The adoption of 5G continues an upward trend in 2024. The number of 5G connections reached 1.76 billion globally in 2023 and is expected to climb to 7.9 billion by 2028, according to 5G Americas and data from Omdia. In terms of data traffic, 76% of the projected 2.6 billion TB in 2028 will be 5G data. Key growth drivers for 2024 include 5G handset availability, the completion of spectrum auctions and fixed wireless access.
Open RAN also has some market momentum, according to 5G Americas. This is thanks to emerging standards that deliver better security, improved interoperability, new energy efficiency initiatives, and advances such as massive MIMO and MU-MIMO beamforming that improve RAN performance and efficiency.
Although 6G will not be available until the 2030s, industry players are laying the groundwork now and preparing for studies and research. 5G Advanced is expected to be the steppingstone to 6G.
(Source: Adobe Stock)
In the July/August issue, we look at the state of 5G and 6G technologies. According to Larbi Belkhit, industry analyst at ABI Research, 5G has not yet reached its potential in the enterprise sector, while early studies for 6G are set to start in the second half of this year, followed by formal specifications expected in early 2026.
Belkhit reported that the rollout of 5G has made significant strides in the consumer domain, particularly for faster mobile broadband, enhanced gaming experiences and advanced augmented-reality/virtual-reality applications.
5G was also envisioned to address enterprise requirements through capabilities such as network slicing and private 5G networks but has not reached its full potential, he said, and one reason for the slower adoption is the prevalence of non-standalone 5G networks.
5G also brings other challenges, including 5G over-the-air (OTA) testing. 3GPP and CTIA test specifications now require 3D OTA measurements of 5G millimeter-wave-capable devices under extreme temperature conditions, said Günter Pfeifer, product manager for mobile radio test signaling at Rohde & Schwarz, which brings its own set of challenges. “These testing requirements pose a number of challenges, including many complex conditions.”
Pfeifer said novel 5G OTA test systems are needed to optimize airflow and thermal efficiency to address the challenges of 5G OTA testing under extreme temperatures. He walks through a new test setup designed to meet conformance testing requirements.
5G also poses challenges at the component level with its higher speeds, reduced latency and capability of linking many devices across a range of applications. One key product area is RF chips and modules, which are responsible for delivering and receiving data between devices and base stations.
In addition, 5G operates across a wider range of frequencies compared with the predecessor mobile technologies, contributing writer Stefano Lovati said. Designing for these frequency ranges requires addressing challenges, including signal attenuation, beamforming, increased complexity, size and form factor, and power consumption and thermal management, he said.
These challenges also translate into a need for 5G chips with higher efficiency, lower power consumption and higher integration. This is also in combination with a focus on delivering greater flexibility to ease design efforts and simplify implementation, AI integration for higher performance, and power-saving features and low-power architectures.
5G mobile synchronization also poses some challenges as it becomes more granular, said Eric Colard, senior technical staff engineer of product marketing for the frequency and time systems business unit at Microchip Technology Inc., and it is no longer possible for operators to universally adopt the ITU-T G.8275.1 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) profile. As a result, the industry has standardized on not just one but two PTP profiles and requires a synchronization architecture that can handle increased mobile network complexity, he said.
However, Colard explained that it is important to understand how the existing 4G synchronization architecture operates in the transition to 5G, and it requires installation options that preserve investments while enabling operators to leverage newer technologies over time.
Don’t miss our Sensors Converge roundup of products, demos and partnerships. This year’s conference featured some of the latest advances in sensor and sensing solutions and highlighted recent partnerships that advance the integration of sensor technologies into a range of applications.
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