INFORM NETWORK DEVELOP 5G – THE FUTURE OF MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS 11 THE FUTURE OF MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS 5G (IoT). In one sentence; the 5GIC vision is 5G technology is receiving lots of attention in the media even “always sufficient rate to give users the perception of infinite capacity”. though the term 5G isn’t formally defined yet; the formal definition The mobile journey will come from the International Mobile technology has been on a rapid Telecommunications Union in the journey since the launch of digital cellular systems in the UK some 20 years ago. near future. There is, however, a Work on Global System for Mobile significant amount of research Communications (GSM) started in 1982, on-going in the UK and elsewhere prior to the introduction of 1st generation to develop candidate analogue cellular in the UK. technologies to deliver the 5G The goal of GSM was to provide a pan- vision of the future. European system with international roaming between member states, The 5G Innovation centre (5GIC) at the something which wasn’t possible with University of Surrey in Guildford, a key country-specific 1st generation organisation within the UK, describes 5G as technologies. GSM delivered a standard the next generation of mobile connectivity which, in the early 1990s, was widely technologies that supports mobile adopted, not just in Europe. The early GSM broadband as well as networking of billions standards supported Short Message of devices. 5G will be a flexible Service and circuit switched data, enabling infrastructure capable of handling ever- users to connect laptops to external data increasing demand for mobile data and networks. The increasing demand for data, providing connectivity for future and in particular Internet access, led to the technologies such as the Internet of Things development of General Packet Radio ANDY SUTTON, RAHIM TAFAZOLLI Researching 5G – delivering the vision Figure 1: Representatives from the University of Surrey, Ofcom and Founding Members at the official signing ceremony THE JOURNAL TJ THE JOURNAL TJ 12 ANDY SUTTON, RAHIM TAFAZOLLI Figure 2: Wireless standards evolution Service which introduced packet-switching new and innovative services to be delivered. infrastructure that will underpin the way capability to GSM running in parallel with we communicate, work and live our the existing circuit switched network. 5G is expected to be standardised by the everyday lives. The founding members (see year 2020 and will be commercially Figure 1) signed up to 5GIC in October The introduction of 3G was based on the deployed a few years later. Although 5G 2013 during a ceremony hosted at the same architecture as GSM/General Packet will introduce new technologies, much will University of Surrey. Radio Service although with a new radio be an evolution of 4G LTE-Advanced and interface to support higher data rates and WiFi both of which are developing to offer The new 5GIC building (see Figure 3) is due greater capacity. This was subsequently ever greater peak and average user data to open in September 2015. The 5GIC is enhanced with High Speed Packet Access rates and new and innovative services. part of the University’s Institute for technologies. Communication Systems and will draw on The shortening timelines between research the University’s international renown in The big change to cellular network and commercialisation is illustrated in satellite and terrestrial mobile architecture came with 4G or Long Term Figure 2. communication systems and IoT. The Evolution (LTE). LTE is an all-IP network with Institute for Communication Systems made no circuit switching, voice is simply IP data 5G Innovation Centre a major contribution towards the with a high Quality of Service applied and The 5GIC is the UK’s only research centre development of 2G technology in the implemented. This move to an all-packet- dedicated to the next generation of mobile 1990s, 3G in the 2000s and 4G since based system enables a much simplified communications1. Bringing together 2010. network architecture and the use of an leading academic expertise and key advanced Quality of Service and policy industry partners in a shared vision, it will Research in the 5GIC will drive the delivery control framework enables a wide range of help to define and develop the 5G of a mobile communications and IoT 1 See http://www.surrey.ac.uk/5gic Volume 9 | Part 1 - 2015 INFORM NETWORK DEVELOP 5G – THE FUTURE OF MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS 13 Figure 3: Artist’s impression of the 5GIC network capable of meeting tomorrow’s The 5GIC is funded by £12 million from the to sub 6GHz spectrum there is interest in needs. The focus will be on developing Higher Education Funding Council for the use of higher frequency bands, intelligent systems that work together to England and over £60 million co- including the millimetre wave bands give the impression of unlimited data investment from the Centre’s Members above 30GHz; this is likely to be capacity, providing a network that is far (see Figure 4). 