Our participation at MWC in Barcelona this year revealed that a steadily growing number of mobile network operators and representatives from various industries are keen to explore the myriad of new opportunities that 5G represents for their businesses. In particular, we found that many are curious to learn more about the role of 5G in Industry 4.0 and other industry transformations, where it enables manufacturing companies leverage automation and data exchange technologies that require seamless communication across industrial processes.
Fittingly, the feature article in this issue of the magazine explains how 5G can be used most effectively in the fully-connected factories of the future. We also have excellent articles about the role of distributed cloud in supporting emerging industrial use cases, the necessity of business support systems that can handle IoT use cases, and important technology choices to consider in the design of massive IoT devices. Last but not least, we have included two articles that provide expert guidance regarding two key aspects of 5G deployment.
Feel free to share links to the magazine and/or individual articles with your colleagues and other contacts via e-mail or social media. Happy reading!
Ericsson Technology Review: Key technology choices for optimal massive IoT de...Ericsson
The massive IoT device domain faces two key challenges: cost-efficiently connecting a large number of devices in a wide area, and efficiently managing these devices over their complete life cycle. Further, since security and trust are key requirements in most massive IoT applications, it is important to ensure that the devices are secure, both in terms of communication and data integrity end-to-end (E2E), from device to data usage.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores how to address these challenges in five key technology areas – connectivity, communication protocols, security, identity solutions and machine intelligence (MI). Carefully considered choices in these areas make it possible to achieve the desired key device characteristics and create IoT devices that support the multitude of existing and emerging massive IoT use cases.
Ericsson Technology Review: Boosting smart manufacturing with 5G wireless con...Ericsson
5G wireless connectivity is designed to enable the fully-connected factories of the future. Creating the necessary transparency across all processes and assets at all times requires robust communication between goods, production systems, logistics chains, people and processes throughout a product’s complete life cycle, spanning everything from design, ordering, manufacturing, delivery and field maintenance to recycling and reuse. The integration of 5G ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) in the manufacturing process will accelerate the transformation of the manufacturing industry and make smart factories more efficient and productive than ever.
Evolving cellular IoT for industry digitalizationEricsson
Ericsson lays out its vision for the evolution of cellular IoT and launches new offerings - enabling service providers to tap growth opportunities from industry digitalization.
Ericsson Technology Review: Critical IoT connectivity: Ideal for time-critica...Ericsson
Critical Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity is an emerging concept in IoT development that enables more efficient and innovative services across a wide range of industries by reliably meeting time-critical communication needs. Mobile network operators (MNOs) are in the perfect position to enable these types of time-critical services due to their ability to leverage advanced 5G networks in a systematic and cost-effective way.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the benefits of Critical IoT connectivity in areas such as industrial control, mobility automation, remote control and real-time media. It also provides an overview of key network technologies and architectures. It concludes with several case studies based on two deployment scenarios – wide area and local area – that illustrate how well suited 5G spectrum assets are for Critical IoT use cases.
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL REALITIES
The key role that connectivity plays in our personal and professional lives has never been more obvious than it is today. Thankfully, despite the sudden, dramatic changes in our behavior earlier this year, networks all around the world have proven to be highly resilient. At Ericsson, we’re committed to ensuring that the network platform continues to improve its ability to meet the full range of societal needs as well as supporting enterprises to stay competitive in the long term. We know that greater agility and speed will be essential.
This issue of our magazine includes several articles that explain Ericsson’s approach to future network development, including my annual technology trends article. The seven trends on this year’s list serve as a critical cornerstone in the development of a common Ericsson vision of what future networks will provide, and what sort of technology evolution will be required to get there.
ERIK EKUDDEN
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Group Function Technology
Enable Critical broadband networks - When business performance, and even lives are at stake, you need technology that you can rely on. Around the world and across industries, there is a growing demand for business critical and mission-critical broadband communications. To serve these types of organizations, service providers need to deliver the highest level of availability, reliability and security . That is why we have launched a new Critical Broadband Networks offering, which enables service providers and government operators to ensure critical communications when it really matters.
The offering consists of:
Critical network capabilities: Guaranteeing performance of a business- or mission-critical network and enabling operators to effectively serve critical industries.
Critical broadband applications: Includes Ericsson’s Group-Radio application suite of Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk, Data and Video services. Combined, these provide land mobile radio users with a migration path to LTE and 5G, whilst retaining existing operational capabilities for mission-critical group communications.
Flexible deployments for private networks: deployment models for both local private networks as well as for nationwide networks, leveraging operators’ existing assets and operations to gain business scale, and faster time-to-market.
5G New Radio has already evolved in important ways since the 3GPP standardized Release 15 in late 2018. The significant enhancements in Releases 16 and 17 are certain to play a critical role in expanding both the availability and the applicability of 5G NR in both industry and public services in the near future.
This Ericsson Technology Review article summarizes the most notable new developments in releases 16 and 17, grouped into two categories: enhancements to existing features and features that address new verticals and deployment scenarios. This analysis and our insights about the future beyond Release 17 is an important component of our work to help mobile network operators and other stakeholders better understand and plan for the many new 5G NR opportunities that are on the horizon.
Ericsson Technology Review: Key technology choices for optimal massive IoT de...Ericsson
The massive IoT device domain faces two key challenges: cost-efficiently connecting a large number of devices in a wide area, and efficiently managing these devices over their complete life cycle. Further, since security and trust are key requirements in most massive IoT applications, it is important to ensure that the devices are secure, both in terms of communication and data integrity end-to-end (E2E), from device to data usage.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores how to address these challenges in five key technology areas – connectivity, communication protocols, security, identity solutions and machine intelligence (MI). Carefully considered choices in these areas make it possible to achieve the desired key device characteristics and create IoT devices that support the multitude of existing and emerging massive IoT use cases.
Ericsson Technology Review: Boosting smart manufacturing with 5G wireless con...Ericsson
5G wireless connectivity is designed to enable the fully-connected factories of the future. Creating the necessary transparency across all processes and assets at all times requires robust communication between goods, production systems, logistics chains, people and processes throughout a product’s complete life cycle, spanning everything from design, ordering, manufacturing, delivery and field maintenance to recycling and reuse. The integration of 5G ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) in the manufacturing process will accelerate the transformation of the manufacturing industry and make smart factories more efficient and productive than ever.
Evolving cellular IoT for industry digitalizationEricsson
Ericsson lays out its vision for the evolution of cellular IoT and launches new offerings - enabling service providers to tap growth opportunities from industry digitalization.
Ericsson Technology Review: Critical IoT connectivity: Ideal for time-critica...Ericsson
Critical Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity is an emerging concept in IoT development that enables more efficient and innovative services across a wide range of industries by reliably meeting time-critical communication needs. Mobile network operators (MNOs) are in the perfect position to enable these types of time-critical services due to their ability to leverage advanced 5G networks in a systematic and cost-effective way.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the benefits of Critical IoT connectivity in areas such as industrial control, mobility automation, remote control and real-time media. It also provides an overview of key network technologies and architectures. It concludes with several case studies based on two deployment scenarios – wide area and local area – that illustrate how well suited 5G spectrum assets are for Critical IoT use cases.
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL REALITIES
The key role that connectivity plays in our personal and professional lives has never been more obvious than it is today. Thankfully, despite the sudden, dramatic changes in our behavior earlier this year, networks all around the world have proven to be highly resilient. At Ericsson, we’re committed to ensuring that the network platform continues to improve its ability to meet the full range of societal needs as well as supporting enterprises to stay competitive in the long term. We know that greater agility and speed will be essential.
This issue of our magazine includes several articles that explain Ericsson’s approach to future network development, including my annual technology trends article. The seven trends on this year’s list serve as a critical cornerstone in the development of a common Ericsson vision of what future networks will provide, and what sort of technology evolution will be required to get there.
ERIK EKUDDEN
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Group Function Technology
Enable Critical broadband networks - When business performance, and even lives are at stake, you need technology that you can rely on. Around the world and across industries, there is a growing demand for business critical and mission-critical broadband communications. To serve these types of organizations, service providers need to deliver the highest level of availability, reliability and security . That is why we have launched a new Critical Broadband Networks offering, which enables service providers and government operators to ensure critical communications when it really matters.
The offering consists of:
Critical network capabilities: Guaranteeing performance of a business- or mission-critical network and enabling operators to effectively serve critical industries.
Critical broadband applications: Includes Ericsson’s Group-Radio application suite of Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk, Data and Video services. Combined, these provide land mobile radio users with a migration path to LTE and 5G, whilst retaining existing operational capabilities for mission-critical group communications.
Flexible deployments for private networks: deployment models for both local private networks as well as for nationwide networks, leveraging operators’ existing assets and operations to gain business scale, and faster time-to-market.
5G New Radio has already evolved in important ways since the 3GPP standardized Release 15 in late 2018. The significant enhancements in Releases 16 and 17 are certain to play a critical role in expanding both the availability and the applicability of 5G NR in both industry and public services in the near future.
This Ericsson Technology Review article summarizes the most notable new developments in releases 16 and 17, grouped into two categories: enhancements to existing features and features that address new verticals and deployment scenarios. This analysis and our insights about the future beyond Release 17 is an important component of our work to help mobile network operators and other stakeholders better understand and plan for the many new 5G NR opportunities that are on the horizon.
Ericsson Technology Review: Digital connectivity marketplaces to enrich 5G an...Ericsson
One of the key growth opportunities for the telecom industry is to provide network capabilities that support the digital transformation underway in most businesses and industries. Already today, we have a powerful technology foundation in place, and this will become even stronger with 5G. Now is the ideal time to evolve the business side of the equation toward platform business models, which will enable the telecom industry to prosper in multisided business ecosystems as well.
