DOCOMO’s 5G Network Deployment Strategy Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. Contents Chapter 1: 5G delivers high speed and large capacity using new spectrum Chapter 2: 5G deployment in 4G bands Chapter 3: To realize low latency Chapter 4: DOCOMO’s 5G network deployment strategy Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 1 Chapter 1: 5G delivers high speed and large capacity using new spectrum Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. What is 5G? The 5th generation mobile communication system: Offers 3 key properties High speed, large capacity Max. transmission bit rate: 20Gbps 5G 1.7Gbps 4G/4GeLTE 10ms 105 Low latency Massive device connectivity Transmission latency in radio interface: No. of simultaneously connectible devices: 1ms 106 devices/km2 * The numbers above are the target performance defined in technical standard Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. and do not represent the performance delivered at the time of 5G launch. 3 New Spectrum Allocation New 5G spectrum allocated to Japanese carriers ＜3.7GHz band＞ ＜4.5GHz band＞ Bandwidth: 100MHz /slot Bandwidth: 100MHz /slot Rakuten KDDI SoftBank KDDI DOCOMO Mobile DOCOMO 3600 3700 4100 4500 4600[MHz] ＜28GHz band＞ Bandwidth: 400MHz/slot Rakuten Mobile DOCOMO KDDI Local 5G SoftBank 27.0 27.4 27.8 28.2 29.1 29.5 [GHz] Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 4 Why 5G Can Deliver High Speed & Large Capacity? 5G can deliver high speed and large capacity because a wider channel bandwidth is allocated in the new frequency bands. Channel bandwidth 28G 400MHz bandwidth 4.5G 100MHz bandwidth 3.7G 100MHz bandwidth 3.5GHz 5G uses frequency bands that can secure 3.4GHz a wider channel bandwidth compared to the 2GHz frequency bands assigned for 4G, which enables 1.7GHz faster speeds and larger capacity! 1.5GHz 800MHz New frequency bands 700MHz 4G bands Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 5 (Ref) Relation between Bandwidth and Speed (Illustrative) Wider road width allows more cars to travel simultaneously. New frequency bands for 5G 4G bands Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 6 Radio Characteristics of New Frequency Bands More costs and longer time needed for coverage expansion in higher frequency bands. Frequency band Characteristics Breadth of coverage (illustrative) Signals difficult to reach 28GHz (Strong rectilinear propagation) 400MHz bandwidth New spectrum Sub6 100MHz bandwidth (3.7/4.5GHz) 4G bands 3.4GHz 40MHz bandwidth 3.5GHz 40MHz bandwidth 2GHz 15MHz bandwidth Signals easier to reach 1.7GHz 20MHz bandwidth 1.5GHz 15MHz bandwidth 800MHz 10MHz bandwidth 700MHz 10MHz bandwidth Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 7 Chapter 2: 5G Deployment in 4G Bands Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 5G Deployment in 4G Bands : Overview With the revision of ministerial ordinance, etc., by the MIC, it is now possible to use 4G spectrum for 5G. The idea can be brought into reality by converting part of the multiple 4G bands into 5G use. 5G 4G 5G（Band converted from 4G use) 4G 4G 4G 4G Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 9 Benefits of 5G Deployment in 4G Bands Leads to proliferation of services that take advantage of 5G’s low latency and other characteristics over a broad coverage. ⇒DOCOMO also supports the new arrangement. Full exploitation of 5G’s high speed, large capacity and other properties Enables offering 5G(new band） low latency, etc., over a broad coverage 5G(new band） 5G (4G band) 4G Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 10 Difference from 5G Deployed in New Bands Speeds are limited to a level only comparable to 4G as the channel bandwidth remains unchanged. Impossible to deliver superior speeds and capacity that can be realized by the new frequency bands. 5G deployed in new bands 4G 5G deployed in 4G bands 5G （New frequency bands） 4G 4G 5G (Band converted from 4G use) Carrier bandwidth 4G 4G 4G 4G 4G 4G Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 11 (Ref) FY2019 Effective Speed Survey Results DOCOMO’s PREMIUM 4G service offers Japan’s fastest speeds! (Mbps) Download Upload 600 100 300 50 229 【Legend】 33 Maximum value 136 Upper quartile 123 19 17 Median value Lower quartile 0 0 Minimum value DOCOMOドコモ au ソフトバンクSoftBank DOCOMO SoftBank ◆ Measurements were performed in accordance with the “Effective Speed Measurement Method of Internet Connection Services Provided by Mobile Telecommunications Carriers” set forth by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Data of other carriers were derived from their respective corporate web sites (as of Mar. 31, 2020). The values in the graphs represent the aggregated measurement results for Android and iOS devices. ◆ The expression “Japan’s fastest” is based on the comparison of median values. ◆ For details concerning the measurement method, including the dates and locations of measurement, please see the materials published by each carrier. Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 12 Necessity of User Protection in 5G Deployment “5G deployed in 4G band” and “5G deployed in new band” should be distinguished in area maps and informed to users. When color-coded by speed When not color-coded by speed High speed and large capacity Speed is because I’m in 5G coverage! comparable ⇒Risk of misleading to 4G representation 5G using new band (High speed, large capacity) 5G using either new band or 4G band 5G using 4G band (Speed comparable to 4G) 4G 4G Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 13 Risks Associated with 5G Deployment in 4G Bands Potential decline of 4G users’ communication speeds 4G frequency band 4G subscriber 5G subscriber Reduction of spectrum assigned to 4G users 4G 4G⇒5G ⇒ Potential drop in speed Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 14 Spectrum Congestion Status Users’ usage status also needs to be taken into consideration when using 4G spectrum for 5G. 2019 2020 202x Bandwidth in frequency band: 3G/4G 150MHz Use for 5G Bandwidth in frequency band: 600MHz 5G Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 15 Chapter 3: To Realize Low Latency Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. Article on Low Latency (Excerpt) General perception that 5G will bring about low latency High speed, large capacity 5G 1.7Gbps 4G/4GeLTE 10ms 105 Low latency Massive device connectivity Transmission latency in radio interface: 1ms Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 17 What is Latency? It is the time required from data request to first data arrival. Internet Internet Point of interface Content server Smartphone Radio Transmission Switch sp mode equipment base station equipment Packet switching Internet connection Radio signal ⇔ Transmission & electric signal reception of signals conversion Request Arrival XX m sec ←Latency Large amount of latency could hinder the use of content that require real-time immediacy Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 18 To Realize Low Latency It is necessary to achieve low latency in the entire network including the fixed-line sections Latency in radio section Latency in fixed-line section Latency determined by the physical distance between base station and server Transmit Network network equipment Internet Server In case content server is located in Tokyo, Accesses made from Okinawa have larger latency, with a large amount of latency in the fixed-line section Content server @Tokyo Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 19 Can 5G Deployed in 4G Bands Realize Low Latency? Just using 4G spectrum for 5G does not realize low latency for the whole network configuration Latency in radio section Latency in fixed-line section Transmit Network network equipment Internet Server 5G deployed in 4G band Ingenuity to reduce latency in fixed-line section is also needed Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 20 Low Latency Enabling Technology: MEC Realize low latency by placing the server (i.e. destination of connection) closer Latency in radio section Latency in fixed-line section Latency determined by the physical distance between base station and server Transmit Network network equipment Internet Server The shorter the distance, the lower the latency *MEC: Abbreviation for Multi-Access Edge Computing Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 21 Slicing Enabled by 5GC* Slicing technique enables flexible provision of 5G’s low latency and other properties at individual application/service level Service that requires large capacity 5GC Large-capacity slice (Logical network) Internet Low-latency slice Video content server, etc. (Logical network) Application that requires MEC server, etc. low latency *5G-Core: 5G Core network equipment Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 22 DOCOMO’s 5G Network Deployment Strategy Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. Recap of Chapters 1-3 • 5G delivers high speed and large capacity through the use of new spectrum • “5G deployed in 4G bands” can provide broad coverage, but speeds will be limited to 4G level • To realize low latency, ingenuity in overall network configuration is required • Unique properties of 5G can be provided flexibly through slicing supported by 5GC Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 24 DOCOMO’s 5G Network Deployment Strategy ① Expand coverage of high speed and large capacity services using new spectrum ② Promote low latency across the entire network ③ Flexible service provision based on demand using 5GC (Also study deployment of 5G in 4G bands) Copyright ©2020 NTT DOCOMO, INC. All Rights Reserved. 25 High-Speed, Large-Capacity Coverage Expansion Using New Bands First, actively deploy “5G using new frequency bands” that can deliver high speeds and large capacity Development rate of 5G infrastructure maintenance: 20,000 % base 97.0 stations 10,000 500 cities base 47 including all stations 150 government- prefectures locations designated across Japan 500 cities base stations Mar.