Today, the 31st China International Information and Communication Exhibition (PT Exhibition) ended successfully at the Beijing National Convention Center.
This communication exhibition has a special significance in terms of the date. Because, June 6 this year happens to be the fourth anniversary of the official issuance of domestic 5G licenses. Moreover, around this time last year was also the day when the 3GPP R17 standard was officially frozen.
In other words, this PT exhibition not only needs to showcase the achievements of our country's 5G network construction in the past four years, but also needs to point out the way forward for the upcoming 5G-Advanced era. This is an important time node connecting the past and ushering in the future.
In terms of 5G construction achievements, there is no doubt that we have submitted a satisfactory answer sheet - according to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the number of domestic 5G base stations has reached 2.733 million, and 5G mobile phone users have reached 634 million. In the field of vertical industries, the number of 5G application projects has exceeded 10,000.
Facing the past, we already have the answer. Then, facing the future, we can't help but ask - what is the important technical development direction of 5G next? As the leader of 5G technology, what are equipment manufacturers researching? Will they bring more innovation?
In this exhibition, Ericsson's booth left a deep impression on Mr. Xiaozao. Personally, I think what they have shown answers the questions posed above very well.
The content of Ericsson's presentation is divided into three themes, namely: accelerating 5G deployment, promoting 5G revenue, and exploring future technologies.
We focus on the theme of "accelerating 5G deployment". Ericsson innovates and upgrades in terms of energy saving and emission reduction, network efficiency improvement, and AI empowerment, and makes every effort to reduce the difficulty of 5G deployment and operation and maintenance costs, helping global operators strengthen their confidence and accelerate 5G deployment.
Next, let's take a closer look at what specific work they did.
█Construct a green network to achieve seamless coverage
In the Ericsson exhibition area, the most striking thing is this hardware wall:
The hardware wall showcases Ericsson's latest full range of end-to-end products, including radio, transmission, RAN computing products and site solutions. On the far left of the wall is Ericsson's "intelligent" green station hybrid energy solution.
This solution is an important result of Ericsson's "green and low-carbon" design concept and the deep integration of its own energy technology and base station technology. The purpose is to further reduce the carbon emissions of 5G base stations and realize the green and sustainable development of 5G.
The scheme consists of a base station system and an energy system. It can support multiple energy types such as solar energy, wind energy, mains electricity, diesel generators, and storage batteries.
The green energy generated by photovoltaic panels and wind turbines is connected to the Ericsson site intelligent manager through the Ericsson new energy power board and the battery, which can realize the unified management and intelligent optimal dispatch of multiple energy sources without manual intervention.
For example, when the sun is available, use solar energy first. If the instantaneous power consumption of the site is too large, the battery can participate in supplementary power supply. In the case of time-of-use electricity prices, solar energy and batteries can be used when electricity costs are high, and utility power can be used when electricity costs are low.
Green hybrid energy site solutions can even be 100% powered by green energy. For some scenarios where transmission and mains power are unreachable (such as scenic spots in mountainous areas), the green station can be used together with Ericsson's microwave products to achieve a completely "wireless" zero-carbon base station deployment, truly achieving "carbon neutrality".
The main difference between Ericsson's green hybrid energy site solution and that of ordinary manufacturers is that they remotely access the network management system of the base station through the site intelligent manager to realize integrated supervision, which can not only monitor the energy system in real time, but also realize the energy status dynamically Autonomous coordination with base station energy-saving functions. While ensuring network performance, the energy-saving function is turned on to the greatest extent to achieve the lowest carbon operation.
Through the network management system of the base station, the staff can realize the remote maintenance of the whole stack, and can check the performance, configuration, alarm and other information in real time, and can also upgrade remotely. This not only reduces the difficulty and cost of operation and maintenance, but also reduces the risk of site power failure.
At present, Ericsson has cooperated with China Mobile to open 5G smart sites. The site has achieved zero-carbon operation and has become a new benchmark for green 5G construction.