Ericsson Technology Review: Technology trends 2018 - Five technology trends a...Ericsson
Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden presents the five technology trends driving the creation of a future network platform that can deliver truly intuitive interaction between humans and machines.
Ericsson Technology Review: Industrial automation enabled by robotics, machin...Ericsson
The emergent "fourth industrial revolution" will have a profound impact on both industry and society in the years ahead. Robotics, machine intelligence and 5G networks in particular will play major roles in this revolution by enabling ever higher levels of automation for production processes.
Ericsson Technology Review - Issue 1, 2018Ericsson
We are publishing this magazine shortly after the first release of a completely new standard – 5G – from 3GPP. Fittingly, many of the articles in this issue relate to what we think is most important in 5G and how to address the new opportunities that it entails.
One of the key reasons for the flexibility provided in 5G is the desire to support industries to use connectivity, virtualization, machine intelligence and other technologies to change their processes and business models as part of the next industrial revolution, Industry 4.0. It is therefore a pleasure to be able to include an article that we have co-written with Comau and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies on the topic of industrial automation.
I hope you find the contents of this issue of the magazine as intriguing as I do. Please feel free to share links to the magazine and/or individual articles via e-mail or social media.
The rise of the innovation platform
Society and industry are transforming at an unprecedented rate. At the same time, the network platform is emerging as an innovation platform with the potential to offer all the connectivity, processing, storage and security needed by current and future applications. In my 2019 trends article, featured in this issue of Ericsson Technology Review, I share my view of the future network platform in relation to six key technology trends.
This issue of the magazine also addresses critical topics such as trust enablement, the extension of computing resources all the way to the edge of the mobile network, the growing impact of the cloud in the telco domain, overcoming latency and battery consumption challenges, and the need for end-to-end connectivity. I hope it provides you with valuable insights about how to overcome the challenges ahead and take full advantage of new opportunities.
Ericsson Technology Review: Simplifying the 5G ecosystem by reducing architec...Ericsson
One critical aspect of a successful 5G deployment is the mobile network operator’s ability to support user equipment, radio network, core network and management products that are manufactured by a multitude of device and network equipment vendors. The multiple connectivity options in 3GPP architecture for 5G have created several possible deployment alternatives.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article argues that there is a significant risk of ecosystem fragmentation if too many different connectivity options are deployed. After considering all the options, the authors conclude that a deployment approach based on options 3 and 2 will reduce network upgrade cost and time, simplify interoperability between networks and devices, and enable a faster scaling of the 5G ecosystem.
Ericsson Technology Review: Versatile Video Coding explained – the future of ...Ericsson
Continuous innovation in 5G networks is creating new opportunities for video-enabled services for both consumers and industries, particularly in areas such as the Internet of Things and the automotive sector. These new services are expected to rely on continued video evolution toward 8K resolutions and beyond, and on new strict requirements such as low end-to-end latency for video delivery.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores recent developments in video compression technology and introduces Versatile Video Coding (VVC) – a significant improvement on existing video codecs that we think deserves to be widely deployed in the market. VVC has the potential both to enhance the user experience for existing video services and offer an appropriate performance level for new media services over 5G networks.
Ericsson Technology Review: Service exposure: a critical capability in a 5G w...Ericsson
To meet the requirements of use cases in areas such as the Internet of Things, AR/VR, Industry 4.0 and the automotive sector, operators need to be able to provide computing resources across the whole telco domain – all the way to the edge of the mobile network. Service exposure and APIs will play a key role in creating solutions that are both effective and cost efficient.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores recent advances in the service exposure area that have resulted from the move toward 5G and the adoption of cloud-native principles, as well as the combination of Service-based Architecture, microservices and container technologies. It includes examples that illustrate how service exposure can be deployed in a multitude of locations, each with a different set of requirements that drive modularity and configurability needs.
Ericsson Technology Review: End-to-end Security Management for the IoTEricsson
Industries everywhere are digitizing, which is creating a multitude of new security requirements for the Internet of Things (IoT). End-to-end (E2E) security management will be essential to ensuring security and privacy in the IoT, while simultaneously building strong identities and maintaining trust. As the diversity of IoT services and the number of connected devices continue to increase, the threats to IoT systems are changing and growing even faster.
Ericsson Technology Review - Issue 2, 2018Ericsson
Technology development keeps getting faster and more interconnected, with new innovations appearing every day. As a result, we’re swiftly moving toward the realization of the “Augmented Connected Society” – a world characterized by ubiquitous internet access for all, self-learning robots and truly intuitive interaction between humans and machines. But how can our industry best prepare for this future?
In my role as CTO, I have the challenging and exhilarating annual task of identifying the five technology trends of the future that are (or will be) most relevant to our industry. You can find my insights and reflections in the Technology Trends article included in this issue of the magazine.
It is my hope that the Technology Trends article, together with the other five articles in this issue, will generate a variety of stimulating future-focused discussions in your workplace. Please feel free to share links to the magazine and/or individual articles with your colleagues and other contacts via e-mail or social media.
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G BSS: Evolving BSS to fit the 5G economyEricsson
The 5G network evolution has opened up an abundance of new business opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) in verticals such as industrial automation, security, health care and automotive. In order to successfully capitalize on them, CSPs must have business support systems (BSS) that are evolved to manage complex value chains and support new business models. Optimized information models and a high degree of automation are required to handle huge numbers of devices through open interfaces.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains how 5G-evolved BSS can help CSPs transform themselves from traditional network developers to service enablers for 5G and the Internet of Things, and ultimately to service creators with the ability to collaborate beyond telecoms and establish lucrative digital value systems.
Mobile data traffic volumes are expected to increase by a factor of four by 2025, and 45 percent of that traffic will be carried by 5G networks. To deliver on customer expectations in this rapidly changing environment, communication service providers must overcome challenges in three key areas: building sufficient capacity, resolving operational inefficiencies through automation and artificial intelligence, and improving service differentiation. This issue of ETR magazine provides insights about how to tackle all three.
Ericsson Technology Review: Driving transformation in the automotive and road...Ericsson
A variety of automotive and transport services that require cellular connectivity are already in commercial operation today, and many more are yet to come. Among other things, these services will improve road safety and traffic efficiency, saving lives and helping to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change. At Ericsson, we believe that the best way to address the growing connectivity needs of this industry sector is through a common network solution, as opposed to taking a single-segment silo approach.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how the ongoing rollout of 5G provides a cost-efficient and feature-rich foundation for a horizontal multiservice network that can meet the connectivity needs of the automotive and transport ecosystem. It also outlines the key challenges and presents potential solutions.
Ericsson Technology Review, issue #1, 2016Ericsson
Every morning, I get out of bed and go to work because I believe technology makes a difference. I believe that in the midst of global growth, numerous humanitarian crises, the increasing need for better resource management, and an evolving threat landscape, a new world is emerging. And I believe technology is playing a key role in making that world a better, safer, and healthier place for more people to enjoy. It feels good to be part of that.
Fundamentally, I believe the breakdown of traditional industry boundaries and increased cross-industry collaboration have enabled us to maximize the benefits of technology. Today, Ericsson works with partners in many different industries that all rely on connectivity embedded into their solutions, services, and products. Our early collaborations, which were with utilities and the automotive industry, have led to innovations like the Connected Vehicle Cloud and Smart Metering as a Service.
I am delighted that Harald Ludanek, Head of R&D at Scania (a leading manufacturer of heavy trucks, buses, coaches, and industrial and marine engines) agreed to contribute to this issue. His article on the significance of ICT – how digitalization and mobility will impact the automotive industry and bring about the intelligent transportation system (ITS) – illustrates the importance of new business relationships, ensuring that different sectors create innovative solutions together, and maximize the value they bring to people and society.
Technology is making it easier for people to protect their homes, families, and belongings. The standardization of antitheft systems in automobiles, for example, has led to a decline in car theft in most parts of the world. However, while technology offers improved security, somehow criminal countermeasures manage to keep up. In an article about end-to-end cryptography, a number of Ericsson experts highlight how car theft is no longer carried out with a slim jim and a screwdriver, but rather with highly sophisticated decryption algorithms, smartphones, and illegal access to software keys.
The protection of data – and the people who own it – as it travels across the network has always been a cornerstone of the telecoms industry. But in today’s world, no single organization can maintain end-to-end control over information as it is carried from source to destination, and so upholding the right to privacy is becoming an increasingly complex issue. And with quantum computing posing a threat to our current security systems, our experts point out that this will render certain existing methods of protection useless. Not only do protocols need a shake up, so does software — so it can work in lightweight mode for constrained or hardware-limited devices.
Introducing our 5G Platform for the first movers in 5G, the first completely end-to-end solution that combines core and radio solutions in 5G to enable new opportunities and use cases
Ericsson Technology Review: The future of cloud computing: Highly distributed...Ericsson
The growing interest in cloud computing scenarios that incorporate both distributed computing capabilities and heterogeneous hardware presents a significant opportunity for network operators. With a vast distributed system (the telco network) already in place, the telecom industry has a significant advantage in the transition toward distributed cloud computing.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the future of cloud computing from the perspective of network operators, examining how they can best manage the complexity of future cloud deployments and overcome the technical challenges. Redefining cloud to expose and optimize the use of heterogeneous resources is not straightforward, but we are confident that our use cases and proof points validate our approach and will gain traction both in the telecommunications community and beyond.
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G-TSN integration meets networking requirements ...Ericsson
Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is becoming the standard Ethernet-based technology for converged networks of Industry 4.0. Understanding the importance and relevance of TSN features, as well as the capabilities that allow 5G to achieve wireless deterministic and time-sensitive communication, is essential to industrial automation in the future.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how TSN is an enabler of Industry 4.0, and that together with 5G URLLC capabilities, the two key technologies can be combined and integrated to provide deterministic connectivity end to end. It also discusses TSN standards and the value of the TSN toolbox for next generation industrial automation networks.
