5G Expansion Requires Multi-Generational Transport Network Support
The telecom industry often paints the 5G era as a time of revolutionary new services and enhanced user experiences. However, this narrative overlooks the reality that 4G LTE and 5G technologies will coexist and evolve for years amidst substantial ongoing investment in 4G LTE networks.
Operators have already poured significant resources into 4G LTE, and there are several reasons why both 4G and 5G will continue to operate side by side.
First, operators must stay ahead in the competitive landscape by deploying new technologies. In their rush to adopt 5G early, operators will initially introduce non-standalone variants of 5G that rely on an LTE packet core. Secondly, operators using higher spectral bands to increase capacity for certain 5G services will encounter less favorable propagation characteristics. This will necessitate radios operating at lower frequencies – similar to where LTE currently operates – to ensure extended coverage. Finally, 4G still has more widespread national coverage, and 5G-capable devices are not yet ubiquitous, requiring operators to continue supporting 4G.
In essence, existing investments in LTE will remain pivotal in 5G networks for the foreseeable future. This reality has implications for supporting infrastructure, particularly the transport networks that manage multi-generational RAN traffic, without relying on separate overlay networks.
Evolving Transport And Moving To Cloud RAN
As 5G beckons faster radios and denser deployments, it has led to a surge in capacity demand by a magnitude of ten or more, with certain client interfaces necessitating speeds of up to 25 Gbps. The imperative to reduce end-to-end latency to accommodate time-sensitive services requiring 1 ms or less latency underscores the shift towards centralized cloud RAN (C-RAN) architectures. These architectures capitalize on 5G functional splits, Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), and packet-based fronthaul protocols to enhance network efficiency.
Operators can construct more cost-effective networks by centralizing high-layer baseband processing functions while relegating bandwidth-intensive low-layer baseband tasks to the radio unit. The adoption of new standardized packet fronthaul protocols such as evolved Common Public Radio Interface (eCPRI) presents a nearly tenfold increase in bandwidth efficiency compared to existing CPRI and Open Base Station Architecture Initiative (OBSAI) protocols, facilitating the transition towards more open RAN architectures.
Fronthaul assumes a pivotal role as operators seek to deploy MEC for optimizing Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) services enabled by 5G, enhancing resource utilization, streamlining operations, and enhancing network asset virtualization to bolster flexibility and scalability.
A practical solution to accommodate escalating fronthaul data rates involves establishing a new functional split between the distributed unit (DU) and the radio unit (RU). This approach alleviates bandwidth demands by leveraging the efficient Ethernet-based eCPRI protocol for packet fronthaul. Moreover, it aids in DU functional virtualization as higher-layer radio functions can be implemented without dedicated hardware and are not bound by stringent real-time constraints.
The telecommunications industry has invested significant resources in transitioning to Ethernet fronthaul to capitalize on its advantages. At the forefront of this endeavor is the newly established IEEE 802.1CM (Time-Sensitive Networking for Fronthaul) standard. This standard offers a deterministic, Ethernet-based network solution tailored to meet the cost, capacity, and performance demands of 5G deployments. It achieves this by integrating innovative packet Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) switches.
Benefits And Features of Nokia’s 1830 Time-Sensitive Packet Switch
The Nokia 1830 Time-sensitive Packet Switch (TPS) portfolio empowers telecommunications companies to address emerging demands efficiently by expanding optical networking capacity reasonably, facilitating connectivity for more locations, and adopting new applications. This portfolio offers compact, carrier-grade Ethernet switches tailored for TSNs, enabling the seamless integration of real-time services.
Equipped with the 1830 TPS portfolio, you can seamlessly provide real-time communication services with exceptionally low latency, catering to the needs of business, residential, and mobile sectors across affordable packet optical networks. Supporting a diverse array of applications and services such as mobile fronthaul, carrier Ethernet, industrial IoT, and residential broadband, the 1830 TPS portfolio is versatile and adaptable to various operational requirements.
Ensure Seamless 5G Service Delivery
Effortlessly cater to the demands of new 5G services with strict synchronization requirements. The 1830 TPS portfolio offers a platform-agnostic multiservice transport solution for CPRI, RoE, eCPRI, and Ethernet traffic streams, ensuring minimal latency and precise timing.
Streamline Operational Costs
Efficiently meet the increasing bandwidth demands while decreasing operational expenses. The 1830 TPS expedites your transition to 5G and eliminates the need for overlay transport networks by providing ultra-low-latency transport for multi-generational RAN traffic over a TSN packet optical fabric.
Increase Revenue Opportunities
Unleash new revenue streams with a packet TSN switch that guarantees carrier-class services boasting high quality of service (QoS), carrier-grade operations, administration, maintenance (OAM), and robust resiliency. Additionally, the 1830 TPS accelerates service rollouts with plug-and-play activation and maximizes bandwidth efficiency through packet and WDM traffic aggregation.
Drive Down Total Cost of Ownership
Leverage savings from simplified cloud RAN site management and enhanced edge computing performance. The 1830 TPS offers ultra-low-latency transport between cell sites and edge hub sites, compliant with TSN fronthaul standards (IEEE 802.1CM), effectively reducing total cost of ownership by up to 50 percent compared to existing WDM fronthaul solutions.
About Infinity Technology Solutions
Infinity Technology Solutions specializes in broadband and critical communications infrastructure development. We help our channel partners create and deploy private wireless, microwave backhaul, IP/MPLS, and optical networking technologies.
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