWANs to communicate with applications using a common language. For this to occur, each network must have the ability to connect to the Internet. However, due to the severely restrictive nature of LPWANs, the abilities of Internet Protocols, specifically IPv6, cannot sufficiently meet the needs of these networks.
To overcome these issues, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) chartered the LPWAN working group (WG) in 2016 to identify common functionality needs across LPWANs and to standardize the protocols that could enable these functionalities across the various networks.
The goal of the IETF LPWAN WG is to converge the diverse LPWAN radio technologies toward a common hourglass model that will provide users with a standard management strategy across networks and enable common Internet-based services to the applications.
To achieve this goal, the IETF LPWAN WG has produced the Static Context Header Compression and Fragmentation (SCHC) [2] specification, an ultralightweight adaptation layer uniquely designed to support the extremely restricted communication resources of LPWAN technologies.
Note 2. SCHC is expected to become a recognized acronym like several other IETF protocols (e.g. HTTP, TCP, DHCP, DNS, IP, etc.). Please see illustration below of SCHC Architecture.
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SCHC will soon be published as a new IETF RFC. Again, it’s objective is to achieve interoperability across the leading LPWANs, including Sigfox, LoRaWAN, NB-IoT and IEEE 802.15.4w(LPWA) [3].
Note 3. IEEE 802.15.4w or LPWA
Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) extension to the IEEE Std 802.15.4 LECIM PHY layer to cover network cell radii of typically 10-15km in rural areas and deep in-building penetration in urban areas. It uses the LECIM FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) PHY modulation schemes with extensions to lower bit-rates (e.g. payload bit-rate typically < 30 kb/s). Additionally, it extends the frequency bands to additional sub-GHz unlicensed and licensed frequency bands to cover the market demand. For improved robustness in channels with high levels of interference, it defines mechanisms for the fragmented transmission of Forward Error Correction (FEC) code-words, as well as time and frequency patterns for the transmission of the fragments. Furthermore, it defines lower code rates of the FEC in addition to the K=7 R=1/2 convolutional code. Modifications to the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, needed to support this PHY extension, are defined.
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Why do LPWANs need their own interoperability standard?
The common characteristics of LPWANs include a power-optimized radio network, a simple star network topology, frame sizes in the order of tens of bytes transmitted a few times per day at ultra-low speeds, and a mostly upstream transmission pattern that allows devices to spend most of their time in sleep mode. These characteristics lead to ultra-long-range networks that allow for connected devices to have an extremely long battery life and be sold at a very low cost, enabling simple and scalable deployments.
LPWANs are especially well-suited for deployments in environments where battery recharging or swapping is not an option and where only a very low rate of data reporting is required. Also, LPWAN networks are fundamentally different than other networks, as they have been designed to handle infrequent message exchanges of payloads as small as approximately 10 bytes.
To manage these very specific constraints, the IETF has developed the SCHC adaptation layer, which is located between the network layer (e.g. IPv6) and the underlying LPWAN radio technology. SCHC comprises two independent sublayers – header compression and fragmentation – which are critical to meeting the specific characteristics of LPWANs.
The SCHC header compression sublayer has been tailored specifically for LPWAN technologies, and it is capable of compressing protocols such as IPv6, UDP and CoAP. It relies on the infrequent variability of LPWAN applications to define static contexts that are known a priori to both protocol end points.
The SCHC fragmentation sublayer, on the other hand, offers a generic approach to provide both data reliability and the capability of transmitting larger payload sizes over the extremely constrained LPWAN packet sizes and the extremely severe message rate limitations. Even though the fragmentation sublayer mechanisms have been designed to transport long IPv6 packets, they can equally be applied to non-IP data messages and payloads, as the functionality can be implemented independent of the header compression.
In order to be fully operational across LPWAN technologies, SCHC has been developed by the IETF under a generic and flexible approach that aims to address the common and unique requirements of these networks. The SCHC specification offers enough flexibility to optimize the parameter settings that need to be used over each LPWAN technology.
The IETF LPWAN WG is now working on the development of different SCHC profiles optimized for each individual LPWAN technology, including Sigfox, LoRaWAN, NB-IoT and IEEE 802.15.4w. Future work also includes definition of data models to represent the static contexts, as well as operation, administration and management (OAM) tools for LPWANs.