Ericsson Technology Review: Spotlight on the Internet of ThingsEricsson
The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a fundamental cornerstone in the digitalization of both industry and society as a whole. It represents a huge opportunity not only in economic terms, but also from a global challenges perspective – making it easier for governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to address pressing food, energy, water and climate related issues.
5G and the IoT are closely intertwined. One of the biggest innovations within 5G is support for the IoT in all its forms, both by addressing mission criticality as well as making it possible to connect low-cost, long-battery-life sensors.
With this in mind, we decided to create a special issue of Ericsson Technology Review solely focused on IoT opportunities and challenges. I hope it provides you with valuable insights about the IoT-related opportunities available to your organization, along with ideas about how we can overcome the challenges ahead.
Ericsson Technology Review, issue #2, 2016Ericsson
The latest issue of Ericsson Technology Review covers a wide range of topics including narrowband Internet of Things, the next-generation central office, telco-grade platform as a service, 4G/5G RAN architecture, and cloud robotics enabled by 5G. The feature story – Five trends shaping innovation in ICT – presents what I consider to be the major technology trends that will stimulate innovation in the coming year. Do you agree with me? I’d love to hear from you with any feedback you might have.
If I were to suggest one takeaway from all of the articles included in this issue, I would say it is speed. Device processing is getting faster, data speeds are constantly increasing and radio speeds are approaching those of fiber. More people are becoming subscribers, more things are becoming connected and more applications are running constantly. Developers of new technologies are working hard to enhance responsiveness by reducing latency, a key performance parameter. The capability to determine which functions can be virtualized to maximize ideal placement in the network and ensure low latency is one of the primary driving factors behind the proposed split of radio-access architecture discussed in this issue.
As always, I hope you find our stories relevant and inspiring.
Ericsson Technology Review: Digital connectivity marketplaces to enrich 5G an...Ericsson
One of the key growth opportunities for the telecom industry is to provide network capabilities that support the digital transformation underway in most businesses and industries. Already today, we have a powerful technology foundation in place, and this will become even stronger with 5G. Now is the ideal time to evolve the business side of the equation toward platform business models, which will enable the telecom industry to prosper in multisided business ecosystems as well.
Ericsson Technology Review: Technology trends 2018 - Five technology trends a...Ericsson
Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden presents the five technology trends driving the creation of a future network platform that can deliver truly intuitive interaction between humans and machines.
Ericsson Technology Review: Industrial automation enabled by robotics, machin...Ericsson
The emergent "fourth industrial revolution" will have a profound impact on both industry and society in the years ahead. Robotics, machine intelligence and 5G networks in particular will play major roles in this revolution by enabling ever higher levels of automation for production processes.
Ericsson Technology Review - Issue 1, 2018Ericsson
We are publishing this magazine shortly after the first release of a completely new standard – 5G – from 3GPP. Fittingly, many of the articles in this issue relate to what we think is most important in 5G and how to address the new opportunities that it entails.
One of the key reasons for the flexibility provided in 5G is the desire to support industries to use connectivity, virtualization, machine intelligence and other technologies to change their processes and business models as part of the next industrial revolution, Industry 4.0. It is therefore a pleasure to be able to include an article that we have co-written with Comau and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies on the topic of industrial automation.
I hope you find the contents of this issue of the magazine as intriguing as I do. Please feel free to share links to the magazine and/or individual articles via e-mail or social media.
The rise of the innovation platform
Society and industry are transforming at an unprecedented rate. At the same time, the network platform is emerging as an innovation platform with the potential to offer all the connectivity, processing, storage and security needed by current and future applications. In my 2019 trends article, featured in this issue of Ericsson Technology Review, I share my view of the future network platform in relation to six key technology trends.
This issue of the magazine also addresses critical topics such as trust enablement, the extension of computing resources all the way to the edge of the mobile network, the growing impact of the cloud in the telco domain, overcoming latency and battery consumption challenges, and the need for end-to-end connectivity. I hope it provides you with valuable insights about how to overcome the challenges ahead and take full advantage of new opportunities.
Ericsson Technology Review: Simplifying the 5G ecosystem by reducing architec...Ericsson
One critical aspect of a successful 5G deployment is the mobile network operator’s ability to support user equipment, radio network, core network and management products that are manufactured by a multitude of device and network equipment vendors. The multiple connectivity options in 3GPP architecture for 5G have created several possible deployment alternatives.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article argues that there is a significant risk of ecosystem fragmentation if too many different connectivity options are deployed. After considering all the options, the authors conclude that a deployment approach based on options 3 and 2 will reduce network upgrade cost and time, simplify interoperability between networks and devices, and enable a faster scaling of the 5G ecosystem.
Ericsson Technology Review: Versatile Video Coding explained – the future of ...Ericsson
Continuous innovation in 5G networks is creating new opportunities for video-enabled services for both consumers and industries, particularly in areas such as the Internet of Things and the automotive sector. These new services are expected to rely on continued video evolution toward 8K resolutions and beyond, and on new strict requirements such as low end-to-end latency for video delivery.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores recent developments in video compression technology and introduces Versatile Video Coding (VVC) – a significant improvement on existing video codecs that we think deserves to be widely deployed in the market. VVC has the potential both to enhance the user experience for existing video services and offer an appropriate performance level for new media services over 5G networks.
Ericsson Technology Review: Service exposure: a critical capability in a 5G w...Ericsson
To meet the requirements of use cases in areas such as the Internet of Things, AR/VR, Industry 4.0 and the automotive sector, operators need to be able to provide computing resources across the whole telco domain – all the way to the edge of the mobile network. Service exposure and APIs will play a key role in creating solutions that are both effective and cost efficient.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores recent advances in the service exposure area that have resulted from the move toward 5G and the adoption of cloud-native principles, as well as the combination of Service-based Architecture, microservices and container technologies. It includes examples that illustrate how service exposure can be deployed in a multitude of locations, each with a different set of requirements that drive modularity and configurability needs.
Ericsson Technology Review: End-to-end Security Management for the IoTEricsson
Industries everywhere are digitizing, which is creating a multitude of new security requirements for the Internet of Things (IoT). End-to-end (E2E) security management will be essential to ensuring security and privacy in the IoT, while simultaneously building strong identities and maintaining trust. As the diversity of IoT services and the number of connected devices continue to increase, the threats to IoT systems are changing and growing even faster.
Ericsson Technology Review - Issue 2, 2018Ericsson
Technology development keeps getting faster and more interconnected, with new innovations appearing every day. As a result, we’re swiftly moving toward the realization of the “Augmented Connected Society” – a world characterized by ubiquitous internet access for all, self-learning robots and truly intuitive interaction between humans and machines. But how can our industry best prepare for this future?
In my role as CTO, I have the challenging and exhilarating annual task of identifying the five technology trends of the future that are (or will be) most relevant to our industry. You can find my insights and reflections in the Technology Trends article included in this issue of the magazine.
It is my hope that the Technology Trends article, together with the other five articles in this issue, will generate a variety of stimulating future-focused discussions in your workplace. Please feel free to share links to the magazine and/or individual articles with your colleagues and other contacts via e-mail or social media.
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G BSS: Evolving BSS to fit the 5G economyEricsson
The 5G network evolution has opened up an abundance of new business opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) in verticals such as industrial automation, security, health care and automotive. In order to successfully capitalize on them, CSPs must have business support systems (BSS) that are evolved to manage complex value chains and support new business models. Optimized information models and a high degree of automation are required to handle huge numbers of devices through open interfaces.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains how 5G-evolved BSS can help CSPs transform themselves from traditional network developers to service enablers for 5G and the Internet of Things, and ultimately to service creators with the ability to collaborate beyond telecoms and establish lucrative digital value systems.
Mobile data traffic volumes are expected to increase by a factor of four by 2025, and 45 percent of that traffic will be carried by 5G networks. To deliver on customer expectations in this rapidly changing environment, communication service providers must overcome challenges in three key areas: building sufficient capacity, resolving operational inefficiencies through automation and artificial intelligence, and improving service differentiation. This issue of ETR magazine provides insights about how to tackle all three.
Ericsson Technology Review: Driving transformation in the automotive and road...Ericsson
A variety of automotive and transport services that require cellular connectivity are already in commercial operation today, and many more are yet to come. Among other things, these services will improve road safety and traffic efficiency, saving lives and helping to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change. At Ericsson, we believe that the best way to address the growing connectivity needs of this industry sector is through a common network solution, as opposed to taking a single-segment silo approach.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how the ongoing rollout of 5G provides a cost-efficient and feature-rich foundation for a horizontal multiservice network that can meet the connectivity needs of the automotive and transport ecosystem. It also outlines the key challenges and presents potential solutions.
Ericsson Technology Review, issue #1, 2016Ericsson
Every morning, I get out of bed and go to work because I believe technology makes a difference. I believe that in the midst of global growth, numerous humanitarian crises, the increasing need for better resource management, and an evolving threat landscape, a new world is emerging. And I believe technology is playing a key role in making that world a better, safer, and healthier place for more people to enjoy. It feels good to be part of that.
Fundamentally, I believe the breakdown of traditional industry boundaries and increased cross-industry collaboration have enabled us to maximize the benefits of technology. Today, Ericsson works with partners in many different industries that all rely on connectivity embedded into their solutions, services, and products. Our early collaborations, which were with utilities and the automotive industry, have led to innovations like the Connected Vehicle Cloud and Smart Metering as a Service.
I am delighted that Harald Ludanek, Head of R&D at Scania (a leading manufacturer of heavy trucks, buses, coaches, and industrial and marine engines) agreed to contribute to this issue. His article on the significance of ICT – how digitalization and mobility will impact the automotive industry and bring about the intelligent transportation system (ITS) – illustrates the importance of new business relationships, ensuring that different sectors create innovative solutions together, and maximize the value they bring to people and society.
