5G, IoT and cloud lead to platform opportunity

It’s an exciting time to be a network operator because technologies like 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), network virtualization and cloud are coalescing to help them become platform providers for everyone else, according to Manish Jindal, Vice President and Head of Technology and Strategy Development, Ericsson, who spoke as part of a recent Heavy Reading webinar on using new technology to generate new revenue.

Operators are moving away from providing primarily connectivity to delivering platforms that are enabled by data and analytics. Because of this, IT technology, which used to be a cost center for operators, is now becoming a source of revenue.

“Now that very data using the analytics has moved to the boardroom where it’s the key line of business – where it’s driving revenue and becoming a prime topic of discussion,” Jindal said, adding that new business models driven by cross-industry collaboration are emerging. “This is the first time that I’ve seen our ICT industry becoming a platform that every other industry is trying to use.”

Jindal pointed to the potential for 5G to make critical machine-type communication (cMTC, also sometimes referred to as uRLL, or ultra-reliable, low-latency communications) possible. Massive machine-type communication (mMTC) is already happening with the proliferation of sensor networks, which are characterized by low-cost, low-energy and high-volume transactions among IoT devices (think smart meters or fleet management). But cMTC applications like connected cars and telemedicine require ultra-reliable, ultra-low-latency networks.

“We’re driving very high speeds but we are also looking at reducing the price of the device and power that will be required,” Jindal said. “We need to drive the complexity out of the chipsets to lower the price and power consumption.”

Network slicing

Operators will combine 5G radio access technology with network functions virtualization, software-defined networking, distributed cloud computing and network slicing to deliver cMTC applications, all of which will be controlled through automated management and orchestration.

“Today we use private networks, but going forward a single network can cater to multiple kinds of industries and you’ll create a slice for each,” Jindal said. “Technologies like virtualization and SDN will help us do that – the management and orchestration will define how the slices are created and tested. As use cases come about, management and orchestration will create and tear down the slices. Slicing won’t just be on the core side but will go all the way into the radio – 5G will be unique about that.”

Indeed, for some mission-critical applications, components will have to move closer to the edge of the network. “Depending on the categorization of use cases, the applications will sit at different locations in the network – some will be centralized and some will take advantage of mobile edge computing,” Jindal said.

Ericsson also has been participating in an ongoing TM Forum Catalyst project looking at how to use orchestration to maximize profitability, and the most recent phase of the Catalyst, championed by NTT, looked at using 5G network slicing to increase bandwidth during an auto race. You can learn much more about the Catalyst by listening to this webinar on demand.

Increasing security and performance

In November, Ericsson, Intel and NTT DOCOMO announced a partnership to build a 5G trial network in various parts of Tokyo beginning next year, where the companies will test use case applications and radio performance. Ericsson is providing 5G end-to-end systems including radio, baseband, virtualized radio access nodes (vRANs) and core networks. Intel will contribute its chipset in user devices. The trial will be conducted using the 28GHz frequency band, one of the candidate bands that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is considering designating for use by commercial 5G networks in Japan.

Kevin Johnson, Senior Director, Cloud Strategy, Intel, who joined Jindal on the webinar, said Intel’s role in the partnership with Ericsson is to increase security and performance for mission critical applications, and he highlighted connected car as an example:

“It’s all about low latency and real-time control,” Johnson explained. “Some control will be in the vehicle; some control will be at the edge of the network; and some control will be layered into the cloud infrastructure. The enablers of autonomous driving environment will need to understand where it occurs and what type of performance is needed as the car moves. We can’t do this without 5G – it allows the connected environment to do all the above.”

He also pointed out that smart devices in the car are equally important, allowing telematics service providers to “connect all five of the dots above.” To help with that, Intel announced in November that it has created a new division dedicated to autonomous driving.