NEPCON China 2015 to feature 5G mobile telecomms summit

CAICT is the most important national-level ICT think tank in China. It is also a pioneer in 3G/4G standard development. The signing of the MoU enables both parties to work together in 5G standardisation under the 3GPP and ITU frameworks. Both parties agree that the joint 5G work will include wireless access, core network architecture and 5G application scenarios.

Mobile telecommunication has seen its development path from 1G to 4G. Each generation features its own capacity and technological landmarks. For example, 1G features cellular technology, and 2G TDMA and FDMA. Both 1G and 2G standards focus on voice communication. Then, 3G features CDMA and supports data and multimedia services. Now, 4G features OFDM and MIMO, supporting wideband data and mobile internet. Recent years have seen the rapid development of IC technologies and stronger capacity of telecomms systems and terminals. Telecomms is closely integrated with computing power. Multiple wireless access technologies are maturing and being adopted at a growing rate. It is expected that 5G will have so many features that it will not be defined by a single technological feature.

With the development of mobile telecomms and the rapid adoption of personal and industry mobile services, the mobile telecomms landscape will change gradually, meaning 5G is not only about higher speed, wider bandwidth or more robust air interface, but more about enabling a smart network that meets the demands of applications and user experiences. Infrastructure involving IC, devices and software continues the quick development momentum, supporting the 5G growth towards 2020.

From 1G to 4G, each upgrade has brought huge benefits and improvement to our lives. How will 5G impact us? Huawei identifies three 5G features: 10-100 times the network connection speed over 4G, 1ms of network delay versus 50ms of 4G, and 100bn network connections.

The 5G era enables 10G peak data transfer. What does this mean? With 5G networks, downloading an HD movie only takes a second. Moreover, 5G will also enable realistic games, video conferences, remote surveillance and other applications that require wideband network connections.

‘Network delay’ might be a term unfamiliar to the general public. It refers to the time it takes for data to be transferred to the third-party server and sent back. For 5G, the delay is shortened to 1ms instead of 50ms as in 4G. The reduced delay benefits remote health care, automatic driving and other applications that require precision remote control. Take the example of an automatic car. A car travelling at 60km/s can move 1 meter in 50ms, but only 16cm when the delay is cut to 10ms. Safety can be significantly improved.

People are connected, which is the dominant form of online connection today. In the future, wearable devices, smart home appliances and other products requiring interconnectivity, will be widely deployed. People connect through their devices. The future will be one of IoT. Statistics show that the number of global connections will increase from 7bn now to 100bn in 2020. A key feature of 5G networks is its ability to enable 100bn network connections, laying down a key foundation for IoT. 5G applications will enable smart health care, education and transportation in the foreseeable future.

The global telecomms industry is entering a key period of transition. With investment slowdown, domestic momentum for traditional telecomms players is affected. At the same time, with the convergence of telecomms sectors, competition is not merely about hardware, it is about comprehensive interplay of hardware, software and service. Against the backdrop of emerging strategic industry supported by the national government, traditional telecomms makers must transition to smart manufacturing, a process involving all stakeholders, including the government and industry players.

Reed Exhibitions will work with Shanghai Telecommunication Manufacturing Association to launch the NextGen Mobile Telecommunication Manufacturing Development Summit Forum at the Shanghai Expo Center on 21 April alongside NEPCON China 2015. The forum is designed to provide predictive analysis of high-end smart device manufacturing trends and technological applications. The organisers will invite industry pioneers from ZTE, Huawei, SIMCom, Datang Mobile and Digital China to share their key insights.