Technology is making it easier for people to protect their homes, families, and belongings. The standardization of antitheft systems in automobiles, for example, has led to a decline in car theft in most parts of the world. However, while technology offers improved security, somehow criminal countermeasures manage to keep up. In an article about end-to-end cryptography, a number of Ericsson experts highlight how car theft is no longer carried out with a slim jim and a screwdriver, but rather with highly sophisticated decryption algorithms, smartphones, and illegal access to software keys.
The protection of data – and the people who own it – as it travels across the network has always been a cornerstone of the telecoms industry. But in today’s world, no single organization can maintain end-to-end control over information as it is carried from source to destination, and so upholding the right to privacy is becoming an increasingly complex issue. And with quantum computing posing a threat to our current security systems, our experts point out that this will render certain existing methods of protection useless. Not only do protocols need a shake up, so does software — so it can work in lightweight mode for constrained or hardware-limited devices.
Introducing our 5G Platform for the first movers in 5G, the first completely end-to-end solution that combines core and radio solutions in 5G to enable new opportunities and use cases
Ericsson Technology Review: The future of cloud computing: Highly distributed...Ericsson
The growing interest in cloud computing scenarios that incorporate both distributed computing capabilities and heterogeneous hardware presents a significant opportunity for network operators. With a vast distributed system (the telco network) already in place, the telecom industry has a significant advantage in the transition toward distributed cloud computing.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the future of cloud computing from the perspective of network operators, examining how they can best manage the complexity of future cloud deployments and overcome the technical challenges. Redefining cloud to expose and optimize the use of heterogeneous resources is not straightforward, but we are confident that our use cases and proof points validate our approach and will gain traction both in the telecommunications community and beyond.
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G-TSN integration meets networking requirements ...Ericsson
Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is becoming the standard Ethernet-based technology for converged networks of Industry 4.0. Understanding the importance and relevance of TSN features, as well as the capabilities that allow 5G to achieve wireless deterministic and time-sensitive communication, is essential to industrial automation in the future.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how TSN is an enabler of Industry 4.0, and that together with 5G URLLC capabilities, the two key technologies can be combined and integrated to provide deterministic connectivity end to end. It also discusses TSN standards and the value of the TSN toolbox for next generation industrial automation networks.
Ericsson Technology Review: Spotlight on the Internet of ThingsEricsson
The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a fundamental cornerstone in the digitalization of both industry and society as a whole. It represents a huge opportunity not only in economic terms, but also from a global challenges perspective – making it easier for governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to address pressing food, energy, water and climate related issues.
5G and the IoT are closely intertwined. One of the biggest innovations within 5G is support for the IoT in all its forms, both by addressing mission criticality as well as making it possible to connect low-cost, long-battery-life sensors.
With this in mind, we decided to create a special issue of Ericsson Technology Review solely focused on IoT opportunities and challenges. I hope it provides you with valuable insights about the IoT-related opportunities available to your organization, along with ideas about how we can overcome the challenges ahead.
Ericsson Technology Review, issue #2, 2016Ericsson
The latest issue of Ericsson Technology Review covers a wide range of topics including narrowband Internet of Things, the next-generation central office, telco-grade platform as a service, 4G/5G RAN architecture, and cloud robotics enabled by 5G. The feature story – Five trends shaping innovation in ICT – presents what I consider to be the major technology trends that will stimulate innovation in the coming year. Do you agree with me? I’d love to hear from you with any feedback you might have.
If I were to suggest one takeaway from all of the articles included in this issue, I would say it is speed. Device processing is getting faster, data speeds are constantly increasing and radio speeds are approaching those of fiber. More people are becoming subscribers, more things are becoming connected and more applications are running constantly. Developers of new technologies are working hard to enhance responsiveness by reducing latency, a key performance parameter. The capability to determine which functions can be virtualized to maximize ideal placement in the network and ensure low latency is one of the primary driving factors behind the proposed split of radio-access architecture discussed in this issue.
As always, I hope you find our stories relevant and inspiring.
Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) has been established to accelerate the availability and adoption of 5G to support the transformation of Malaysia. The rollout of the 5G network has kicked off with the provision of 5G coverage in the Malaysian capital. This 5G network, will empower Malaysians to embrace the new digital economy.
Source: https://www.digital-nasional.com.my/white-papers
What Makes 5G Network Different - Digital Nasional BerhadDigitalNational
5G network is here and set to change our world for the better. It is true that 5G represents the fifth generation of mobile networks, but it is so much more than just another ‘G’. Read more
IDC: Peplink Adds Resilience to IoT NetworksEric Wong
In this whitepaper, IDC argues that diversification of Internet access WAN technologies, combined with secure VPN and central management is the best way to both guarantee IoT network availability and allow for rapid deployment of IoT networks anywhere.
Microsoft Telecommunications Newsletter | September 2021Rick Lievano
Monetizing the edge continues to be a top priority for telcos, and not a day goes by where we don’t have a meaningful conversation on the topic with a telco partner. While the edge’s killer app continues to elude the industry, private mobile networks and video analytics are quickly becoming the critical building blocks for bringing it to market – whatever it is.
So where can you learn more about monetizing the edge? The TM Forum Digital Transformation World Series 2021 provides a collaborative environment for operators and suppliers to come together, share ideas, and solve the industry’s toughest problems. Microsoft is an active participant in this year’s event, sharing best practices, successes, and industry insights across wide-ranging areas including edge, artificial intelligence, cloud transformation, and customer experience.
See the Events section for details on how Microsoft is participating at this year’s show. We look forward to seeing you virtually at the event!
Let the editor take you to know more about the Industrial Internet and Industry 4.0 and how technologies such as the Internet of Things, 5G, Big Data Analysis, and Machine Learning help the construction and development of the two.
Ericsson Technology Review - issue 2, 2017Ericsson
The latest issue of Ericsson Technology Review includes articles that shed light on important topics including the evolution of LTE to fit the 5G future; an overview of the latest developments in microwave backhaul; and how DevOps can be used to satisfy demands for faster turnaround in feature development.
It also contains our annual technology trends article, in which I present what I believe are the five trends to watch in our industry in the years ahead, namely: an adaptable technology base, the dawn of true machine intelligence, end-to-end security and identity for IoT, an extended-distributed IoT platform, and overlaying reality with knowledge.
I hope you find the contents of this issue of the magazine as thought-provoking as I do. All of the articles included here are also available individually on our website. Please feel free to share them via e-mail or social media.
Correlation between Terms of 5G Networks, IoT and D2D Communicationijtsrd
The proliferation of heterogeneous devices connected through large scale networks is a clear sign that the vision of the Internet of Things IoT is getting closer to becoming a reality. Many researchers and experts in the field share the opinion that the next to come fifth generation 5G cellular systems will be a strong boost for the IoT deployment. Device to Device D2D appears as a key communication paradigm to support heterogeneous objects interconnection and to guarantee important benefits. Future research directions are then presented towards a fully converged 5G IoT ecosystem. In this paper, we analyze existing data about D2D communication systems and its relation of 5G IoT networks. The enhancement of such networks will bring several spheres to learn for. Nozima Musaboyeva Bahtiyor Qizi "Correlation between Terms of 5G Networks, IoT and D2D Communication" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-6 , October 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd47522.pdf Paper URL : https://www.ijtsrd.com/computer-science/computer-network/47522/correlation-between-terms-of-5g-networks-iot-and-d2d-communication/nozima-musaboyeva-bahtiyor-qizi
This e Book highlights perspectives on the new 5G technology , use cases , business models and its revolutionary impact on Telecom industry and society at large.
5G network is surging the growth of IOT for building up new applications and business execution models. Implementation of the latest techniques, IOT, requires new performance standards such as security, great connectivity, low latency, ultra-authentic, the extent of wireless communication, etc., to boost cellular operations.
HOW TO CHOOSE BETWEEN LTE-M AND
NB-IOT FOR GLOBAL DEPLOYMENTS. LTE-M AND NB-IOT TECHNOLOGIES - INCREASED
BATTERY LIFE, ENHANCED COVERAGE AND SIMPLIFIED
HARDWARE
5G is not just another number. It's the next generation of mobile technology that will revolutionize the way we live, work, and communicate. We'll move seamlessly among networks with download speeds 100 times faster than 4G LTE. We'll see an explosion of new applications for this technology, from connected vehicles to remote medical care. 5G will connect industries like manufacturing and logistics to the global digital economy.
The 5G era: New horizons for advanced-electronics and industrial companiesDESMOND YUEN
The next generation of wireless connectivity has arrived: 5G has the capacity to support a huge number of connections simultaneously while improving speed, latency, reliability, and power consumption for handsets and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. As with the transition from 3G to 4G, there are many uncertainties. Where is the value coming from, and who is going to capture it? What are the use cases where 5G performance enhancements will generate the most value and demand? And which applications will most benefit from 5G?
Future European society and economy will strongly rely on 5G infrastructure.
The impact will go far beyond existing wireless access networks with the aim for communication services, reachable everywhere, all the time, and faster. 5G is an opportunity for the European ICT sector which is already well positioned in the global R&D race. 5G technologies will be adopted and deployed globally in alignment with developed and emerging markets’ needs.
Currently, there is a hype around 5G, the wireless technology which is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, more reliability, massive network capacity, and increased availability, in order to empower new experiences and connect new industries. Indeed 5G, and related technology, open up an industrial Internet with the potential to deliver new digital services for long-term economic growth.
The following document is written as a summary of essentials around 5G based on already published materials. It aims at helping non-specialists to get an initial idea of the new exciting technologies and their potential impact on our future.
