Singtel, Ericsson discuss 5G application implications

Singtel and Ericsson have joined forces in Singapore to bring 5G innovation to Southeast Asia for the first time with a live demonstration of the potential of 5G.

More demand for connectivity and more devices are driving the need for 5G.

The Making 5G Innovation A Reality demonstration features Ericsson’s 5G radio prototypes to showcase some 5G capabilities. Speed-wise, the demonstration showed that the new technology could achieving a peak throughput of 27.5Gbps and latency as low as 2ms. This is equivalent to having a fibre connection with individual devices such as mobile phones; 27.5 Gbps is about 80 times faster than today’s speeds.

View the Instagram video of the demonstration

Whereas devices today move around and connect to stationary networks, 5G will allow the network connection to be 'beamed' to a moving device through a feature called beam forming. One beam forming transmitter can support several devices simultaneously but will only provide a connection if the device needs it, so it can potentially support many more devices at once.

Source: Singtel. The white box on the mini-truck is the size of the 5G device today. Singtel executives explain that 4G devices were about the same size in the beginning but have since shrunk into the smartphone-sized devices we carry today, and that 5G devices are likely to undergo the same evolution. The four white rectangles at the top right are 5G transmitters, reflected as a red circle on-screen. The green circle shows where the 5G device is. As the mini-truck is moved, the green circle moves as well to ensure that there is always connectivity.

As 5G offers greater throughput and lower latency, it will bring more use cases to Internet of Things (IoT), enabling massive connectivity and allowing new applications for consumers and enterprises such as smart vehicles and transport architecture, remote healthcare and new levels of human-IoT interaction. The aim is for 5G networks to be highly efficient, faster, support more users, more devices, more services, and new use cases without a corresponding impact on cost or carbon footprint.

This milestone is a result of the 5G memorandum of understanding signed by Ericsson and Singtel last year, which involved evaluating and testing technologies that are strong candidates for future 5G standardisation. Singtel and Ericsson have been working together on 4G and 5G in Singapore in support of Singapore’s Smart Nation vision and the anticipated fourfold growth* in connected devices.

Tay Soo Meng, Group Chief Technology Officer, Singtel, says, “We strive to upgrade our networks with cutting-edge enhancements, constantly offering our customers all the possibilities that technology brings. Singapore is at the forefront of the most connected cities in the world and now we want to take it to the next level. 5G is very important to the Singtel Group as it will support advanced communication needs. To ensure the Group continues our technology leadership in the mobile communications domain, we are exploring, studying and trialling pre-5G technologies with Ericsson.”

Dr Magnus Ewerbring, Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson APAC says, “5G will enable the full potential of Ericsson’s vision of the Networked Society and 5G performance will benefit consumers, business users and entire industries in Singapore. Together with Singtel we have launched many world-first and nation-first achievements with the 4G network since 2011 and we will be together at the forefront of 5G as well.”

Dr Ewerbring shared that Ericsson has signed 26 5G operator agreements, and is working on 32 proofs-of-concept with various industries as of June 2016. In Asia Pacific and Middle East, Ericsson's 5G partners include Singtel, FarEastone, KDDI, Softbank, NTT DoCoMo, Korea Telecom, SK Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, the Ooredoo group, Etisalat, and Turkcell.

Singtel and Ericsson also demonstrated the world’s first end-to-end low-latency live video streaming over 5G, which supported 60ms speeds.

Singtel and Ericsson also demonstrated the world’s first end-to-end low-latency live video streaming over 5G, which supported 60ms speeds. The time is calculated from the time the video is captured at the server end to the time it is displayed at the device.

Singtel is already deploying key pre-5G technologies such as LTE-Advanced (carrier aggregation, 256-quadrature amplitude modulation [QAM]) on its live network and taking the next step to LTE Advanced Pro (LAA, NB-IoT). These radio technology upgrades deliver superior connectivity, characterised by faster and more consistent speeds, to its customers.

The two companies predict that 5G will revolutionise five key industries: TV and media, manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunications, transportation and infrastructure, and have invited key customers to view the showcase to begin a conversation about potential use cases and business model transformation towards 2020, when 5G is expected to be standardised and commercially available.

Ericsson’s 5G radio prototypes enable operators, ecosystem partners, academics and analysts to test 5G capabilities live. Some key capabilities include multipoint connectivity with distributed multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) and 5G-LTE dual connectivity, to ensure a smooth evolution to 5G and rapid adoption of new 5G-based services.

Other use cases showcased included:

Massive IoT and cloud robotics

Motion Sensing Robot Arm
5G will be reliable and responsive enough not only to interact with machines in front of the user but also remotely, via wireless communication. Users can interact with a machine via hand and finger motions.

Balancing robot
5G can connect many devices with low latency, making it possible to move industrial control to the cloud. A demonstration show how sensors for a robot could send data via the cloud in real-time to control software which would then tell actuators what to do to ensure that the robot remained upright. Once the latency was increased, so that the network is slower and instructions reach the actuators too late, the robot falls over.

Watch the Instagram video of the robot in action 

Nano drones
Tiny drones such as the 27g Crazyflie 2.0 could work in collaboration for complex remote operations. Drones with 5G would make it possible to replace LEDs and sensors in equipment. clean panels, or even harvest fruit remotely.

Intelligent transport systems

With 5G, the transportation industry can become more efficient and reduce its carbon footprint. Trucks can drive at close distances, creating 'platoons' that are tightly coordinated through vehicle-to-vehicle communication brokered by 5G. The close proximity reduces air drag and fuel consumption, and distances can be made even closer than current legislation permits with 4G, and in future 5G.

Representatives from Ericsson and Scania explained that the distance between vehicles is currently 10 to 15m, and 5G might bring that down to 5m. With 5G, all the trucks can react at the same time to an issue, eliminating the rear-ending chain reaction that is experienced today. Ericsson and Scania announced a collaboration in early 2016 that has been looking at the 5G requirements of platooning and autonomous driving. One possibility for anomalous situations is for all trucks to have a driver in each truck who can take over from autonomous mode as required, for example.

The chips used for 5G connections are already small and light. Two chips from Intel are magnified on-screen.

Yuen explaining why Singtel is working on 5G. 

Successful 5G adoption will require miniaturisation of the equipment, low power capabilities, high bandwidth and low latency as prerequisites, said Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO, Consumer Singapore, Singtel. "We're encouraging new businesses to come forward to say, 'Can we try it out?'," he said. "We're also appealing to the public to work together to build new business models. Singtel needs to invest in the network to provide this capability. We want to explore new ideas (to make sure) Singapore is ahead."

Watch the Instagram video of Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO, Consumer Singapore, Singtel explaining the promise of 5G

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about a License Assisted Access trial by Singtel and Ericsson

*According to Ericsson Mobility Report June 2016, it is estimated that there will be fourfold growth in connected devices between 2015 and 2021.