After entering 2023, we can clearly feel that the popularity of RedCap continues to increase.
There are more and more reports about RedCap in the media, and RedCap's commercial products are also constantly appearing in our field of vision.
All this shows that as a new 5G Internet of Things technology introduced in 3GPP R17, the commercialization of RedCap is getting closer.
█The industry has high expectations and fills the standard vacancy
There are deep-seated reasons why the entire industry attaches so much importance to RedCap.
As you all know, we have a lot of IoT technology. These technologies are both long-distance and short-distance, both high-bandwidth and low-energy. Because the demand scenarios of the Internet of Things are too complex, it has led to a relatively chaotic situation in technical standards.
This problem is even more pronounced in the field of cellular IoT. In the past, we used network technology standards such as 2G/3G/4G to develop the Internet of Things market and accumulated a lot of users. Now, in the 5G era, in order to make reasonable use of spectrum resources and reduce the difficulty of network operation and maintenance, it is necessary to gradually eliminate the old network and migrate users to 5G.
5G has officially started commercial use in 2019. In recent years, the focus has been on eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband) and uRLLC (low latency and high reliability) scenarios.
Among the three major application scenarios, there are still mMTC (massive machine type communication) scenarios. This scenario is exactly the category of medium-rate and low-rate IoT terminals, and it is also the scenario with the largest number of terminals and the most widely used. At present, these scenarios are supported by technologies such as NB-IoT and Cat.1 developed based on 4G.
For the three major scenarios, the existing 5G NR has capacity gaps. We need a technology with more balanced capabilities to fill this gap. So, there is RedCap, which is lightweight 5G.
█Both cost performance and huge application potential
Compared with traditional 5G eMBB, RedCap has simplified the technical protocol. For example, a low-order modulation method and a smaller bandwidth are adopted, the number of antennas is reduced, the number of MIMO layers is reduced, and carrier aggregation is abandoned.
While streamlining sacrifices some performance (speed, etc.), it also cuts costs significantly. The price of RedCap's chips and modules is less than half of that of 5G eMBB.
In terms of specific RedCap business application scenarios, 3GPP gave three recommendations, namely wearable devices, industrial sensors and video surveillance. These scenarios do not have high requirements on network speed, but are very sensitive to size, cost, and power consumption.
From the user's point of view, RedCap's rate is basically the same as LTE Cat.4/Cat.6, but it is more energy efficient and supports many 5G features including network slicing and 5G LAN. It is a very good choice.
█New applications, new scenarios, new opportunities
In addition to the application scenarios mentioned above, RedCap also has a potential market that is rising.
At the just-opened MWCS 2023, Fibocom, a global first-tier manufacturer of wireless communication modules, once again strongly released the FG131&FG132 series of 5G RedCap modules with a more compact size, regional versions and more complete packaging methods.
In terms of technical standards, the FG131&FG132 series fully comply with the 3GPP R17 evolution standard, fully optimize product size, power consumption and cost, and focus on large-scale commercial use of IPC cameras, power equipment, wearable XR and other terminals.
In addition to the above application directions, the FG131&FG132 series also specifically proposed a new scenario for RedCap, that is - FWA, Fixed Wireless Access .
FWA is also a hot topic in the communications industry this year. It is a technology combining wireless cellular communication and fixed network communication, which is used to provide customers with broadband access services.
How FWAs work
The principle and structure of FWA are not complicated. It uses equipment such as CPE to receive 4G/5G signals from base stations, and then convert them into Wi-Fi or wired signals, so that devices in the area can access the network.
In the past, when we talked about FWA, we would emphasize its bandwidth requirements. Only by using the Sub-6 frequency band or even the millimeter wave frequency band to obtain a higher rate can more devices in the area be able to access the Internet.
So, why is it proposed to apply RedCap mods to FWA now?
In fact, the reason for doing so is closely related to the needs of the scene.
FWA (such as CPE, MiFi, ODU) developed based on FG131&FG132 series modules can not only be widely used in industry scenarios such as industrial interconnection, but also suitable for indoor connections such as homes and offices.
These industry scenarios do not have such high requirements for speed, but they need the support of 5G features, such as the aforementioned 5G network slicing and 5G LAN.
FG131&FG132 series modules can support uRLLC scenarios that are highly valued in the industrial field. Its delay can be controlled at 5-10ms, although it is lower than the traditional 1ms, but it is also several times stronger than 4G LTE.
Based on RedCap's CPE, traditional wired or Wi-Fi devices in the area can also achieve wireless broadband access. This further simplifies the difficulty of networking and reduces cost input.
Parameter comparison of Fibocom RedCap modules
FG131&FG132 series modules can be used in FWA, which is also closely related to its own unique design.
This mod supports the OpenWRT operating system in software . Many players may be familiar with this system. It is a more open third-party system with stronger customization capabilities. It is very suitable for secondary development and adding firmware functions.
In terms of hardware, the FG131&FG132 series modules support the PCIe interface , which can be used to expand the Wi-Fi chip, thereby extending the CPE/MiFi solution with the Wi-Fi capability up to AX3600. The module supports dual-band concurrency between Wi-Fi 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz frequency bands, with guaranteed performance.
FG131&FG132 series modules also come with SGMII interface (Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface, Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface). With it, customers can implement wired network ports by expanding the PHY chip to meet the wired access requirements of CPE/ODU.
For entry-level CPE, general-purpose MiFi and ODU, FG131&FG132 series modules allow customers and manufacturers to develop products through Open CPU .
Open CPU mode, no AP (application processor) required
Open CPU, in simple terms, is an application method that uses modules as processors. It can simplify the development process of manufacturers for gateway products, streamline the hardware structure, achieve higher integration, and lower energy consumption.
Through the above functional design, we can see that the FWA solution based on FG131&FG132 is very complete and mature. In addition to being applied to FWA, customers can also quickly design and develop digital industrial products (industrial gateways, DTUs, etc.) on the basis of this solution to promote the large-scale application of 5G IoT.
█ Epilogue
According to the latest "Mobile Market Report" released by Ericsson, the growth rate of global FWA connections far exceeded expectations. It is expected that by 2028, the number of FWA connections will grow from 100 million at the end of 2022 to 300 million. Of these more than 300 million connections, nearly 80% are expected to be 5G FWA connections.
RedCap is about to set sail, and seizing the rising opportunity of the FWA market will be of great help to its own success.
With the upcoming freeze of the 3GPP R18 version, the second version of RedCap will also appear. It will bring a deeper level of simplification, as well as lower costs, further driving adoption.
In the wave of global digitalization, RedCap will play an important role!