Ericsson Technology Review: Creating the next-generation edge-cloud ecosystemEricsson
The surge in data volume that will come from the massive number of devices enabled by 5G has made edge computing more important than ever before. Beyond its abilities to reduce network traffic and improve user experience, edge computing will also play a critical role in enabling use cases for ultra-reliable low-latency communication in industrial manufacturing and a variety of other sectors.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the topic of how to deliver distributed edge computing solutions that can host different kinds of platforms and applications and provide a high level of flexibility for application developers. Rather than building a new application ecosystem and platform, we strongly recommend reusing industrialized and proven capabilities, utilizing the momentum created with Cloud Native Computing Foundation, and ensuring backward compatibility.
Migration from 4G to 5G: A Complete synopsis guide on 4G to 5G migration.Utkarsh Jaiswal
Migration from 4G to 5G: A Complete synopsis guide on 4G to 5G migration. This guide has step by step process to build your synopsis on 4G to 5G migration
Similar to Ericsson Technology Review - Issue 1, 2019 (20)
Ericsson Technology Review: Integrated access and backhaul – a new type of wi...Ericsson
Today millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum is valued mainly because it can be used to achieve high speeds and capacities when combined with spectrum assets below 6GHz. But it can provide other benefits as well. For example, mmWave spectrum makes it possible to use a promising new wireless backhaul solution for 5G New Radio – integrated access and backhaul (IAB) – to densify networks with multi-band radio sites at street level.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains the IAB concept at a high level, presenting its architecture and key characteristics, as well as examining its advantages and disadvantages compared with other backhaul technologies. It concludes with a presentation of the promising results of several simulations that tested IAB as a backhaul option for street sites in both urban and suburban areas.
Ericsson Technology Review: Optimizing UICC modules for IoT applicationsEricsson
Commonly referred to as SIM cards, the universal integrated circuit cards (UICCs) used in all cellular devices today are in fact complex and powerful minicomputers capable of much more than most Internet of Things (IoT) applications require. Until a simpler and less costly alternative becomes available, action must be taken to ensure that the relatively high price of UICC modules does not hamper IoT growth.
This Ericsson Technology Review article presents two mid-term approaches. The first is to make use of techniques that reduce the complexity of using UICCs in IoT applications, while the second is to use the UICCs’ excess capacity for additional value generation. Those who wish to exploit the potential of the UICCs to better support IoT applications have the opportunity to use them as cryptographic storage, to run higher-layer protocol stacks and/or as supervisory entities, for example.
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G migration strategy from EPS to 5G systemEricsson
For many operators, the introduction of the 5G System (5GS) to provide wide-area services in existing Evolved Packet System (EPS) deployments is a necessary step toward creating a full-service, future-proof 5GS in the longer term. The creation of a combined 4G-5G network requires careful planning and a holistic strategy, as the introduction of 5GS has significant impacts across all network domains, including the RAN, packet core, user data and policies, and services, as well as affecting devices and backend systems.
This Ericsson Technology Review article provides an overview of all the aspects that operators need to consider when putting together a robust EPS-to-5GS migration strategy and provides guidance about how they can adapt the transition to address their particular needs per domain.
This presentation explains the importance of SD-WAN technology as part of the Enterprise digital transformation strategy. It goes over the first wave of SD-WAN in a single vendor deployment, with Do-it-yourself (DIY) as the preferred model. Then continues with the importance of orchestration in the second wave of SD-WAN deployments in a multi-vendor ecosystem, turning to SD-WAN Managed Services as the preferred model. It ends up with some examples of use cases and the Verizon customer case. More information on Ericsson Dynamic orchestration - http://m.eric.sn/6rsZ30psKLu
Ericsson Technology Review: Meeting 5G latency requirements with inactive stateEricsson
Low latency communication and minimal battery consumption are key requirements of many 5G and IoT use cases, including smart transport and critical control of remote devices. Thanks to Ericsson’s 4G/5G research activities and lessons learned from legacy networks, we have identified solutions that address both of these requirements by reducing the amount of signaling required during state transitions, and shared our discoveries with the 3GPP.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains the why and how behind the new Radio Resource Control (RRC) state model in the standalone version of the 5G New Radio standard, which features a new, Ericsson-developed state called inactive. On top of overcoming latency and battery consumption challenges, the new state also increases overall system capacity by decreasing the processing effort in the network.
Ericsson Technology Review: Cloud-native application design in the telecom do...Ericsson
Cloud-native application design is set to become standard practice in the telecom industry in the near future due to the major efficiency gains it can provide, particularly in terms of speeding up software upgrades and releases. At Ericsson, we have been actively exploring the potential of cloud-native computing in the telecom industry since we joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) a few years ago.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains the opportunities that CNCF technology has enabled, as well as unveiling key aspects of our application development framework, which is designed to help navigate the transition to a cloud-native approach. It also discusses the challenges that the large-scale reuse of open-source technology can raise, along with key strategies for how to mitigate them.
With 5G bringing in new possibilities for operators across the globe, a higher capacity microwave backhaul becomes even more important to ensure high-quality mobile broadband. This year’s Ericsson Microwave Outlook report discusses how this demand can be met with advanced microwave technology, spectrum, combination with fiber, and machine intelligence.
Ericsson Technology Review: Distributed cloud - A key enabler of automotive a...Ericsson
Emerging use cases in industries where the first phases of the fourth industrial revolution are taking place, such as automotive and manufacturing, are creating new requirements for networks and clouds. At Ericsson, we believe that distributed cloud will be a key technology to support such use cases.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how distributed cloud technology exploits key features available in both 4G and 5G networks to enable a distributed execution environment for applications that ensures performance, short latency, high reliability and data locality. The flexibility of cloud computing is maintained at the same time that the complexity of the infrastructure is hidden, with application components placed in an optimal location that utilizes the key characteristics of distributed cloud.
Ericsson Technology Review: The advantages of combining 5G NR with LTEEricsson
Capacity exhaustion is a growing challenge for network operators due to the rapidly increasing data consumption by mobile broadband (MBB) subscribers. Rather than addressing this by densifying 4G networks with new sites, 5G New Radio (NR) offers operators the opportunity to meet growing demand and improve performance through the efficient use of new frequency bands at existing sites. The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how deploying 5G NR with mid bands (3-6GHz) at existing 4G sites enables maximal reuse of site infrastructure investments as well as delivering a significant performance boost. By adding NR with 100MHz unpaired spectrum, it is possible to achieve eight times higher downlink capacity relative to LTE (2x50MHz paired spectrum). Massive MIMO techniques, such as beamforming and multi-user MIMO, deliver improved downlink data rates both outdoors and indoors.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
"Impact of front-end architecture on development cost", Viktor TurskyiFwdays
I have heard many times that architecture is not important for the front-end. Also, many times I have seen how developers implement features on the front-end just following the standard rules for a framework and think that this is enough to successfully launch the project, and then the project fails. How to prevent this and what approach to choose? I have launched dozens of complex projects and during the talk we will analyze which approaches have worked for me and which have not.
"Impact of front-end architecture on development cost", Viktor Turskyi
Ericsson Technology Review - Issue 1, 2019
1. ERICSSON
TECHNOLOGY
C H A R T I N G T H E F U T U R E O F I N N O V A T I O N | V O L U M E 9 8 I 2 0 1 9 – 0 1
BOOSTINGSMART
MANUFACTURING
WITH5G
DISTRIBUTEDCLOUD
INAUTOMOTIVE&
INDUSTRY4.0
USECASES
TECHNOLOGY
CHOICESFOR
MASSIVEIoT
DEVICES
2.
3. CONTENTS ✱
08 THE ADVANTAGES OF COMBINING 5G NR WITH LTE
5G at mid and high bands is well suited for deployment at existing
site grids, especially when combined with low-band LTE. Adding new
frequency bands to existing deployments is a future-proof and cost-
efficient way to improve performance, meet the growing needs of mobile
broadband subscribers and deliver new 5G-based services.
18 SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM BY REDUCING
ARCHITECTURE OPTIONS
Previous mobile generations have taught us that industry efforts to reduce
fragmentation yield massive benefits. In the case of 5G, an industry effort to focus
deployment on a limited set of key connectivity options will be critical to bringing
5G to market in a timely and cost-efficient way.
28 DISTRIBUTED CLOUD: A KEY ENABLER OF AUTOMOTIVE
AND INDUSTRY 4.0 USE CASES
Emerging use cases in the automotive industry – as well as in manufacturing
industries where the first phases of the fourth industrial revolution are taking place
– have created a variety of new requirements for networks and clouds. At Ericsson,
we believe that distributed cloud is a key technology to support such use cases.
48 KEY TECHNOLOGY CHOICES FOR OPTIMAL IoT DEVICES
The latest cellular communication technologies LTE-M and NB-IoT enable
the introduction of a new generation of IoT devices that deliver on the promise
of scalable, cost-effective massive IoT applications using LPWAN technology.
However, a few key technology choices are necessary to create IoT devices
that can support the multitude of existing and emerging massive IoT use cases.
60 BSS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – TIME TO GO NATIVE
The growing need to support disruptive services emerging from the IoT
and 5G requires a fundamental transformation of business support systems
(BSS). At Ericsson, we believe that the best way to achieve this is by forging
BSS and artificial intelligence (AI) together to create truly AI-native BSS.
FEATURE ARTICLE
Boosting smart manufacturing
with 5G wireless connectivity
Industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial revolution – is already transforming the
manufacturing industry, with the vision of highly efficient, connected and flexible
factories of the future quickly becoming a reality in many sectors. Fully connected
factories will rely on cloud technologies, as well as connectivity based on Ethernet
Time-Sensitive Networking and wireless 5G radio.
38
08
Standalone NR and 5GC with
appropriate features and
coverage for addressed use
cases.