Here’s an illustration of the Sigfox SCHC:
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From the early stage IETF Sigfox SCHC profile spec:
The Static Context Header Compression (SCHC) specification describes a header compression scheme and a fragmentation functionality for Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies. SCHC offers a great level of flexibility that can be tailored for different LPWAN technologies. The present (early stage) document provides the optimal parameters and modes of operation when SCHC is implemented over a Sigfox LPWAN.
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Addendum –by Alan J Weissberger
IEEE definition of IoT:
“An IoT system is a network of networks where, typically, a massive number of objects, things, sensors or devices are connected through communications and information infrastructure to provide value-added services via intelligent intelligent data processing processing and management management for different different applications (e.g. smart cities, smart health, smart grid, smart home, smart transportation, and smart shopping).”
— IEEE Internet of Things Journal
IoT communications over LPWANs should be:
Low cost,
Low power,
Long battery life duration,
High number of connections,
Low bitrate,
Long range,
Low processing capacity,
Low storage capacity,
Small size devices,
Simple network architecture and protocols
Also see IETF draft RFC 8376 LPWAN Overview
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Sigfox Network Characteristics:
First LPWAN Technology
The physical layer based on an Ultra-Narrow band wireless modulation
Proprietary system
Low throughput ( ~100 bps)
Low power
Extended range (up to 50 km)
140 messages/day/device
Subscription-based model
Cloud platform with Sigfox –defined API for server access
Roaming capability
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References:
https://www.ackl.io/blog/ietf-standardization-working-group-enabling-ip-connectivity-over-lpwan
https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-lpwan-schc-over-sigfox-00
Huawei and China Telecom Jointly Release 5G Super Uplink Innovation Solution
As a large number of new pre-standard 5G services emerge, they are posing higher requirements on the uplink rate and latency. During MWC2019 in Shanghai, China Telecom and Huawei jointly released the 5G Super Uplink Joint Technology Innovation solution to accommodate those applications.
The 5G Super Uplink solution proposes the innovative networking technology featuring TDD/FDD coordination, high-band/low-band complementation, and time/frequency domain aggregation, which achieves an unprecedented uplink rate of 5G networks and reduces latency over the air interface. This solution truly redefined 5G networks based on industry requirements.
At the “Hello 5G Encouraging the Future” 5G Innovation Cooperation Conference held in April this year, China Telecom formulated the networking strategy that depends on the standalone (SA) networking and applies three SA features of URLLC, eMBB, and eMTC to meet 2B/2C requirements. China Telecom has extensively explored 5G applications in vertical industries such as government affairs, transportation, ecosystem, party building, healthcare, tourism, policing, Internet of Vehicles (IoV), education, and manufacturing. In the future 2B/2C ecosystem, large bandwidth and low latency are the focus of services. For example, the 4K HD video backhaul will give rise to the boom of new media, Internet celebrity live broadcast, and other services, bringing immersive experience to the audience. Drone services, unmanned driving, and telemedicine have higher requirements on the uplink rate and network latency.
The 5G Super Uplink solution proposed by China Telecom and Huawei implements the time-frequency domain aggregation of TDD and FDD in the uplink frequency band. Therefore, the solution can increase uplink spectrum resources of NR, boost the uplink capability of the 5G network, reduce latency, and improve the utilization rate of the uplink spectrum of 2.1 GHz/1.8 GHz. At the launch event, the Proof of Concept (PoC) of “Super Uplink” was demonstrated. The test results showed that the experienced uplink rate of 5G UEs in the cell center was increased by 20% to 60%, the experienced uplink rate of 5G UEs at the cell edge was increased to 2 to 4 times, the air interface latency was reduced by about 30%, and the URLLC services were enabled. Huawei Balong 5000 chipset, customer-premises equipment (CPE), and Mate 20 X were also displayed at the event. Super Uplink is supported from end to end by Huawei 5G technologies.
Liu Guiqing, executive vice president of China Telecom Group Co., Ltd., said: “The five ecosystems extend to 5G and become the important engine for China Telecom’s continuous growth. China Telecom adheres to the philosophy of “Customer First, Attentive Service”, insists on formulating standards first and leading technology development, and pioneers the practice of 5G network innovation. To provide better 5G experience, optimize customers’ service awareness, and enhance differentiated competitiveness in the market, China Telecom cooperates with Huawei to propose the innovative 5G networking technology featuring TDD/FDD coordination, high-band/low-band complementation, and time/frequency domain aggregation. This solution aims to further improve the uplink data capability and reduce latency, providing better development space for vertical industry applications. China Telecom will work with industry partners to seek the optimal network experience solution and promote the prosperity of the industry.”
