Ericsson’s mobility report, released in June, indicates that 5G will become the fastest-adopted mobile generation, with mobile subscriptions exceeding 580 million by the end of 2021 and surpassing 1 billion subscriptions two years ahead of 4G LTE’s timeline. The company attributes the adoption pace to China’s earlier commitment to 5G, as well as the earlier availability and increasing affordability of commercial 5G devices.
The report also finds that 5G standalone (SA) is evolving thanks to enablers like 5G-native voice over NR (VoNR), network slicing, and dual connectivity using an NR anchor carrier, allowing the use of mmWave spectrum in SA networks. In the first half of 2021, the first IoT devices with 5G SA capability were introduced.
Another big driver is new device chipsets for mmWave spectrum bands that will lower pricing. Ericsson expects the introduction of commercial 5G-native VoNR services in networks and devices and mmWave support in chipsets for SA mode starting in Q2 and said that there are at least 12 smartphone vendors offering mmWave-capable phones.
Respondents to Molex’s The State of 5G Survey, conducted by Dimensional Research, backs the claim. They believe that 5G consumer devices will be the first to generate significant new revenue (43%), followed by industrial and IIoT (35%) and fixed wireless access (33%). However, all survey respondents reported issues with 5G deployment, including spectrum issues (41%), lack of consumer use cases (31%), and regulations (30%). Lower on the list but not less important were mmWave propagation issues (26%) and availability of electronic components (25%).
Respondents also cited several important technology or industry changes that will enable network operators to achieve their business goals. Not surprisingly, these include reduced costs of 5G infrastructure and network equipment (41%), innovation in enabling technologies including semiconductors and sensors (31%), availability of new types of devices that require connectivity (26%), and stable and consistent government regulations (22%).
The top three technologies/topologies identified to play key roles in enabling 5G advantages included small cell (48%), mmWave (46%), and private networks (46%). In terms of which technology would be the first to impact users, 47% of respondents cited mmWave, followed by sub-6-GHz (27%) and wide-area low-power (26%).
This month’s issue looks at where we are with 5G technologies, what is driving adoption, and what the biggest challenges or roadblocks are that must be solved to realize new use cases.
Several new chipsets and modules introduced this year already support VoNR voice services and mmWave, and many of the latest 5G modems support both non-standalone (NSA) and SA architectures. Chipmakers agree that as 5G rollouts increase, mmWave is becoming more important, making it a requirement to support both sub-6-GHz and mmWave networks.
However, a number of technical issues must be resolved before 5G reaches its full potential, said Reza Rofougaran, CTO and co-founder of Movandi. Mobile carriers are rolling out several types of 5G with significant differences in speeds and latency based on the spectrum used, he added. “Understanding the differences between each type of 5G technology is crucial to addressing deployment challenges and meeting end-user expectations for bandwidth and latency.” He discusses challenges and opportunities in the mmWave 5G rollout.
5G brings new testing challenges, including antenna complexity, expanding bandwidth, OTA testing, and higher frequencies as well as more band combinations. 5G technical requirements along with system complexity require application-optimized test solutions for the entire life cycle, said Keith Cobler, wireless segment manager at Rohde & Schwarz. “To fully test 5G, the test equipment also needs to be incredibly flexible to reduce the need for dozens of different test solutions.”
5G is also driving some big changes in the semiconductor market. GaN power semiconductors are now playing a key role in 5G RF solutions, thanks to their higher efficiency and high-frequency performance. “5G is the latest-generation network that is poised to power the internet of things,” said Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News. “High-performance power semiconductors such as GaN and SiC are playing a key role in 5G RF solutions, wireless power transfer, and base-station power supplies.”
Also, RF front-end design is going through a radical makeover to accommodate massive bandwidth requirements in 5G applications, both in sub-6-GHz and mmWave spectrums, said Majeed Ahmad, editor-in-chief of EDN and Planet Analog. “Integration is the name of the game in 5G radio designs, as discrete RF solutions no longer suffice.”
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