In addition to the green station solution, many wireless products displayed on the hardware wall also incorporate the concept of green and low carbon.
This year, Ericsson put forward a brand-new concept in product design and implementation - "More with Less", with twice the effort and half the effort. Power is the power of power consumption, that is, using the least hardware and the lowest power consumption to achieve the largest capacity and support more functions.
For example, the new generation of compact RRU launched by them adopts the original silicon core technology, introduces new materials and new processes, and leads the RF macro station into the era of 10L/10kg. 10kg is only equivalent to the weight of a bag of rice, easy to carry with one hand, and can be quickly installed and deployed.
The power consumption of this product is 25% lower than that of the previous generation, which reduces carbon emissions during equipment use. The weight and volume of the product is reduced by more than 35% compared with the previous generation, which reduces carbon emissions during production, transportation and recycling.
Ericsson's hardware wall is actually a green 5G wall. It fully proves one point: high performance and green low carbon can be realized at the same time.
About this hardware wall, you can learn more about it through the following video:
█Improve 5G network efficiency
After the 5G network is deployed, how to further improve the efficiency of the network on the basis of the existing hardware facilities is the focus of the operators.
Ericsson believes that through software optimization, the greater potential of 5G networks can be tapped to make investment more valuable.
They proposed three very novel methods, namely: intelligent sensing beam, intelligent cell shaping, and user grouping architecture.
Interference Sensing
We all know that 5G has the characteristic technology of beamforming. 5G multi-beam can provide better signal coverage for multiple mobile terminals in the cell. However, multiple beams can also cause interference problems with neighboring cells. That is to say, the beam generated by the Massive MIMO antenna of 5G AAU "runs" to other cells, causing interference.
The intelligent beam is to analyze the uplink signal of the user in the adjacent cell, adjust the beam weight of the serving user, and actively reduce the interference to the adjacent cell.
Based on this technology, the cell throughput can be increased by up to 40%.
Intelligent Cell Shaping
After the 5G base station is built, each cell will have a default coverage area, forming a default shape.
This shape is not necessarily reasonable, there may be coverage holes or overlaps.
Intelligent cell shaping is to use AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) technology to dynamically adjust the coverage and shape of the cell (broadcast control information to users through a customized SSB) according to user distribution and performance statistics to reduce coverage voids and overlaps.
This technology can also transfer users to low-load cells to make the cell load more balanced.
According to actual measurements, this technology can significantly increase the downlink rate at the cell edge, up to 35%.
User Grouping Framework (UE Grouping Framework)
This technique is even more interesting. It performs flexible grouping according to user attributes. Then, for different groups of users, perform differentiated processing on resource allocation, so as to improve resource efficiency and enable different users to obtain the best experience.
For example, for voice users and data users, or for VR terminals and smart meter terminals, different wireless resources can be allocated, and different wireless strategies can be formulated to meet different requirements in terms of speed, delay, and energy consumption.
Currently, they have implemented more than 4000 configuration combinations and more than 20 personalized processing strategies. After grouping the results, they can also view performance indicators in a visual way to understand the effect of strategy execution.
The three methods mentioned above all belong to the innovation of refined operation.
These innovations are realized only through the development of base station software functions, without the need to modify the hardware. Through low-cost investment, the network becomes more personalized and customized, and the effectiveness of the spectrum is fully utilized.
█ AI empowered network intelligence upgrade
AI is a hot topic this year and in the public eye. In the "AI-enabled network intelligence upgrade" section, Ericsson demonstrated its latest research progress in the field of AI.
Mr. Xiaozao pays close attention to the display of AI achievements of equipment manufacturers and operators every year. Ericsson's progress has been greatly improved compared to last year. Their AI construction ideas are clearer, and the AI layout is more complete. In the combination of AI algorithms and traditional communication networks, they have discovered more scenarios, many of which have not been heard before.