Ryan Ding, executive director, CEO of the Carrier BG of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., commented: “5G not only changes everyday life but also revolutionizes human society. Service requirements are driving the development of 5G technologies. 5G industry innovation represents uplink ultra-large bandwidth, ultra-low latency, end-to-end slicing, and mobile edge computing (MEC). Based on the digital requirements of the industry, Huawei and China Telecom proposed the 5G Super Uplink Joint Technology Innovation solution. It is another breakthrough after Huawei CloudAIR solution.”
Yang Chaobin, president of 5G Product Line, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., noted: “The Super Uplink solution can meet the service requirements of large bandwidth and low latency at the same time. We are honored to work with China Telecom to implement the test and verification of 5G Super Uplink. Huawei 5G supports end-to-end Super Uplink and co-deployment of NSA and SA. Huawei will help industry partners continuously innovate to create the optimal 5G experience.”
China Telecom and Huawei continue to cooperate closely in technological innovation, promote 5G innovation, and contribute to 5G industry development. Huawei will support the strategic goal of China Telecom’s 5G development as always, and deepen cooperation on Super Uplink to help China Telecom take the lead in the new era of a 5G intelligent world.
Contact:
Nash Chong
[email protected]
Reference:
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Philippines’ Globe Telecom to deploy “Air Fiber 5G” this month
Globe Telecom has made the Philippines the first country in Southeast Asia to offer commercial “5G” fixed wireless internet. The rollout of these services, from early July 2019, form part of Globe’s efforts to connect two million homes across the Philippines by 2020.
The at home ‘Air Fiber 5G’ postpaid plans that Globe has released offer Filipinos the option of high bandwidth and low latency services, especially given the challenge of rolling out fiber optic cables across the country.
“The arrival of 5G has caused excitement in the global world of telecommunications,” said Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe Telecom. “Today, we made a crucial step in fulfilling our goal of connecting more Filipino homes, and our vision of bringing first-world Internet to the Philippines,” Cu added.
The Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G postpaid plans will offer fiber-like speeds up to 100Mbps. Super-sized data packages of up to 2 terabytes will be initially available in select areas in Pasig, Cavite, and Bulacan.
Globe at Home Air Fiber 5G will be available to eligible customers in July 2019. Plans come at P1899 per month for up to 20Mbps, P2499 for up to 50Mbps and P2899 for up to 100Mbps. All come with up to 2TB data capacity.
“Prior to Air Fiber 5G, we have aggressively utilized fixed wireless solutions to connect more homes and businesses to the internet over airwaves,” said Cu. “This strategy resulted in home broadband subscriber base increasing by 55.1 per cent to 1.7 million in the first three months of 2019 from 1.1 million in the same period in 2016.”
The Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G modem
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“Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G makes use of fixed location wireless radios instead of fiber optic cables which enables the company to go over the circuitous approval process of deploying a fiber optic cable – a task which proves to be arduous and involves securing multiple permits from local government units (LGUs),” Cu said.
“The right of process can sometimes take years to obtain, causing drastic delays in fiber optic roll-out completion,” Cu added.
Alberto de Larrazabal, Globe’s chief commercial officer, told reporters in the Philippines that Globe would use Huawei’s equipment, including radios and modems, to deliver “5G quality broadband internet.”
[Huawei and Finland’s Nokia were Globe’s equipment providers for its 4G-LTE service.]
Cu said that the company has been spending over 21% of its annual total revenues to upgrade and expand its telecommunication and IT infrastructure since 2012. “We have been ramping up our capital spend from P20.3 billion in 2012 to P43.3 billion in 2018, in order to provide our customers better broadband services,” he said.
Editor’s Notes:
- The Philippines ranks 107th among 178 countries in fixed broadband speed at 19.55 megabits per second (Mbps) versus the global average of 59.6 Mbps. Among 140 countries, it ranks 107th in terms of mobile internet speed at 15.10 Mbps, nearly half of the 27.22 Mbps global average.
- Globe is owned by Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp, with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd holding a minority stake.
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References:
https://www.globe.com.ph/about-us/newsroom/consumer/globe-at-home-air-fiber-5g.html
https://www.bworldonline.com/globe-launches-first-5g-service-in-southeast-asia/
SK Telecom and Samsung Bring South Korea Closer to 5G Standalone Commercialization
The two companies successfully completed interoperability test between 5G Standalone Core and Commercial Network Solutions (based on 3GPP Release 15 which is not 3GPP’s final submission to ITU-R for IMT 2020 RIT/SRITs.
SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics today announced the successful completion of South Korea’s first interoperability assessment between 5G Standalone (SA) Core and other commercial network systems over a pre-standard 5G network. This successful result brings the two companies one step closer to 5G SA commercialization.
The 5G SA Core, jointly developed by SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics, not only supports technologies including network slicing and function modularization based on 3GPP standards, but also offers additional functions that operators have been using since LTE, include billing, subscriber management and operational convenience system. The interoperability assessment is the final stage for verifying the validity of 5G SA data transmission, signifying that the SA system is ready to be launched for commercial service.
Both companies implemented several cutting-edge technologies in the 5G SA Core that has been used for the interoperability. The technologies include Data Parallel Processing technology that performs QoS and transmission control simultaneously; Data Acceleration technology that classifies and distributes similar traffic types; and Path Optimization technology that automatically delivers data traffic to Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) platform.
“Along with the initial phase of NSA rollout, SK Telecom has been continuously focusing on researching and developing the SA technology in order to provide customers a differentiated service quality with innovative products, which will be launched in the first half of next year,” said Park Jin-hyo, Chief Technology Officer and Head of ICT R&D Center at SK Telecom. “By strengthening bilateral collaboration with Samsung, SK Telecom will drive and lead highly innovative 5G technologies and solutions.”
“The fundamental structure of 5G SA is built on a completely new configuration, successfully delivering the most optimized 5G service to customers and enterprises across numerous industries,” said Jaeho Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Maintaining Korea’s leadership in network innovations through continuous investments in next-generation technologies is important to Samsung and SK Telecom, and the companies will continue to collaborate on developing and commercializing 5G SA.”
Once 5G SA is commercialized, data processing efficient will be improved by threefold, allowing efficient control for supporting massive data traffic. Moreover, 5G SA system is highly optimized for emerging next generation services such as Autonomous driving, Smart Factory, Smart Farm, and AR/VR.
For the past five years, the two companies have been collaborating on LTE and 5G development, which ultimately led to this successful 5G SA Core interoperability test. Some of other accomplishments include the commercialization of Virtualized LTE Core and Packet Optimization system; and they have completed the development of 3GPP Rel. 15 based SA Core in July last year, and successfully launched 5G NSA commercial service in April this year.
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About SK Telecom:
SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea with nearly 50 percent of the market share. As the pioneer of all generations of mobile networks, the company has commercialized the fifth generation (5G) network on December 1, 2018 and announced the first 5G smartphone subscribers on April 3, 2019. With its world’s best 5G, SK Telecom is set to realize the Age of Hyper-Innovation by transforming the way customers work, live and play.
Building on its strength in mobile services, the company is also creating unprecedented value in diverse ICT-related markets including media, security and commerce.
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For more information, please contact:
[email protected] or [email protected].
Media Contact
Yong-jae Lee
SK Telecom Co. Ltd.
(822) 6100 3838
(8210) 3129 6880
Irene Kim
SK Telecom Co. Ltd.
(822) 6100 3867
(8210) 8936 0062
Ha-young Lee
BCW Korea
(822) 3782 6421
ITU-R Proposal: Report on IMT-2020 for remote sparsely populated areas providing high data rate coverage
Proposal to develop a draft new ITU-R WP 5D Report on IMT-2020 for remote sparsely populated areas providing high data rate coverage
ITU-R WP5D July 2019 meeting contribution by LM Ericsson
Abstract:
Ericsson proposes that ITU-R WP 5D develops a Report that addresses the specific needs for high data rate coverage for sparsely populated and under-served areas using suitable frequency spectrum bands.
[This author thoroughly agrees with Ericsson’s proposal!]
Introduction:
IMT-2020 networks have the capacity of satisfying the need for high data rate coverage for enhanced mobile broadband services in under-served and remote, sparsely populated areas. In this contribution we are suggesting that work be started on a Report giving details on prospects associated with the provisioning of enhanced mobile broadband services to remote, sparsely populated and underserved areas, proposing enhancements of user equipment (UE) as well as for networks in suitable frequency bands
- for user equipment, possible solutions based on affordable user deployed equipment combined with access to local spectrum at user premises could be considered and examined, and
- for network equipment, possible solutions based on high gain massive MIMO antennas could be reviewed.