EPC
eNBeNB eNB gNB eNBeNB eNB gNB
NR NRNR-low
LTE LTE LTELTELTE
Option 1 Options 1, 3
Current industry focus
Options 1, 2, 3
1
3 2
EPC+ 5GCEPC+
18
Local Regional
Regional DCLocal DC
MTSO
MTSO
Local and regional sites
Service exposure
HD maps HD maps
Data exposure for automotive services
Access sites
Video stream
ECU sensors
HD maps
Video stream
ECU sensors
HD maps
Intelligent driving Intelligent driving
Advanced driver
assistance
Advanced driver
assistance
Huge
amount
of data
28
Enterprise
Strategic
level
Tactical
level
Operational
level
Business model #1 Business model #2 Common enterprise
resources
Resources common
to all business models,
for example:
∙ Party model
∙ Channels
∙ Credit check service
Credit rules
Channel
serviceCustomer
Contract
Sales
Onboarding
Billing
Settlement
Rating
Customer
support
Inten
Intent
Intent
In
60
48
38
4. ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019
Ericsson Technology Review brings you
insights into some of the key emerging
innovations that are shaping the future of ICT.
Our aim is to encourage an open discussion
about the potential, practicalities, and benefits
of a wide range of technical developments,
and provide insight into what the future
has to offer.
a d d r e s s
Ericsson
SE-164 83 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 719 00 00
p u b l i s h i n g
All material and articles are published on the
Ericsson Technology Review website:
www.ericsson.com/ericsson-technology-review
p u b l i s h e r
Erik Ekudden
e d i t o r
Tanis Bestland (Nordic Morning)
tanis.bestland@nordicmorning.com
e d i t o r i a l b o a r d
Håkan Andersson, Anders Rosengren,
Mats Norin, Erik Westerberg,
Magnus Buhrgard, Gunnar Thrysin,
Håkan Olofsson, Dan Fahrman, Robert Skog,
Patrik Roseen, Jonas Högberg,
John Fornehed and Sara Kullman
f e at u r e a r t i c l e
Boosting smart manufacturing with 5G
wireless connectivity by Kenneth Wallstedt,
Fredrik Alriksson and Göran Eneroth
a r t d i r e c t o r
Liselotte Eriksson (Nordic Morning)
p r o d u c t i o n l e a d e r
Susanna O’Grady (Nordic Morning)
l ay o u t
Liselotte Eriksson (Nordic Morning)
i l l u s t r at i o n s
Jenny Andersen (Nordic Morning)
c h i e f s u b e d i t o r
Ian Nicholson (Nordic Morning)
s u b e d i t o r s
Paul Eade (Nordic Morning)
i s s n : 0 0 1 4 - 0 17 1
Volume: 98, 2019
■ i find it deeply gratifying to witness the growing
enthusiasm among mobile network operators
(MNOs) around the globe about the massive growth
opportunities that 5G represents for their businesses.
In particular, 5G is now widely recognized as a prime
enabling technology of the fourth industrial revolution,
helping manufacturing companies leverage automation
and data exchange technologies that require seamless
communication between all the participants and
components in industrial processes.
Using 5G effectively in the fully-connected factories
of the future is the theme of the feature article in
this issue of the magazine. Among other aspects,
itexplainshow5Gcanprovidedeterministic ultra-
reliable low-latency communication to bring
wireless connectivity to demanding industrial
equipment, like industrial controllers and actuators.
Emerging industrial use cases in the automotive and
manufacturing sectors, among others, are creating a
variety of new requirements for networks and clouds.
Our distributed cloud article explains how distributed
cloud technology exploits key features in both 4G and
5G networks to enable an execution environment that
ensures performance, short latency, high reliability and
data locality.
Like 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) is also playing a
pivotal role in Industry 4.0, as well as in transforming
business and society in a myriad of other ways. In
light of this, MNOs need business support systems
(BSS) that can handle IoT use cases, which often
involve complex business situations, and optimize
CAPITALIZING ON
THE POWER OF 5G
✱ EDITORIAL
#01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 7
outcomes with minimal manual intervention.
In this magazine we argue in favor of architectural
changes to traditional BSS to fully integrate
artificial intelligence.
As IoT use cases continue to grow and spread,
it is critically important to take action to ensure
that the devices are secure, both in terms of
communication and data integrity end-to-end,
from device to data usage. It is our opinion that
certain key technology choices are necessary
to achieve the desired device characteristics
and create IoT devices that support the multitude
of existing and emerging massive IoT use cases.
While 5G is highly relevant for many industrial
(and other) applications that reach far beyond
traditional telco, it is also designed to address a
myriad of challenges within the traditional telco
sphere. One example of this is the way it enables
MNOs to overcome the challenge of capacity
exhaustion caused by the rapidly increasing
data consumption of their subscribers. Rather
than densifying 4G networks with new sites,
we recommend that operators use 5G technology
to add new frequency bands at existing 4G sites.
Of course, one of the most critical aspects of a
successful 5G deployment is the operator’s ability
to support user equipment, radio network, core
network and management products that are
manufactured by a multitude of device and network
equipment vendors. Achieving this can be more
difficult than it sounds, however. We propose a
smart approach to 5G deployment in this issue that
reduces network upgrade cost and time, simplifies
interoperability between networks and devices,
and enables a faster scaling of the 5G ecosystem.
I hope you will find the articles in this magazine
valuable. Please feel free to share them with your
colleagues and business associates. You can find
all of the articles, along with those published in
previous issues, at: www.ericsson.com/ericsson-
technology-review
5GISNOWWIDELYRECOGNIZED
ASAPRIMEENABLINGTECHNOLOGYOF
THEFOURTHINDUSTRIALREVOLUTION
ERIK EKUDDEN
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT,
GROUP CTO AND
HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY & ARCHITECTURE
EDITORIAL ✱
5. ✱ COMBINING 5G NR WITH LTE COMBINING 5G NR WITH LTE ✱
8 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 9
ThemainnewNRfrequencybandswilltypically
beallocatedasTDDinthemid(3-6GHz)andhigh
(24-40GHz)bands.Thesebandspresentseveral
interestingchallengesandopportunities.Bymeans
ofmeasurementsandradionetworksimulationsof
coverageandcapacity,wehavedemonstrated
thatitisfeasibletodeploybothmidandhigh
(alsoknownasmillimeterWaveormmWave)
bandsonexistingsites.
Thankstobeamforming,afundamental
techniqueinNR,theneedforsitedensificationis
muchsmallerthananticipated–particularlywhen
interworkingwithLTEisapplied.Beamforming
andmassivemultiple-input,multiple-output
(MIMO)techniquesalsoprovidehighercapacity
fromexisting4Gsites,whichcreatesroomfornew
5G-basedservicesandusecasesinadditionto
MBB.
AT EXISTING SITES
Combining5GNR
5G at mid and high bands is well suited for deployment at existing site
grids, especially when combined with low-band LTE. Adding new frequency
bands to existing deployments is a future-proof and cost-efficient way
to improve performance, meet the growing needs of mobile broadband
subscribers and deliver new 5G-based services.
FREDRIC KRONESTEDT,
HENRIK ASPLUND,
ANDERS FURUSKÄR,
DU HO KANG,
MAGNUS LUNDEVALL,
KENNETH WALLSTEDT
High-frequencychallengesandopportunities
Theuseofmidandhighbandsfor5Gmakesit
possibletoutilizemuchhigherbandwidths.
However,theincreasedcarrierfrequencycanalso
makeitmorechallengingtoprovidecoveragethatis
similartoexistinglow-banddeployments.Thereare
threeprimaryreasonsforthis:(1)physicallimitson
thepowerreceptioncapabilitiesofantennas;(2)
radiofrequencyoutputpowerlimitations;and(3)
increasedpropagationlosses,asshowninFigure1.
The speed expectations and data
consumption of mobile broadband (MBB)
subscribers continue to grow rapidly. Already
today, there are 4G networks in urban areas
that are being densified with new sites
(macro sites, small cells and indoor solutions,
for example) as a result of spectrum
exhaustion. Further, in regions such as
western Europe and North America, the data
demand per smartphone is projected to
grow by 30-40 percent yearly [1], resulting
in a four- to fivefold increase in five years.
Adding new frequency bands at existing sites
is a cost-efficient way to meet this demand
and improve performance. The ability to
achieve indoor coverage is particularly
important, because the majority of the
traffic is generated indoors [2].
■ Manypeopleinthetelecomindustrytendto
associatethedeploymentofhigh-frequencybands
withpoorcoverage,whichresultsintheneedfornew
sites,whichleadstohighdeploymentcosts.Thisis,
however,notatallthecasefor5GNewRadio(NR)
[3].5GNRisdesignedtomakeuseoffrequency
bandsabove3GHzandoffersthepossibilityto
introducenewfrequencybands–typicallyabove
3GHz–intoexisting4Gnetworks.Takingadvantage
ofthispossibilitymakesiteasiertomeetthe
increasingdemandsfromMBB-basedservices,
whilesimultaneouslyensuringthatsiteandbackhaul
infrastructureinvestmentscanbereused.5GNR
isalsoavailableforuseinnewbandsbelow1GHzand
existing3G/4Gbands.Smoothmigrationfrom4G
to5GinexistingspectruminaRANcanbedone
bymeansofspectrumsharing,whereNRis
introducedinparallelwithLTE.
THANKSTOBEAMFORMING...
THENEEDFORSITEDENSIFICATION
ISMUCHSMALLERTHAN
ANTICIPATED
Figure 1 Schematic indication of antenna and propagation factors affecting downlink coverage positively (blue) or
negatively (red) compared to coverage at a reference frequency of 1.8GHz. The numbers are indicative and may vary.