5GIC members represent addressed at a future World Radio faster (low latency) than today’s 4G many aspects of the evolving eco-system Congress. system, with greater energy-efficiency and and new members are welcome. reduced end-user costs. Requirements Spectrum 5G will need to offer far greater capacity Research will be conducted in close Finding additional radio spectrum to and be faster, more energy-efficient and collaboration with 5GIC’s members, allocate to 5G network is a key cost-effective than anything that has gone including the major telecom service consideration; currently there are 46 before. The flexibility in support of providers and mobile device bands available for LTE and this is likely narrowband as well as wideband and user- manufacturers. 5GIC offers the UK’s only to increase still further with 3GPP centric communications are salient large-scale test-bed, which will be used to standards Release 13. Finding space for features of 5G. Essentially, 5G will be a prototype solutions, helping to define 5G as 5G is a challenge which will be holistic framework for all our connectivity it moves towards standardisation in 2016. addressed at the World Radio Congress needs and it will need to be flexible enough It also hosts dedicated specialist 2015, particularly in the traditional to evolve, adapt and grow, just as the laboratories for network testing and cellular spectrum sub 6GHz bands Internet has. management, and communications (noting most cellular activities to date are electronics. limited to 2.6GHz and below). In addition Greater capacity – 5G will significantly focus on users and their needs. The aim will be to give users the impression of unlimited capacity while juggling available resources. This will be achieved by (a) better prediction of user demand so that applications perform bandwidth-heavy tasks when the network is least loaded (effectively reducing latency when heavily loaded) and (b) better use of all available Figure 4: 5GIC members wireless networks’ resources. THE JOURNAL TJ THE JOURNAL TJ 14 ANDY SUTTON, RAHIM TAFAZOLLI mobile networks to support machine-type communication and business critical applications. Applications, such as eHealth, smart transportation and critical infrastructure, will push the requirements for ultra reliable network to a new level. • Ultra dense networks – will be demanded in certain geographical areas by means of a contiguous layer of small pico- cell coverage. These will deliver significant area capacity density through spatial re- use of spectrum resources along with tight scheduling coordination between adjacent cells and the macro base station layer. Figure 5: Some key 5G research topics Energy efficiency is important. An objective is to deliver the capacity and performance benefits without consuming any more Devices and applications – The proliferation Research energy than current cellular systems. There of smartphones is driving ever-increasing Figure 5 details some key 5G research are many research areas which will demand for mobile data – some predict it will topics and these are explored further contribute to this goal from more efficient grow a hundred-fold over the next decade. At below. radio interface technologies, smart the same time, we are just beginning to see antennas, simplified network architecture the emergence of IoT, whereby billions of The term ultra appears four times in Figure to predictive mobility management. In- devices will become connected to help us 5 signifying the scale of the challenges. building solutions will play their part achieve everyday tasks such as finding a thereby avoiding the need for radio parking space, or checking the fridge is • Ultra high capacity – refers to overall transmission through external windows, stocked. In the future, many applications, from area capacity requirements which differs the glass of which often has thermal advanced gaming and wireless robots to by geo-type from dense urban, urban, properties which would otherwise autonomous vehicles, will require much lower suburban, rural to sparse rural. There significantly attenuate the signal. latencies to enable very rapid reactions. should always be sufficient capacity to ensure the user has the perception of In-building solutions, along with stadiums Cost-effectiveness – Although data could infinite network capacity. Figures, such as and hot spots, present unique challenges grow up to a hundred-fold, monthly bills an initial 1,000-fold more capacity than to the design and implementation of cannot increase pro-rata if 5G is to LTE later rising to over 5,000-fold, are cellular radio systems. Buildings vary become mainstream. quoted. considerably from residential premises, which range from large multi-tenant Energy efficiency – Reducing energy • Ultra low-latency – is a key dwellings to single detached houses, to consumption will be another key focus, requirement for a number of reasons. offices, shops, warehouses and both to lessen emissions and to improve Firstly today’s higher layer protocols work entertainment venues.