A significant part of the global population is currently connected to existing cellular and mobile broadband sites. As a complement, users in remote sparsely populated and under-served areas could be connected to higher tower sites.
The proposed Report could, for example, consider an existing GSM cellular site grid designed for voice coverage, which could be estimated to reach high downlink data rates at a cell edge of IMT-2020 coverage ranges using conventional UE and network equipment. The Report would need, however, to focus on and consider the uplink performance characteristics which may be regarded as not being satisfactory without further elaborations on policy, spectrum and other aspects. For example, consider suggesting enhancements on UE and network equipment as well as consider using high tower installations that may provide coverage reach far beyond that is currently supported by typical GSM sites.
Background:
With regard to current perceptions, it is easy to get the impression that IMT-2020 is primarily targeting a shorter-range network build using millimeter wave (mmW) bands supporting extremely demanding requirements on latency, capacity, and very high peak data rates.
However, it is suggested that IMT-2020 is designed to operate in frequency bands ranging from low-bands to high-bands and can be configured to perform better or on-par with IMT-Advanced in every aspect, also in rural sparsely populated areas. IMT-2020 has evolved from IMT-Advanced, adding significant improvements to an already capable and proven design. IMT-2020 provides two fundamental benefits relevant for longer-range coverage
- Firstly, it is designed to fully utilize massive MIMO, and
- Secondly, it is based on a flexible and lean design reducing energy consumption.
To achieve longer-range, earlier cellular and mobile broadband systems have relied on low-bands. System operated in bands around the frequency range 450 MHz having excellent coverage, but with the limitation of available bandwidth. Pushing uses to higher and higher frequency bands is clearly resulting in increased capacity, but also in reduced coverage range.
For IMT-2020 massive MIMO configuration there is no longer a simple relation between low-band use and longer-range coverage. Using high-band frequencies the size of individual antenna element decreases, resulting in reduced efficiency of each antenna element. However, with massive MIMO this effect can be compensated for by adding antenna elements, effectively keeping the physical antenna size constant while moving to higher frequency bands.
Long-range cellular coverage is very much about using higher towers, higher power, and high gain antennas. In previous cellular systems, higher radio frequency (RF) power resulted in larger network energy consumption. IMT-2020 efficiently supports lean-design and massive MIMO as it provides the right tools to deploy longer-range systems supporting high peak data rates with lower average network energy consumption.
One offered solution to achieve both good coverage as well as high capacity is to use two or more frequency bands from low-band, mid-band and / or high-band, in an aggregated configuration. This approach has proven to be very effective in dense urban areas when deploying IMT-2020 in mmW bands in combination with a low-band or mid-band that can provide improved coverage.
When combined in an effective way, the high-band off-loads the traffic from the low-band and / or mid-band, resulting in significantly improved coverage as well as capacity. This could potentially also be a promising solution for bringing IMT-2020 to underserved rural sparsely populated areas. Combining IMT-2020 using a band in the range 3.5 GHz and IMT-Advanced in a band below the frequency 1 GHz on a GSM cellular grid can provide superior capacity compared to a standalone IMT-Advanced network deployment below 1 GHz. The reason being that in mid-bands in the range 3.5 GHz there is access to more bandwidth, and the low-band on a band below 1 GHz, provide coverage for cell edge users at the same time.
Considering the above, the proposed Report could review, discuss and assess the feasibility for potential enhancements for both network equipment and UE, it may consequently be viable to deploy IMT-2020 network in a band in the range 3.5 GHz providing high capacity and long-range coverage in underserved rural sparsely populated areas. This could be more feasible and economical than deploying new sites in these areas.
IMT-2020 could potentially provide high peak data rate and high capacity mobile broadband services in underserved rural sparsely populated areas by utilizing a band in the range 3.5 GHz, where typically 100 MHz bandwidth is available compared to 20 MHz that can be expected to be available in band in the range below 1 GHz. The Report could elaborate several possible enhancements using higher towers for extended range coverage. Further contribution based on studies, within the context of the proposed Report, would be required to find a technically as well as economically best practice solution resulting in sufficiently long-range, cell-edge throughput, and capacity. Such a solution could be to consider and review the use of both the existing grid of cellular towers and possibly the higher but also sparser television towers in combination, as well as reviewing a standalone 3.5 GHz configuration, or possible aggregation between the range 3.5 GHz for downlink and low-bands for uplink.