Output power and regulatory requirements
3.5GHz: 0dB (typical)
28GHz: -10 to -15dB (typical)
Antenna gain and beamforming
3.5GHz: +9dB (typical)
28GHz: +15dB (typical) Outdoor to indoor propagation loss
3.5GHz: -0 to -2dB (-0 to -3dB for IRR glass)
28GHz: -1 to -10dB (-2 to -20dB for IRR glass)
Outdoor propagation loss
3.5GHz: 0 to -2dB
28GHz: 0 to -7dB
Antenna gain and beamforming
3.5GHz: +6dB
28GHz: +9dB
Rx effective antenna area
3.5GHz: -6dB
28GHz: -24dB
withLTE
THE ADVANTAGES OF
9. ✱ COMBINING 5G NR WITH LTE COMBINING 5G NR WITH LTE ✱
16 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 17
theauthors
Fredric Kronestedt
◆ joined Ericsson in 1993
to work on RAN research.
Since then he has taken
on manydifferentroles,
includingsystem design and
system management. He
currently serves as Expert,
Radio Network Deployment
Strategies, at Development
Unit Networks, where he
focuses on radio network
deployment and evolution
aspects for 4G and 5G.
Kronestedt holds an M.Sc.
in electrical engineering
from KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, Stockholm,
Sweden.
Henrik Asplund
◆ received his M.Sc. in
engineering physics from
Uppsala University, Sweden,
in 1996, and joined Ericsson
the same year. His current
positionisMasterResearcher,
Antennas and Propagation,
at Ericsson Research,
with responsibility for
propagation measurements
and modeling within the
company and in cooperation
with external organizations
such as 3GPP and ITU-R.
He has been involved in
propagation research
supporting predevelopment
and standardization of all
major wireless technologies
from 2G to 5G.
Kenneth Wallstedt
◆ is Director, Technology
Strategy, in Ericsson’s CTO
office, where he focuses on
the company’s radio and
spectrum management
strategy. He joined Ericsson
in 1990 and since then he
has held various leading
positions in Ericsson’s
research, development and
market units in Canada,
Sweden and the US. He
holds an M.Sc. in electrical
engineering from KTH Royal
Institute of Technology in
Stockholm, Sweden.
Du Ho Kang
◆ joined Ericsson Research
in 2014 and currently serves
as a Senior Researcher.
He holds a Ph.D. in radio
communication systems
from KTH Royal Institute of
Technology, Sweden, and
an M.Sc. in electrical and
electronics engineering from
Seoul National University,
South Korea. His expertise
is concept developments
of 4G/5G radio networks
and performance evaluation
toward diverse international
standardizationandspectrum
regulation bodies including
3GPP RAN, CBRS alliance,
Multifire alliance (MFA), ETSI
BRAN and ITU-R. Kang’s
particular interest at present
is developingsolution
conceptsforinternetworking
and massive MIMO for 5G
base station products.
Magnus Lundevall
◆ is Expert, Radio Network
Performance, in Ericsson’s
RD organization, where
he currently focuses on 5G
radio network deployment
and evolution strategies. He
joined Ericsson in 1998 and
has 20 years of experience
in radio network modeling,
simulation and performance
analysis. He holds an M.Sc.
in electrical engineering
from KTH Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm,
Sweden.
Anders Furuskär
◆ joined Ericsson Research
in 1997 and is currently a
senior expert focusing on
radio resource management
and performance evaluation
of wireless networks. He
holds an M.Sc. in electrical
engineering and a Ph.D.
in radio communications
systems, both from KTH
Royal Institute of Technology
in Stockholm, Sweden.
Saknar bild på Du
Ho Kang
Further reading
❭❭ 5G deployment considerations, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/networks/trending/insights-and-
reports/5g-deployment-considerations
❭❭ Massive MIMO increasing capacity and spectral efficiency, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/
networks/trending/hot-topics/5g-radio-access/massive-mimo
❭❭ Going massive with MIMO, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/news/2018/1/massive-mimo-highlights
❭❭ Superior indoor coverage with 5G Radio Dot, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/networks/
offerings/5g/5g-supreme-indoor-coverage
References
1. EricssonMobilityReport,June2018,availableat: https://www.ericsson.com/en/mobility-report/reports/june-2018
2. Ericsson ConsumerLab report, Liberation from Location, October 2014, available at: https://www.ericsson.
com/res/docs/2014/consumerlab/liberation-from-location-ericsson-consumerlab.pdf
3. 5G NR: The Next Generation Wireless Access Technology, 1st Edition, August 2018, Dahlman, E; Parkvall,
S; Sköld, J, available at: https://www.elsevier.com/books/5g-nr-the-next-generation-wireless-access-technology/
dahlman/978-0-12-814323-0
4. GSMA, 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Wearable Devices: What do the new uses of wireless
technologies mean for radio frequency exposure?, September 2017, available at: https://www.gsma.com/
publicpolicy/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/5g_iot_web_FINAL.pdf
5. IEEE, Beamforming Gain Measured on a 5G Test-Bed, June 2017, Furuskog, J; Halvarsson, B; Harada,
A; Itoh, S; Kishiyama, Y; Kurita, D; Murai, H; Simonsson, A; Tateishi, K; Thurfjell, M; Wallin, S, available at:
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8108648/
6. IEEE,High-SpeedBeamTrackingDemonstratedUsinga28GHz5GTrialSystem,September2017,Chana,R;
Choi, C; Halvarsson, B; Jo, S; Larsson, K; Manssour, J; Na, M; Singh, D, available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/
document/8288043/
7. IEEE,5GNRTestbed3.5GHzCoverageResults,June2018,Asplund,H;Chana,R;Elgcrona,A;Halvarsson,B;
Machado, P; Simonsson, A, available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8417704/
8. Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2018), A set of
propagationmodelsforsite-specificpredictions,April2018,Asplund,H;Johansson,M;Lundevall,M;Jaldén,N,
9. Ericsson Radio Dot System, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/ourportfolio/radio-system/radio-dot-system
10. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
18 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 19
BY REDUCING ARCHITECTURE OPTIONS
Simplifyingthe
Previous mobile generations have taught us that industry efforts to reduce
fragmentation yield massive benefits. In the case of 5G, an industry effort
to focus deployment on a limited set of key connectivity options will be
critical to bringing it to market in a timely and cost-efficient way.
TORBJÖRN CAGENIUS,
ANDERS RYDE,
JARI VIKBERG,
PER WILLARS
The multiple connectivity options in the 3GPP
architecture for 5G have created several
possible deployment alternatives. Initial
deploymentsfocusonoptions3(non-standalone
New Radio) and 2 (standalone New Radio).
However, the deployment of several
additional options would create a level of
complexity that impacts the whole 5G
ecosystem – across operator network
operations, equipment vendors and user
equipment (UE) chipset vendors as well as
spectrum assets. To avoid ecosystem
fragmentation, we believe that the best
approach is to limit the number of options
that are deployed.
■ Thereismuchmoretointroducing5Gthan
simplydeployingNewRadio(NR)technology.Fora
successful5Glaunch,theoperatorneedstosecurea
networkthatincludesend-to-end(E2E)capabilities
alignedacrossdevices,RAN,coreandmanagement
systems.5Gisalsoatechnologytransformationfor
operatorsstrivingformoreflexibilityandspeedin
networkdeployment–andwithanexpectationof
beingabletoaddressnewbusinessopportunities
withusecasesbeyondmobilebroadband(MBB).
Oneofthekeystrategictopicsthatoperatorsneedto
decideoniswhichconnectivityoptionstosupportin
thenetworktoaddressthetargetedusecases.
5Gconnectivityoptions
InRelease15,the3GPP[1]hasdefinedmultiple
architecturaloptionsforaUEtoconnecttothe
network,usingLTE/eLTEand/orNRaccessto
connecttoEvolvedPacketCore(EPC)or5GCore
(5GC)networks.Anewuseofdualconnectivityhas
alsobeenappliedtouseLTE/eLTEandNRasthe
masterorsecondaryradioaccesstechnology(RAT)
5Gecosystem
Figure 1 UE connectivity options
Connectivity
option
Core
network
Master
RAT
Secondary
RAT
3GPP term 3GPP release
Option 1 EPC LTE - LTE Rel. 8
Option 3 EPC LTE NR EN-DC Rel. 15, Dec 2017
Option 2 5GC NR - NR Rel. 15, June 2018
Option 4 5GC NR eLTE NE-DC Rel. 15, March 2019
Option 5 5GC eLTE - eLTE Rel. 15, June 2018
Option 7 5GC eLTE NR NGEN-DC Rel. 15, March 2019
indifferentcombinations.Thishasresultedinsix
connectivityoptionsforaUE,asshowninFigure1.
Notethatwhiletheoptionterminologyisnot
explicitlyusedinthe3GPPstandardsspecifications,
itoriginatesfromthe5Gstudyphaseof3GPP
Release15andiswidelyusedintheindustry.
ThesixconnectivityoptionsshowninFigure1
definehowanysingleUEisconnectedtothe
networkatagiventime.Inmostcases,anetworkwill
supportasetofsuchoptionssimultaneously.One
basestationmayhavedifferentUEsconnectedvia
differentconnectivityoptions,aswellasmovinga
UEconnectionbetweentheoptionsdependingon
factorssuchasradioconditions.LegacyLTE/EPC
(option1)isthebaseline,andtheindustryhasan
alignedviewthattheinitial5Gdeploymentsare
basedonoptions3and2.Thenextstep,therefore,
istoestablishindustryalignmentonthepotential
useofoptions4,5and7.
Theneedforindustryalignment
Mobilenetworkoperatorsthatdeploy5Gmustbe
abletosupportUE,radionetwork,corenetworkand
managementproductsthataremanufacturedbya
multitudeofdeviceandnetworkequipmentvendors.
