How Carrier Networks Will Enable 5G
By Qorvo
Active Antenna Systems, beamforming, beam steering, Fixed
Wireless Access (FWA): the transition to 5G is bringing new
terminology and technologies to life in the commercial space. At
its heart, 5G begins with the carrier network and how it enables
these next-generation technologies. This blog post explains
some of the key RF communication technologies that will enable
5G base stations and networks.
This blog is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of our e-book, 5G RF For
Dummies
®
.
5G Begins with the Carrier Network
5G networks must handle many functions that require different
Active Antenna Systems (AAS) to meet the challenges of
enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine-Type
Communications (mMTC), and ultra Reliable Low-Latency
Communications (uRLLC).
One of the first major applications will be Active Antenna
Systems (AAS) in the millimeter wave (mmWave) bands,
providing Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). FWA provides an initial
stepping stone toward 5G in the mmWave bands. Carriers and
infrastructure manufacturers alike have been conducting trials
and plan to offer this service as a more scalable and economical
way to deliver broadband. Although this service is for nomadic
and fixed users, it is being designed with true mobility in mind.
This allows carriers to get their feet wet in new mmWave
technologies—such as phased array antennas and hybrid
beamforming—that will be the basis of mobile 5G.
A very recent twist in 3GPP standards definition—the addition
of an accelerated path, called non-Standalone (NSA) 5G—as a
cost-effective way to bring early 5G benefits to market without
the expense of building out the 5G network core needed for
standalone (SA) 5G. NSA accomplishes this by using an existing
4G 3GPP band as an LTE anchor in the Control Plane.
AAS/FD-MIMO
The Active Antenna Systems (AAS) is an advanced base station
platform with optimized cost, structure, and performance.
4G Release 12 enhancements significantly impacted how
enhanced NodeB (eNodeB) radios are designed. Release 12
items included new combinations of carrier aggregation, spatial
multiplexing enhancements with downlink MIMO (multiple input/
multiple output), and RF requirements needed in AAS. This
first figure summarizes portions of the Release 12 items with
respective features and benefits.
Evolution of LTE Advanced eNodeB Radio Antennas
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© Qorvo, Inc.
Evolution of LTE Advanced eNodeB Radio Antennas
Carrier Aggregation
Multiple Component Carriers
Across Multiple RF Bands
Higher Peak Data Rates
Bits/Sec
8x8 DL MIMO and 4x4 UL MIMO
SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO
Better Spectral E…ciency
Bits/Sec/Hz
Beamforming and Beam Steering
Embedded RF
Increase Capacity and Coverage
Bits/Sec/SQKM
Spatial Multiplexing Active Antenna Systems
LTE CC1
eNodeB eNodeB
AAS
eNodeB
LTE CC2
LTE CC3
LTE CC4
LTE CC5
CA
100 MHz
MIMO
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