In addition, spectrum and policy aspects having a possible impact on a feasible network configuration may need to be addressed by a possible Report.
Proposals:
Ericsson proposes that WP 5D develops a draft new Report that addresses the specific needs for high data rate coverage for sparsely populated and under-served areas using suitable frequency spectrum.
Editor’s Note:
Attachments 1 and 2 of Ericcson’s proposal, with more detailed proposals and time schedules, are only available to ITU member organizations and individuals with a TIES account.
ZTE and China Mobile demo 5G 8K+VR ultra-wide bandwidth and 5G MU-MIMO at Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2019
by Margaret Ma, ZTE
1. 5G 8K+VR ultra-wide bandwidth:
ZTE Corporation a leading provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the mobile internet, and China Telecom have today demonstrated 5G 8K+VR ultra-wide bandwidth experience at a 5G experience zone at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2019.
The 5G commercial network-based demonstration has not only showcased the excellent performance and business-enabled capabilities of China Telecom’s commercial network, but also reflected ZTE’s excellent 5G end-to-end commercial capabilities, providing a good model for 5G business cases.
ZTE will fully support the construction of China Telecom’s 5G commercial networks, exploring the application and business models of the 5G industry, helping establish China Telecom’s 5G brand leadership and achieve a win-win co-operation in the 5G era.
In addition, for visitors to MWC Shanghai 2019, China Telecom and ZTE have arranged a 5G Tour, travelling 5km with continuous coverage of the 5G network onboard a 5G experience bus. On this trip, visitors can enjoy diversified service experiences, including 5G-8K VR panoramic live streaming, 16-channel HD video live streaming, and 5G commercial smartphone video calls.
A screen on the bus shows the real-time 5G date rate that visitors can achieve, with a peak date rate of more than 1GBPS.
Empowered by the technologies of China Telecom and ZTE, the 5G-8K VR panorama live streaming combines 8K and the VR technology. The images and data captured by a 8K VR 360-degree camera are transmitted through a 5G network, allowing visitors to wear VR glasses and enjoy an immersive viewing experience.
With the capability of providing complete 5G end-to-end solutions, ZTE looks forward to working closely with industry partners to actively promote 5G business applications and practices, thereby facilitating the digital transformation of vertical industries.
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2. 5G MU-MIMO:
In addition, ZTE and China Mobile demonstrated a 5G MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) multi-user performance test based on 5G commercial base stations and smart phones at Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2019. The demonstration showcases both companies’ leading positions in commercial performance.
The MU-MIMO makes full use of multi-antenna features to maximize the utilization of spectrum resources, creating much greater revenue for users. It is the core technology of 5G to realize ultra-wide bandwidth.
This MU-MIMO test was carried out in China Mobile’s Guangzhou 5G field, employing ZTE’s industry-leading 160M full-band 4/5G dual-mode commercial base station. The base station supports dynamic spectrum sharing, achieving dual-network integration at 2.6GHz, and 16 ZTE commercial mobile phone Axon10 Pro.
The test result showcased that a 5G single cell throughput is over 3.7Gbps, while a single EU downlink data rate is more than 200Mbps. The result is also a four-time increase in network system capacity than that of the SU-MIMO technology. The test footage and data were also transmitted back to China Mobile’s booth at MWC Shanghai in real time from Guangzhou.
ZTE and China Mobile have been strategic partners for years, working together on 5G technical innovation and industry development. The two parties have witnessed a series of milestones in the path to 5G commercialization. China Mobile and ZTE jointly developed the world’s leading 5G prototype base station, the world’s leading 5G site, the world’s leading 2.6GHz NR IoDT and the world’s leading end-to-end system.
With great capability of providing complete 5G end-to-end solutions, ZTE looks forward to working closely with industry partners to actively promote 5G business applications and practices, thereby facilitating the digital transformation of vertical industries.
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About ZTE:
ZTE is a provider of advanced telecommunications systems, mobile devices, and enterprise technology solutions to consumers, carriers, companies and public sector customers. As part of ZTE’s M-ICT strategy, the company is committed to provide customers with integrated end-to-end innovations to deliver excellence and value as the telecommunications and information technology sectors converge. Listed in the stock exchanges of Hong Kong and Shenzhen (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), ZTE’s products and services are sold to over 500 operators in more than 160 countries. ZTE commits 10 per cent of its annual revenue to research and development and has leadership roles in international standard-setting organizations. ZTE is committed to corporate social responsibility and is a member of the UN Global Compact. For more information, please visit www.zte.com.cn.
