How long will it take for 5G small base stations to "take off"?

In the era of rapid changes in information and communication technology, the society's demand for network transmission speed and capacity has surpassed any time in the past. The emergence of 5G technology is the latest weapon to meet this demand. As the infrastructure of 5G networks, the importance of 5G small base stations is becoming increasingly prominent. They can not only provide faster network speeds and wider coverage, but also support more device access, bringing people a more convenient and enjoyable network experience. In this new era full of vitality and opportunities, 5G small base stations will play an increasingly important role.

The growth point of 5G small base station scale explosion still needs to be waited

2022 is an important year for the commercial use of 5G small base stations. The three major operators have started centralized procurement of 5G small base stations. Wang Lingfeng, marketing director of the wireless network division of Hengxin Technology, said that as the 5G networks of major operators gradually complete coverage, the position of 5G small base stations in the future market will become increasingly important. It is expected that the 5G small base station market will continue to maintain a high growth trend in the next few years. The market growth of 5G small base stations is mainly affected by three aspects:

First, with the gradual popularization of 5G commercial use, the demand for 5G infrastructure has increased. 5G small base stations are one of the key components supporting 5G networks. In high-value scenarios, they will receive more and more attention and importance. The rise of emerging applications such as cloud gaming, VR/AR and smart homes will also stimulate the growth of the 5G small base station market. In addition, 5G commercial networks are expanding worldwide, and market demand is increasing.

Second, the continuous improvement of technology will also have a positive impact on the growth of the 5G small base station market. With the continuous development of technology, the performance of 5G small base stations will be continuously improved. At the same time, the continuous advancement of the localization process is also simultaneously affecting the improvement and maturity of the upstream and downstream supply chains of China's 5G small base station products, and the cost will be further reduced, which will help promote the widespread application and popularization of 5G small base stations.

Third, policy support will also have a positive impact on the 5G small base station market. The government will give sufficient support and attention to 5G small base stations in terms of technology research and development and industrial support, which will further promote the development and growth of the market.

Although the growth of the 5G small base station market has begun to show signs, the explosive growth point still needs to be waited for. In Wang Lingfeng's view, this is mainly because the deployment of 5G networks is still in the early stages and needs time to accumulate and mature. "It is expected that in the next 3-5 years, the 5G small base station market will show relatively rapid growth. In the future, with the in-depth promotion of 5G networks, the 5G small base station market will usher in a large-scale explosive growth point."

5G small base stations have obvious advantages and are worth mentioning

At present, 5G has been widely used in thousands of industries. The "5G+Industrial Internet" project has covered multiple industries such as aviation, mining, steel, ports, and electricity. The vertical application market has put forward some special requirements for 5G network deployment. For example, the application fields that require real-time interaction require low latency (such as autonomous driving vehicles, industrial automation, telemedicine, etc.). In other key application scenarios (industrial automation, smart cities, etc.), high-reliability network guarantees are required to ensure the stability and sustainability of production and social operations; in addition, there are some fields with sensitive information traffic (medical, finance, security, etc.) that require network security, and the basic network must provide strong security guarantees to ensure the privacy and security of data. Wang Lingfeng pointed out that 5G small base stations have five advantages in meeting industry market needs:

First, flexibility. Small base stations are usually installed in places such as street corners and rooftops, and can provide more flexible network coverage in a limited space to meet the special needs of the vertical industry market.

Second, high bandwidth: Small base stations can provide higher bandwidth to support high-quality video and audio transmission.

The third is low latency. Small base stations can provide lower latency to ensure the effectiveness of real-time and high-reliability applications.

Fourth, cost savings. Compared with traditional large base stations, small base stations have lower infrastructure costs, which can save operators' costs and improve network cost-effectiveness.

The fifth is active management. Small base stations can use automation technology to quickly diagnose and repair faults, thereby improving network stability and reliability.

The more domestically produced chips are used, the more mature the entire industry chain will be.

The commercialization of 5G has promoted the rapid implementation of edge computing technology. At the same time, the application of edge computing technology has greatly promoted the faster and better development of 5G networks. In the view of Cai Zhaobo, R&D Director of the Wireless Network Division of Hengxin Technology, for to B services, such as precision manufacturing, industrial control, video surveillance and management in the park, the typical business requirements are that data cannot be delivered, highly reliable industrial networking, ultra-high uplink bandwidth, ultra-low latency, super computing power and private network management, etc.; for to B/C services, mainly OTT application service providers, such as Internet of Vehicles, AR/VR/cloud games, etc., the requirements of this type of business are wide coverage, QoS-guaranteed connections, close edge-cloud collaboration and ultra-high mobility, etc. 5G small base stations can well meet the above scenario requirements.

Talking about the core components of small base station products - chips, Cai Zhaobo said that there were very few options in the early stage, and the price was high, and the acquisition cycle was very long, which seriously restricted the development of small base stations. At present, domestic chips are beginning to emerge, breaking the passive situation of being controlled by foreign manufacturers in the past. The localization of chips increases the availability of core chips for small base stations, with low cost and higher availability. Of course, domestic chips started late, and the production technology is relatively backward compared with foreign countries. Performance and stability still need to be optimized. Only when more and more small base station manufacturers use domestic chips can the entire industry chain mature.

As a company committed to building a world-renowned wireless access system solution provider, Hengxin Technology has built a complete R&D system since the establishment of the small base station R&D center in September 2020. After nearly three years of technological accumulation, from X86 + FPGA solutions, to ARM+FPGA, and then to domesticated SOC, it has the technical strength to continuously iterate and develop small base station technology. It will work hand in hand with industry friends to promote the continuous deepening of the 5G small base station industry in the country and even the world.