Transforming User Experience Paradigms with 5G

In Conversation with Sunil David, Former Regional Director- IoT Ex- AT&T

The New User Experience.

The cellular networks have evolved over the last 30 odd years. From 2G to 4G, it was all about faster speeds. Data downloads became considerably faster with every successive generation, and we witnessed an uptick in video uptake.

Now, 5G is promising a completely new user experience. We have crafted an equation to define this evolving paradigm:

The world is looking at a transformation of user experiences across the board.

Towards the Next Frontier in User Experience

Manufacturers worldwide are currently confronted with a number of challenges. 5G combined with AR and VR, for instance, will answer many use cases involving remote inspection of equipment by service professionals attempting to repair complex machinery. We can also expect remote operations to be significantly faster within a 5G network. Leveraging 5G in conjunction with IoT and AI for quality enhancement will ensure that the quality and performance of the machinery is maintained.

From a manufacturing standpoint, I therefore believe that there are sufficient use cases, indicating a lot of potential for the adoption of private 5G within a campus.

On the enterprise side, we can also look at some promising use cases that will benefit global businesses, helping them overcome some of their present problems. However, when it comes to leveraging 5G as a way to transform your operations, ROI will play a critical role. One of the primary reasons for any company to choose 5G is to improve customer service. 5G could be an option for manufacturers to consider when it comes to improving customer experiences for end users, while also transforming current operational paradigms. And this has a direct impact on revenue; for the manufacturer, 5G must therefore work in tandem with other existing technology stacks for delivering its true value.

When AR, VR, AI, and ML is combined with 5G, I feel that the overall result will have significant benefits for end-consumers. 5G should not be thought of solely as a connectivity technology. One can actually sit in the comfort of one's own home and see what an online retail outlet will look like using a combination of AR and VR.

Again, from an enterprise standpoint, sectors such as manufacturing can have content bundled with connectivity and offered to customers, including experience details as vivid examples. In today's environment, for example, MedTech, telemedicine, and remote patient monitoring are valuable to our end users.

What will matter ultimately here is delivering a better customer experiences, and whether you're an enterprise or a consumer – the user journey will be transformed as a result of the capabilities associated with 5G.

Role of O-RAN: Defining the Roadmap

Many large telecom operators, equipment providers and system integrators are now a part of the O-RAN Alliance, and have been advocating the importance of adopting O-RAN.

Networks today are being developed as 5G non-standalone, where we have 5G NR and a 4G core, resulting in us carrying-forward legacy infrastructure with one operator.

As we move to 5G standalone in the future, there may be equipment from different operators present in the process. We want to make sure that interoperability is right. So the situation, where one leading OEM refuses to cooperate with its peers is worth avoiding at all costs.

The transition from 5G non-standalone to standalone will take two to three years. As a result, we must ensure that all operating equipment must be able to coexist and deliver in tandem.

With O-RAN, we can ensure that this is the on-ground reality, with the entire infrastructure becoming programmable or more software-defined.

This would help drive a lot more automation than what might have been achievable before. Also, the cost of doing business will be significantly lowered through optimized OPEX, as opposed to being forced to continue under the single, all-encompassing footprint of one legacy provider.

Sustainability and 5G

From a sustainability standpoint, research indicates that with ORAN, energy consumption will be lower as one single vendor will provide everything. This entire aspect of green 5G is fascinating. Because the cost per bit in 5G will be much lower, spectrum efficiency will be much better, and communication will be much faster.

While there is an initial CAPEX involved in purchasing all of the equipment over a period of time, it also benefits the operator. The network's operating costs will be significantly reduced. According to one study, the ORAN market will be worth around $50 billion in five years, with a penetration rate of around 20% to 25%, or even more.

While many operators are already on board, but there will undoubtedly be an increase in adoption rates over time.

Deployment Architectures: Building a Robust Future

The industry is already deploying millimeter wavelength spectrum 28 gigahertz to 80 gigahertz within a band in the millimeter wavelength spectrum, focusing on small cell deployment.

There are challenges here, including the fact that while millimeter-wave may get you faster speeds, it does not necessarily propagate well.

We are therefore looking at three different bands – the sub gigahertz low band, with very little deployment as speeds are much lower; the mid-band, and the C-band, which is 3.4 to 4.2 gigahertz. This has resulted in 5G and 5G Plus (the millimeter wavelength spectrum) being leveraged in certain use cases.

This includes instances where you want to set up a wireless hotspot in a small area. Even if it is a private 5G network, we can look at the possibility of using millimeter wavelength, with a lot of use cases initially falling under the sub gigahertz, or in the C-band.

An integrated network

C-band is a really good premium band for operators, and that is why most of them are shelling out for that spectrum, purely because of the fact that the coverage is good, and the speeds are much faster than the sub gigahertz. I feel that almost every operator would look at these three bands, and identify some gigahertz or maybe even C-band to start with.

I think from an ORAN standpoint, OEMs will pretty much support all these frequency bands. 3GPP announced that in release 17, we will be looking at how 5G can seamlessly integrate with non-terrestrial networks, such as satellite or drone-based systems. With release 17 expected in 2022, I feel that there will be a positive development in this direction.

However, we should remember one advantage of all previous releases, including 16, was that 5G can now work seamlessly with other wireless technologies. This includes both NB IoT and Wi-Fi 6. This is one of the distinguishing features of 5G – the ability to work so seamlessly with previous generations of technology, which, I feel is a major benefit of a 5G network.

Standalone Networks: The Way Ahead

Industry leaders are no longer looking at 5G as a standalone connectivity technology, but rather as a variety of flavors. There is mobile 5G for consumers and fixed wireless 5G with fixed wireless access, which can either augment or replace a customer's present internet connection. Then, there is the EDGE and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC).

We are witnessing a lot of customer use cases where they're combining 5G with the advantages of MEC. A large semiconductor plant in the United States has deployed this, with seamless integration being implemented with their existing 4G infrastructure.

The number of MEC use cases is growing, especially in manufacturing, where you want the edge device to be closer to where the data is generated. This is especially true when you have a variety of requirements and need to respond faster to events that are happening.

Again, leveraging the combination of 5G with IoT, we can now drive massive machine-to-machine communication – a scenario where the connection density is significantly high.

For instance, in the United States, there are drones equipped with 5G SIM cards and high-definition cameras that fly around photographing all of the cellular towers. The feed is then captured and sent to a video server, where video analytics is leveraged to determine when a particular tower needs to be serviced.

As a result, it is now evident that 5G, in combination with other technologies will undoubtedly add more value to customers than just 5G with AR/VR. The number of potential applications identified here is only the tip of the iceberg.

The strategy for redefining user experiences with 5G therefore needs to revolve around its combination and application with an adjacent technology.

While AI/ML is still important to extract insights from data and predict outcomes, it is the addition of 5G to the mix that will undoubtedly add a lot more value to customers.

For ensuring sustainable business success, we do not want to position 5G as a standalone technology that focuses just on pure connectivity.

Monetization for operators will occur primarily from the enterprise side, rather than the end-consumer spectrum alone.