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Media Contact:
Margaret Ma
ZTE Corporation
Tel: +86 755 26775189
Email: [email protected]
References:
Virgin Media Experimenting with 10 Gbps mmWave backhaul in UK fixed broadband FTTP trial
UK’s Virgin Media has been exploring possibilities of delivering backhaul traffic over the air (OTA) in a small village in the English countryside. Although this is something which Virgin Media has been doing for years, this time the company is experimenting with mmWave as opposed to microwave.
“As we invest to expand our ultra-fast network we’re always looking at new, innovative ways to make build more efficient and connect premises that might currently be out of reach,” said Jeanie York, Chief Technology and Information Officer at Virgin Media. “While presently this is a trial, it’s clear that this technology could help to provide more people and businesses with the better broadband they deserve.”
The challenge which seems to be addressed here is combining the complications of deploying infrastructure and the increasing data appetite of the consumer. As you can see below, the trial makes use of mmWave to connect two ‘trunk’ points over 3 km with a 10 Gbps signal. The signal is converted at the cabinet, before being sent through the last-mile on a fiber connection.
Although this trial only connected 12 homes in the village of Newbury, Virgin Media believes this process could support delivery of residential services to 500 homes. This assumption also factors in a 40% average annual growth in data consumption. With further upgrades, the radio link could theoretically support a 20 Gbps connection, taking the number of homes serviced to 2,000.
The advantage of this approach to delivering broadband is the ability to skip over tricky physical limitations. There are numerous villages which are experiencing poor connections because the vast spend which would have to be made to circumnavigate a valley, rivers or train lines. This approach not only speeds up the deployment, it simplifies it and makes it cheaper.
Looking at the distance between the two ‘trunks’, Virgin Media has said 3km is just about as far as it can go with mmWave. This range takes into account different weather conditions, the trial included some adverse conditions such as 80mph winds and 30mm rainfall, but radios chained together and used back-to-back could increased this coverage and scope of applications.
Virgin Media has unveiled the results of a new trial using wireless to deliver broadband to customers in remote locations.
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With alt-nets becoming increasingly common throughout the UK, new ideas to make use of mmWave and alternative technologies will need to be explored. Traditional network operators will find revenues being gradually eroded if a new vision of connectivity is not acquired.
Of course, use of mmWave for fixed broadband internet is common in the U.S., but it is proprietary to the equipment vendor (no standards) and line of sight is required from the network operators equipment to an antenna mounted on the rooftop of the home being served.
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Reference:
http://telecoms.com/498170/virgin-media-to-take-a-mmwave-approach-to-full-fibre/
AT&T FlexWare and Cybersecurity power Exide’s Digital Transformation
AT&T is powering Exide’s digital transformation with its FlexWare network virtualization solution. AT&T FlexWare is one of AT&T’s core software-centric services from the company’s “edge solutions portfolio.” AT&T says its near real-time service cuts long set up times and complex processes.
FlexWare enables businesses to launch virtual network functions (VNFs) to improve productivity and communication across its geographically dispersed physical sites. With FlexWare, AT&T can move the VNFs, such as firewall or security VNFs, to devices on a company’s network.
“Our technology will give Exide the support it needs to continue operating at high standards and to prepare for new opportunities in a 5G world,” said John Vladimir Slamecka, AT&T Region President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We’re building a platform that is ready for new data hungry apps made possible with the arrival of 5G; such as AR and VR. That’s why we are moving compute resources closer to the network edge, opening the door to new experiences and opportunities.”
AT&T’s FlexWare, for virtualized network edge services, is now in place across Exide’s global locations, including throughout Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. FlexWare at the edge allows Exide to use both highly secure MPLS and internet access services for its network needs. Starting with network routing, Exide is able to access all wide area network components utilizing high bandwidth capabilities to help provide greater flexibility as the needs of each change over time. AT&T FlexWare also allows Exide to fulfill its centralized IT requests without needing local site support.
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Exide is a battery and energy storage company which was founded 130 years ago. It manufactures and recycles batteries for a broad range of industrial and transportation applications including cars, boats, forklifts and uninterrupted power units. The company has more than 10,000 employees located across 80 countries.