Ericsson divides its AI framework into several layers. At the most basic level, they established an AI infrastructure and workflow platform called MLOps. This platform can facilitate the rapid development of machine learning models, rapid iteration of versions, and help operators to quickly deploy products, quickly deploy parameters/features, and quickly launch applications.
On MLOps, develop AI products and services, and apply them in various fields such as wireless, core network, BSS/OSS, etc. At present, every network automation system of Ericsson is embedded with AI.
Ericsson's AI model library has been continuously accumulated, covering the entire life cycle of the network from planning to deployment, to operation and maintenance, and optimization. From network element-level AI management to end-to-end network element self-intelligence, AI has penetrated into all aspects of communication networks, helping to improve overall efficiency, reduce the proportion of human intervention, and save a lot of costs.
The intelligent diagnosis system based on AI library is a typical example.
This system is based on traditional operation and maintenance for data engineering and model development. It has functions such as KPI monitoring, map display, configuration query, and custom inspection reports. It can automatically diagnose and classify community faults, and automatically drill down from faults. Expert knowledge forms a knowledge map technology to automatically find the root cause and perform intelligent reasoning verification on the root cause. Finally, intelligently recommend solutions.
There are many other examples of AI empowering network operation and maintenance:
Site failure service self-healing: When a site fails and is out of service, AI intelligently recommends surrounding sites for compensation and coverage to fill the coverage gap. Within 10 minutes, the business can achieve self-healing, reducing the impact on user perception.
AI network early warning: through AI, identify abnormal fluctuations in the network, judge possible problems in advance, and provide early warning.
Adaptive adjustment of network tides: According to changes in business flows, AI intelligently recommends smart antenna coverage modes to implement on-demand coverage, improve user experience, and achieve double growth in business revenue.
Ericsson's AI system is gradually maturing. As of now, their AI has been applied to 59 commercial users, covering 11.7 million cells. Ericsson's goal is to help operators reach the level of L4 self-intelligence by 2025.
█Help the commercial implementation of RedCap and promote the construction of 5G ecology
In terms of accelerating 5G deployment, Ericsson also demonstrated the work of RedCap and 5G ecological construction.
As a new technology standard for the 5G Internet of Things, RedCap is an industry hotspot this year and will gradually enter the stage of large-scale commercial use. Ericsson led the establishment and formulation of the RedCap R17 standard in 3GPP, as well as the continuous evolution of RedCap R18. They have also done a lot of work in commercial landing and ecological construction.
In terms of 5G ecological construction, in order to facilitate terminal manufacturers to quickly launch 5G products. They have not only developed a complete test tool, but also provide a complete terminal network test service solution (EDAV).
Based on this scheme, users can either choose to complete the test in Ericsson's laboratory, or let Ericsson help them build a test laboratory.
Ericsson also provides users with services such as automated testing, on-site testing experts, interoperability testing and verification, access security testing, equipment analysis, and global certification. These services are essential for terminal manufacturers, not only reducing the difficulty of product development, but also shortening the product launch cycle.
█ Epilogue
Global 5G network construction will be a long-term process. The operation, maintenance and optimization after network construction is even more arduous task.
From the perspective of operators, how to quickly realize the return on investment, how to further tap the network potential and reduce OPEX on the basis of existing hardware facilities are the issues they are most concerned about.
From the user's point of view, they need a better network experience in order to recognize and embrace 5G.
As a leading equipment manufacturer in the industry, Ericsson has a very precise grasp of user pain points. Instead of shouting slogans, they pay more attention to the improvement of every detail of the network.
At today's Ericsson Summer Media Communication Conference, Mr. Fang Ying, Executive Vice President of Ericsson Northeast Asia, said: "Ericsson will start from its own practice and focus on the construction of 5G quality networks in three dimensions, that is: ultimate experience, green Low-carbon and AI empowerment promote the development of 5G in a better, more energy-saving and smarter direction."
Ericsson's pragmatic attitude and spirit convey a correct value, which is extremely important to the sustainable and healthy development of the communications industry.
