From trials to use cases, the big 5G stories of 2017

In 2017, 5G gradually moved from the laboratory to actual deployment, and operators around the world began to demonstrate the technology in different scenarios and different frequency bands. From AT&T's 5G trial in Texas to the 5G network slicing test jointly conducted by Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom, technical trials have become a must for any operator who hopes to dominate the 5G standard.

The 5G trials conducted in 2017 also helped realize the 5G vision. The industry's perception of 5G is no longer limited to faster speeds, but has become an all-encompassing mobile service that not only connects people, but also transforms entire industries.

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The trial phase shifts from the lab to the user

The world's leading research universities have long been conducting research in the field of 5G, many of which have been supported by major telecom manufacturers who want to understand the latest developments. But in 2017, these trials have moved from the laboratory to the operators' 5G test cities in many different scenarios.

Verizon is one of the most aggressive 5G trialists, having launched pre-commercial 5G service to customers in 11 markets, including Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta; Bernardsville, New Jersey; Brookton, Massachusetts; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Miami; Sacramento, California; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. In October, a company executive said trials using millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum were going better than expected and that the company was on track to deploy three to five markets in the second phase in the first half of 2018, with Sacramento, California, being the first to receive service.

AT&T is also pushing 5G trials in different scenarios. The company said it will launch a 5G trial in Waco, Texas, which will include the company's FlexWare virtual network function (VNF) platform.

***Release of 5G NR specifications

In December this year, 3GPP announced the launch of the first 5G specification, the 5G Radio Interface (NR) standard. The non-standalone architecture utilizes LTE and NR as well as the existing LTE core network, and this configuration may be used for deployment in early 2019.

3GPP also has a non-standalone version of 5G NR. Standalone 5G NR will have full user and control plane functionality and will use a next-generation core network architecture. The specification is expected to be released in June 2018 as part of 3GPP Release 15. The release of the non-standalone 5G NR specification is an important milestone for the 5G community because it means chipset vendors can design to this standard.

The network edge is gaining attention

At Mobile World Congress 2017, only a few companies were discussing edge computing, which was later renamed multi-access edge computing (MEC). Just a few months later, every discussion involving 5G began to discuss the need for MEC.

The reason why MEC has aroused widespread discussion in the industry is that many 5G use cases, such as self-driving cars, AR/VR, and drones, require low latency and high bandwidth. This combination means that data processing capabilities need to be completed at the edge of the network rather than in the cloud.

Iain Gillott, an analyst at iGR Research, said he believes MEC could have a disruptive impact on software-defined networking (SDN) because it promises to bring applications and content closer to the edge of the network.

AT&T announced in November that it is building an edge computing test area in Palo Alto, California, to provide scenarios for developers and other companies to test connected applications such as self-driving cars and AR/VR. The company said the test center will initially be equipped with 4G LTE connections, but will be upgraded to 5G once 5G standards are finalized and equipment is available.

The huge impetus brought by network slicing

Network slicing became a key topic of discussion about 5G in 2017, and in fact many vendors used network slicing to help explain how 5G networks can be used to support different vertical industries, such as automotive, healthcare and media.

Several manufacturers have collaborated to create a 5G mobile network architecture (Monarch) working group focused on network slicing. Nokia is the leader of the organization, which has a budget of approximately $9 million. Other members include Samsung, Huawei, Telecom Italia and Real Wireless. The project is expected to end in July 2019.

Monarch is not the only project focusing on 5G network slicing. Another European working group, the 5G Transformer project, is also focusing on 5G network slicing. The project consists of 18 member companies, including mobile operators, manufacturers and universities. Like the Monarch project, the goal of this working group is to show how network slicing can support various vertical industries.

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is also working on network slicing, with three new projects launched at the second annual TIP Summit this year. One of these, E2E-NS, will deal with network slicing and is jointly hosted by BT and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

Virtualization from the core to the edge

Virtualization has always been a big part of 5G, but much of the focus has been on software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV). But now virtualization is expanding to include other network components such as the radio access network (RAN) and fronthaul, which is the connection that carries traffic between cellular base stations and remote radio heads.

Virtualization of RAN networks is particularly compelling for operators because the RAN is the most expensive part of the network, accounting for at least 70% of all network spending.

The industry has established the xRAN industry alliance to develop and promote the use of extended RAN (xRAN) and open standards. Nokia is becoming the first traditional RAN vendor to join the alliance, marking a major shift in strategy for traditional equipment vendors. The xRAN Foundation was created by large operators such as Deutsche Telekom, AT&T, Verizon, SK Telecom and Telstra.

Fronthaul virtualization is also attractive, especially with the massive increase in network traffic brought about by 5G. South Korean operator SKT recently said that about 10% of its network uses 5G passive optical network (5G-PON). 5G-PON technology is used for transmission from base stations to remote wireless headends, and the operator said it plans to expand it to 30% of its network in 2018.