“Our global presence in today’s fast paced technology environment presents the unique challenge of blending reliable legacy platforms with emerging digital solutions. This requires a data transport infrastructure that supports a broad number of traditional and disruptive applications,” said Brian Woodworth, Exide Chief Information Officer. “AT&T is leading the way as a trusted and visionary provider of network edge solutions, so naturally we turned to AT&T to collaborate with us on our digital journey to become the preferred supplier to our customers across the globe,” he added.
Exide is also using managed network security services from AT&T Cybersecurity. From an AT&T report on this vital topic:
The security landscape is growing increasingly treacherous as hackers of every type continue to evolve their attack strategies to evade detection while maximizing profit from their time and effort. It doesn’t matter if it’s an organized criminal gang looking to make money from ransomware schemes, covert state-sponsored groups attempting to steal data and disrupt operations, or just malevolent individuals trying to impress others in the hacker community—every bad actor is smarter than they were last year, and better equipped to wreak havoc.
However, we wonder if AT&T takes cybersecurity seriously for its own customers, like this author who has experienced two AT&T account unexplained security breaches in the last few months?
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AT&T says it is “offering customers like Exide unrivaled visibility and security through people, process and technology allowing them to better protect their global business.” This author certainly hopes that happens!
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References:
https://about.att.com/story/2019/att_powers_exide_digital_transformation.html
For more information about AT&T FlexWare (nice video): https://www.business.att.com/solutions/Service/network-services/sdn-nfv/virtual-network-functions/
For more information about AT&T Cybersecurity: https://att.com/security
https://www.business.att.com/learn/cybersecurity-report-volume-8-5.html
T-Mobile mmWave 5G to be available in six cities on June 28th along with Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone
T-Mobile US has announced it will use millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum to offer up “pre-standard 5G” services in parts of six cities beginning on June 28th. Sales of the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G will commence that same day (see References below). The company published detailed coverage maps showing where subscribers in Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York can expect to access their 5G network.
T-Mobile has said its plan for nationwide coverage hinges on its vast portfolio of 600 MHz spectrum, but the “Un-carrier” also has its own stash of high-band frequencies. Sprint activated its mobile 5G offering using mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum. The complementary aspects of Sprint’s and T-Mobile’s spectrum is a key piece of the pending $26.5 billion merger, which is awaiting regulatory approval which may be delayed due to several states filing opposition lawsuits.
T-Mobile US CEO John Legere, has been highly critical of AT&T’s and Verizon’s millimeter wave-based 5G deployments (particularly the lack of coverage maps). He wrote in a June 20th blog post that the “New T-Mobile” (merged with Sprint) could deliver the range of spectrum needed for 5G.
“Current 5G networks in the U.S. aren’t anything to write home about. That’s because they’re mostly focused on high-band millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, which doesn’t travel far from the cell site and is blocked by things like trees, windows and doors. It’s a massively important part of 5G, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just that – a PART. We’ve been clear all along… real, game-changing 5G will require a range of spectrum – low, mid and high – and only the New T-Mobile will be able to deliver it.”
Legere stated that the “New T-Mobile” (merged with Sprint) would be better able to deliver 5G because:
- We’ve got the high-band spectrum with mmWave, which delivers massive capacity over a very small footprint.
- Later this year, when compatible smartphones launch, we’ll launch broad 5G on our low-band 600 MHz spectrum, providing the wide area coverage necessary to reach across America.
- If regulators approve our merger with Sprint, we’ll have the crucial mid-band spectrum (2.5 GHz), which provides the balance of coverage and capacity that enables a seamless and meaningful 5G experience. Mid-band spectrum is key to providing an ideal mix of coverage and capacity for 5G networks, and the combination of Sprint’s mid-band and our low-band will allow New T-Mobile to use both spectrum more efficiently, increasing capacity even more.
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T-Mobile said it will use “Multi-band Dual Connectivity” to aggregate “5G in the millimeter wave band and LTE.”
T-Mobile plans to launch a larger 5G network later this year using the low-band 600Mhz 5G spectrum, a technology not supported by the Galaxy S10 5G. 5G smart phones that support both mmWave and the low-band spectrum are expected later this year.
However, critical infrastructure for mmWave 5G will require many more small cells (due to limited range) that will need to be mounted on mainly local (public) government property with fiber backhaul. We wonder why that gating item is hardly ever discussed on line or in the telecom business press? It is probably why T-Mobile’s 5G mmWave coverage is extremely limited as you can see from their coverage maps.
References:
https://www.t-mobile.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s10-5g
https://www.tmonews.com/2019/06/t-mobile-galaxy-s10-5g-launch-network-six-cities/