What are 5G-Advanced Networks?
Since the advent of the transformative 3G mobile standard, the realm of communications has grown accustomed to the emergence of a new generation in mobile networking roughly every ten years. Each succeeding wireless technology iteration has aimed to deliver significantly greater capacity and markedly reduced latency compared to its forerunner, introducing a fresh array of applications and use cases previously beyond reach.
While it might be tempting to view 5G-Advanced as a transitional phase, situated midway between 5G and the anticipated 6G, it possesses distinct performance enhancements and facilitates novel use cases when compared to the initial iterations of 5G.
Necessity of 5G-Advanced?
The development of 6G standards and networks aims to revolutionize communication between consumers, networks, and devices. It promises to overhaul how networks execute tasks like collaborative communication, sensing, and positioning. By bridging physical and virtual realms, 6G is poised to unlock new use cases while streamlining industry operations. The opportunities presented by 6G are anticipated to underpin the societies and businesses of 2030, with integrated features potentially catalyzing significant advancements in digitization.
However, before these envisioned 2030 societies materialize, there’s a pressing need for enhancements to traditional 5G networks. This is imperative to address the persistent and substantial increases in data traffic across communication networks.
Difference Between 5G and 5G-Advanced?
5G mobile networks have been commercially available for five years now, boasting over 1.5 billion users globally, constituting approximately a fifth of the market share. These networks have been engineered to continually enhance mobile network capabilities, offering higher data throughputs, significantly increased capacity, and minimal latency.
In comparison, 5G-Advanced is designed to introduce additional capabilities to facilitate broader use cases and elevate radio performance to unprecedented levels. This advancement aims to drive network performance enhancements towards higher bandwidth, reduced latency, and enhanced reliability. It promises enhanced support for applications like extended reality (XR), unlocking opportunities in consumer markets such as gaming and video streaming, as well as enterprise applications like remote working and virtual training.
Furthermore, 5G-Advanced fosters an ecosystem for vertical markets, fostering ongoing development to improve traffic throughput, network coverage, power efficiency, and anomaly detection. It is specifically engineered to provide continuous enhancements in mobile network capabilities and support tailored to specific use cases, aiding mobile operators in the commercialization of 5G.
Moreover, 5G-Advanced marks the first mobile standard explicitly designed to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), alongside network energy-saving measures, contributing to the realization of a fully automated network and a sustainable future. With the projected rapid expansion in network usage and the increasing complexity of use cases, AI/ML is expected to play a pivotal role in future networks, surpassing the capabilities of legacy optimization approaches.
System-level network energy conservation is also crucial as operators seek to minimize deployment costs while ensuring optimal network performance across diverse use cases.
Here are some 5G-Advanced Applications?
5G-Advanced is viewed as a pivotal platform for fostering innovation in various domains such as computing, artificial intelligence (AI), connectivity, sensors, and virtualization. It introduces novel capabilities including harmonized communication and sensing (HCS), passive internet of things (IoT), and native intelligence. The core proposition of the new standard lies in its significantly enhanced capabilities, estimated to be around 10 times greater than traditional 5G. Alongside boasting 10Gbps downlink speeds, it will have the capacity to support 1Gbps uplinks.
Expectedly, 5G-Advanced is anticipated to serve as the foundation for smart city infrastructures, self-driving vehicles, intelligent traffic management systems, innovative work environments, healthcare solutions, defense and security applications, sustainable development initiatives, and various forms of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), including the industrial metaverse.
Passive IoT represents a particularly promising opportunity within the realm of 5G-Advanced. In 2022, Huawei conducted field tests of a passive IoT system in collaboration with China Mobile in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. This passive IoT system operated on a prototype 5G-Advanced network, enabling a multitude of sensors to transmit data without relying on batteries, indicating its potential for widespread deployment and utilization.
When are 5G-Advanced Networks to be Launched?
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) aimed to finalize the standard by the end of the third quarter of 2023, with technology firms anticipating the launch of services in the latter part of 2024. All spectrum bands have been identified, and terminal technology is mature.
During MWC 2024, Tim Hatt, head of research and consulting at the global mobile industry trade association GSMA, highlighted the imminent introduction of 5G-Advanced networks, heralding 2024 as a pivotal year for the mobile sector. He emphasized the significance of tapping into the next phase of 5G, which has been the fastest adopted generation of mobile technology to date.
At the same event, telecommunications technology leader Huawei unveiled its strategies to capitalize on 5.5G/5G-Advanced. Eric Zhao, Huawei’s vice-president and chief marketing officer for wireless solutions, underscored the industry’s transition into a new phase of 5G. Huawei predicts the proliferation of 100 billion 5.5G connections, supporting what it describes as the “ultimate” and “ubiquitous” experience.
According to a 2023 study by ABI Research, 5G-Advanced is projected to experience rapid growth after its commercial availability in 2025. By 2030, it is forecasted that 75% of mobile base stations will be upgraded to support the standard.
The upgrade of 5G network infrastructure is anticipated to progress more swiftly in consumer markets compared to enterprise applications. A study by ABI Research titled “5G-Advanced and the road to 6G” predicts that while 75% of all 5G base stations will transition to 5G-Advanced, the ratio in the enterprise market is expected to be approximately half. It also anticipates a rapid adoption of 5G-Advanced devices per radio base station, particularly between 2024 and 2026, during the early stages of commercial launch, as device growth outpaces network deployments over that period.
Where is 5G-Advanced Research and Development Taking Place?
The ecosystem of technical suppliers for 5G-Advanced networks is expanding, with prominent companies such as Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, and Samsung leading the development of essential systems for these networks.
Mainstream technology suppliers, including Qualcomm and MTK, have completed multiple rounds of iteration around 5.5G support. Chipsets from these companies are crucial components, while the device and terminal market is being driven by flagship products such as Apple’s iPhone 15, the Samsung Galaxy S24, Vivo’s X100 Pro, and Oppo’s Find 7.
More than 50 operators have already deployed mmWave networks capable of supporting 5G-Advanced. Some operators, such as DNA in Finland, VDF in Spain, HKT in Hong Kong, and AIS in Thailand, have conducted tests on mmWave networks for achieving 10Gbps connections. The availability of licensed spectrum will play a vital role in the successful rollout of 5G-Advanced networks.
A whitepaper from the mobile trade body 5G Americas, titled “The evolution of 5G spectrum,” highlights the importance of the upper mid-band spectrum, which ranges from 7.125GHz to 15.35GHz. Utilizing this spectrum will be critical for leveraging existing infrastructure to increase capacity in 5G-Advanced networks.
What are the Early 5G-Advanced projects?
Middle Eastern operators have been quick to embrace early versions of 5G-Advanced. For instance, UAE operator Du is establishing a 5G-Advanced joint innovation center aimed at developing 5G-Advanced technologies. The center seeks to expand the large-scale commercial use of new services across various scenarios, including consumers, homes, and enterprises. Additionally, it aims to accelerate the incubation of commercial applications such as 24K XR, FWA, holographic conferencing, and enhanced 5G private networks.
Meanwhile, China Unicom is also capitalizing on the potential of passive IoT to enable 100 billion low-speed connections. In Shanghai, the company has initiated a pilot program for steel firm Baowu Ouyeel, facilitating full-process transparent management of steel roll stock-in, stock-out, and warehousing. This initiative has led to a significant reduction in IoT device costs, from CNY150 (£16.40) to below CNY10 (£1.09). Moreover, counting efficiency has been dramatically improved, with a claimed part counting accuracy of 99.99%, reducing counting time from hours to minutes.
