Posted By: technopediasite
According
to the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) latest “Trends in
Telecommunication Reform” report, ongoing capital investments related to fiber
infrastructure are expected to total a staggering $144.2B between 2014 and
2019. One of the primary drivers for this immense capital investment into fiber
infrastructure deployments comes out of thin air, in the form of tomorrow’s 5G
radios. I want
to summarized the main goals that why optical fiber required for the 5G, which
are listed below-
➤Up
to 1000 times increased in bandwidth, per unit area
➤Up
to 100 times more connected devices
➤Up
to 10Gbps connection rates to mobile devices in the field
➤A
perceived network availability of 99.999%
➤A
perceived 100% network coverage
➤Maximum
of 1ms end-to-end round trip delay (latency)
➤Up
to 90% reduction in network energy utilization.
4G
vs 5G Speeds
Today
macro cell is served by a 1GbE packet-based optical MBH network link, although
the typical traffic over this 1GbE physical connection is about 200Mbps to
300Mbps, leaving some room for growth, for 4G networks. total aggregate
bandwidth consumed by all of the concurrent mobile users to a typical macro
cell is roughly equivalent to the maximum theoretical download speed of a single
LTE-Advanced user connection. Although current MBH
networks may suffice for 4G today, the promised access speeds of 5G is likely
going to overload existing MBH networks quite quickly.
MNOs
(Mobile Network Operators) connecting 3G and 4G cells, small and macro, via
fiber are also laying the foundation for 5G, which has maximum theoretical
download speeds from 1Gbps for high mobility users to 10Gbps for low mobility users (ex.
stationary, walking). Even if the maximum theoretical download speed of 10Gbps
were scaled down by 90% to 1Gbps, the entire 1GbE MBH connection to a typical macro
cell today, intended to serve all concurrent 4G users, would be consumed by one
bandwidth-hungry 5G user.
5G
for Fixed Broadband
Another
unsystematic works is using fixed 5G access as a broadband replacement
technology, which some carriers are considering. Although the “mobile” part is
removed once the 5G radios are installed in a residential or business premise,
they’ll still have a major effect on the RAN, and every part of the network
between cell sites and data centers. Deployments of fixed 5G broadband access
should be quicker and easier to deploy than running cables to premises meaning
the rate that bandwidth can be turned up is accelerated, which will exacerbate
bandwidth pressures on all parts of the global network.Although
5G fixed accesses will result in less fiber required to the premise, more
bandwidth is turned up faster, meaning more RAN fiber.
Essentially
all metro, regional, long haul, and submarine networks today are fiber-based,
meaning they can already scale to voracious DCI growth by leveraging the very
latest in optical transmission technologies. The access network, which includes
the RAN, is the one part of the global network infrastructure that still has a
significant amount of copper and wireless (microwave/millimeter wave)
technology deployed, which will be a problem for 5G deployments, due to the
promised speeds of this new technology. Areas targeted for 5G coverage require
lots of fiber to be successful, and not just for capacity reasons, but also to
meet the other rather formidable 5G performance goals related to network diversity,
availability, and coverage, since all three of these goals are achieved through
a greater number of interconnected paths, of fiber. It’s rather ironic that the
projected performance goals of 5G wireless will depend on the availability of wire
line fiber.
The
stringent requirements for 5G heavily rely upon the interconnected backbone in
the short term. Intensive 5G fiber-optic backhaul is necessary to seamlessly
stream bandwidth-intensive applications such as 4K video. For a while it seemed
this technology was in the future, but with the most recent World Radio communication
Conference (WRC) already allocating some of the millimeter-wave spectrum to 5G
and major U.S. telecommunications companies such as Verizon and AT&T
already announcing plans to launch 5G service by late 2019, it seems gigabit
high speeds, and low-latency cellular capabilities are fast approaching. This
invariably requires the use of fiber optics to minimize the time-to-market of
massive small cell deployments—a major milestone for the roadmap to 5G. The
benefits of low cost and reliability combined with major advancements toward
40-Gbit/sec and 100-Gbit/sec speeds have made fiber optics a default option for
many leading mobile operators.
5G
AT A GLANCE
The
ubiquitous 4G cellular technology is poised to be replaced by 5G. However, the
lofty goals for the level of connectivity required in 5G networks has been
subject to much criticism. However, these requirements were generated in order
to support the nearly exponential increase in connected devices in the coming
decades. The current prediction, according to Statista, is 75.4 billion
connected devices by 2025. This number includes both Internet of Things (IoT)
devices and mobile phones where short-range IoT devices are expected to surpass
the number of mobile phones by 2025. In the IoT space, the myriad system
requirements have led to a proliferation of standards committees and hardware
designs backed by a variety of protocols. So it follows that there are often
somewhat disjointed technologies with compatibility issues in the IoT realm.
Systems such as Zigbee, Z-wave, and Bluetooth are really meant for short- to
medium-range static applications with nominal throughputs (< 1 Mbit/sec).
THE
4G-LTE-TO-5G ROADMAP
Early
in 2018, AT&T claimed they would have 5G available by the last quarter of
the year, and Verizon was soon to follow. In reality, 2018 “5G” is more likely
an advanced 4G LTE and a 5G precursor. Fixed wireless access services are
already being launched and traffic offload to the unlicensed spectra are
already being implemented to support high traffic and throughputs.
According
to AT&T, AirGig will be capable of delivering multigigabit internet on a
license-free spectrum to keep up with the anticipated speeds of 5G networks.
The IEEE 802.22 standard, also known as “WiFar,” leverages the unused sub-1-GHz
television white space to offer link distances of up to 20 km with rates as
high as 30 Mbits/sec—still not even close to the 20-Gbit/sec peak data rates
for 5G. On the satellite front, geostationary high throughput satellite
technology leveraging the Ka-band and, implementing frequency reuse schemes, is
allowing for data rates approaching 100 Mbits/sec globally. Furthermore, low-
and medium-earth orbiting constellations with 1000-plus projected satellites
are emerging that will provide “internet to the poles.”
While
fiber runs are costly as routing optical cabling through the ground requires
the unearthing and installation of cabling as well as its respective
maintenance, it may still be necessary in the short-term to provide a more
immediate solution for broadband mobile and internet. Indiana Fiber Network,
for instance, has already invested $20 million in fiber network for urban and
rural geographies. Most of the previously described technologies are still in
their infancy compared to the technology readiness level of fiber.
There
is no one-size-fits-all solution for 5G backhaul and that would be antithetical
to the trend toward “network slicing.” While millimeter wave backhaul will be
critical in both dense urban environments and even potentially in rural
environments with AirGig, it is evident that fiber plays a vital role in
supporting the ever-increasing data demand for both the short-term and
long-term. Microwave, millimeter wave, Ethernet, and fiber will likely dominate
5G precursors such as LTE-A and ultimately 5G backhaul installations.
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