Withmultipleconnectivityoptions,andevenmore
possiblecombinationsofoptions,thereisahighrisk
thatdifferentoperatorswilldeploydifferentoptions,
inadifferentorder.Ifthathappens,chipset,device
andnetworkequipmentvendorsarelikelytoget
contradictoryrequirementsfromdifferentoperators
ormarkets.Thiswouldcausesignificantproductand
integrationcomplexity,aswellascreating
interoperabilityissuesthatprolongthetimeittakes
toestablishacompleteecosystemthatsupportsthe
deployedoptions.
Thecomplexitycausedbyamultitudeofdeployed
connectivityoptionswouldalsohaveanimpacton
theE2Etestingofservicesintheoperatornetwork,
11. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
20 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 21
Figure2illustratestheevolutionofspectrum
usageinanetwork,startingwithLTEdeployedon
sub-1GHzand1–3GHzbands.First,NRisdeployed
on3.5GHzand/ormmWandwithLTEbandsusing
option3.Thenextstepistodeployoption2for
specificusecasesinlocalareas–suchasforFWA
andindustrialdeployments.
ExpandingstandaloneNRcoverage
andcapacity
Whendeployingoption2forwide-areausecases
likeMBB,itisimportanttoensurecontinuousNR
coveragewithinthetargetedarea(initiallyurbanfor
example).SpottyNRcoveragewouldresultinfrequent
mobilityeventsbetweenNRandLTEforwide-area
usecases,eventhoughintersystemmobilitybetween
option2andLTE/EPCwillbewellsupported.For
theseusecases,option2requiresasufficientlylow
NRbandinrelationtothesitegrid.Inmanycases,
thesitegridfora3.5GHzdeploymentwillgivegood
DLcoveragebothoutdoorsandindoors,butnot
enoughULcoverage.NRon3.5GHzshould
thereforetypicallybecombinedwithNRonlow
bandtoprovidecontinuouscoverageinboththeUL
andDL[3].ThelowNRbandcanbenew,refarmed
oranexistingLTEbandthatissharedbetweenNR
andLTE.Withrefarmingorsharing,akeyenableris
thatthespectrumlicenseallowsNRdeployment
(seefactboxonpage4,spectrumregulation).
Tosupportoption2forMBBinanarea,itisalso
advisabletodeployNRinoneormorelegacyLTE
bandsusingLTE-NRspectrumsharing(seefactbox
onpage4,LTE-NRspectrumsharing).Together
withNRonlowandmid/highbands,thismaximizes
thethroughputviaNRcarrieraggregation(CA).
ThisisessentialtoprovidegoodMBBperformance,
especiallyinareaswithoutDLcoveragefromnew
NRbands.WhileNRdeploymentislimited,mobility
tooption2shouldonlybetriggeredwhentheUE
includingbothexistingserviceslikevoiceaswellas
newones.Further,thehigherthenumberofoptions
deployed,themorecomplexandtimeconsumingit
willbefortheoperatorcommunitytoestablish5G
roamingintheindustry.
Networkdeploymentsbasedonoptions3and2
Option3isthebestshort-termalternativefor5G
deployment,asitreliesonexistingLTE/EPC(option
1).Option3willprovidegoodperformancein
severalaspects,allowingoptimizedtransmissionon
NRwhenNRcoverageisgood,extendingNR
downlink(DL)usageonahigherbandbycombining
withalower-bandLTEforuplink(UL)data,and,if
needed,aggregatingthroughputoverbothNRand
LTEspectrum.Italsoprovidesreliableandsmooth
mobilitybasedonanchoringinLTE/EPC,evenif
theNRcoverageisspotty.Theuseofdual
connectivityhas,however,introducedsomechallenges
ontheUEsidewithdualtransmitters,which,insome
cases,willlimitperformanceandcoverage.
Oneofthemaindriversforgoingbeyond
option3istoprovide5GC-enabledcapabilities
likeenhancednetworkslicing,edgecomputing
supportandoperationalbenefits,eventhough
EPCcanalsosupporttheseservicestosome
extent(slicingbasedonDECOR,forexample).
Anothermaindriverforgoingbeyondoption3
istobeabletodeploystandaloneNRandgetthe
radioperformancebenefitsofanNR-onlybased
radiointerface. Option2(standaloneNR)isthefirst
5GC-basedoptionavailableinUEsandnetworks.
EvenifgeneralNRcoverageislimited,option2
caninitiallybedeployedforspecificusecasesin
localareas,wheredevicesstaywithingoodNR
coverageonamidorhighband.Examplesinclude
industrialdeploymentswithultra-reliablelow
latencycommunicationrequirements,andfixed
wirelessaccess(FWA),evenifthelatterisalso
wellservedviaoption3.
Figure 2 Spectrum migration steps for the 5G network
Add option 2
5GC NR SA for local
use cases in mid/high
bands
Option 2 on
wide area
NR in new or existing
low bands with
spectrum sharing/
refarming
NR-NR CA
Extend wide
NR on additional bands
Baseline: option 1
LTE-LTE CA
LTE NR LTE+NR
Add option 3
New NR spectrum on
mid or high bands
LTE-NR DC (EN-DC)
High bands (24GHz–40GHz)
Mid bands (3.5GHz–8GHz)
Mid bands (1GHz–2.6GHz)
Low bands (sub–1GHz)
WITHREFARMINGOR
SHARING,AKEYENABLERIS
THATTHESPECTRUMLICENSE
ALLOWSNRDEPLOYMENT
Key enablers
❭❭ LTE-NR spectrum sharing
3GPP specifications allow efficient sharing of operator spectrum, so that one carrier appears as an NR carrier
to NR UEs, and an LTE carrier to LTE UEs. Resources are pooled and distributed dynamically between the two
RATs, according to instant needs. There is no impact on legacy LTE UEs, and the impact on LTE capacity is very
small. Compared with classic refarming, this provides a smooth migration of spectrum from LTE to NR as
NR-capable UE penetration increases, enabling NR to be rolled out on new and legacy bands.
❭❭ Spectrum regulation
Spectrum is becoming technology neutral in most of the world except for a few markets and frequency bands
where the spectrum license is currently tied to a specific RAT, prohibiting NR to operate in existing frequency
bands.ItisimportantthatregulatorsacknowledgetheneedforNRdeploymentinallbands.Thisisakeyenabler
formigrationtowideareacoverageofserviceslikeMBB/voiceandcMTCover5G,dependingonthepossibility
to deploy NR in lower frequency bands.
❭❭ Dual-mode core network
4G devices will be the major device type and traffic consumer for a long time [2].Inaddition,operatorsare
introducingnew5GdevicesdependingonbothEPC(option3)and5GC(option2). A “dual-mode” core network
with both EPC and 5GC functionality will support the evolving device fleet in the networkandenableasmooth
networktransformation.Toensureservicecoverageduringthemigrationperiod,thedual-modecorenetwork
willprovidetightinterworkingbetweenEPCand5GCforseamless4G-5Gmobility.
14. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
26 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 27
Further reading
❭❭ Ericsson, 5G deployment options, 2018, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/narratives/
networks/documents/5g-deployment-considerations.pdf
❭❭ Ericsson, Core evolution from EPC to 5G Core, download available from: https://pages.digitalservices.
ericsson.com/core-evolution-to-5g
References
1. 3GPP Release 15 specifications, e.g. TS 23.501, TS 38.401, available at: http://www.3gpp.org/release-15
2. Ericsson Mobility Report, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/mobility-report
3. Ericsson Technology Review, November 2018, The advantages of combining 5G NR with LTE, available
at:https://www.ericsson.com/en/ericsson-technology-review/archive/2018/the-advantages-of-combining-5g-nr-
with-lte
theauthors
Torbjörn Cagenius
◆ is a senior expert in
network architecture
at Business Area Digital
Services. He joined Ericsson
in 1990 and has worked
in a variety of technology
areas such as fiber-to-the-
home, main-remote RBS,
fixed-mobile convergence,
IPTV, network architecture
evolution, software-defined
networking and Network
Functions Virtualization. In
his current role, he focuses
on 5G and associated
network architecture
evolution. He holds an M.Sc.
in electrical engineering
from KTH Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm,
Sweden.
Anders Ryde
◆ is a senior expert in
network and service
architecture at Business
Area Digital Services,
based in Sweden. He joined
Ericsson in 1982 and has
worked in a variety of
technology areas in network
and service architecture
developmentformultimedia-
enabled telecommunication,
targeting both enterprise
and residential users. This
includes the evolution of
mobile telephony to IMS and
VoLTE. In his current role, he
focuses on bringing voice
and other communication
services into 5G, general 5G
evolution and associated
network architecture
evolution. He holds an M.Sc.
in electrical engineering
from KTH Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm,
Sweden.
Jari Vikberg
◆ is a senior expert in
network architecture
and the chief network
architect at CTO office.
He joined Ericsson in
1993 and has both wide
and deep technology
competence covering
network architectures for
all generations of RANs and
CNs. He is also skilled in the
application layer and other
domains, and the impact and
relation these have to mobile
networks. He holds an M.Sc.
in computer science from
the University of Helsinki,
Finland.
Per Willars
◆ is an expert in network
architecture and radio
network functionality at
Business Area Networks.
He joined Ericsson in 1991
and has worked intensively
with RAN issues ever since.
This includes leading the
definition of 3G RAN, before
and within the 3GPP, and
more lately indoor solutions.
He has also worked with
service layer research and
explored new business
models. In his current role, he
analyzes the requirements
for 5G RAN (architecture
and functionality) with the
aim of simplifying 5G. He
holds an M.Sc. in electrical
engineering from KTH Royal
Institute of Technology.
Terms and abbreviations
4T4R – 4-Branch Transmit/Receive Antenna and Radio Arrangement | 5GC – 5G Core | 5GS – 5G System |
CA – Carrier Aggregation | cMTC – Critical Machine Type Communication | CN – Core Network | DC – Dual
Connectivity | DECOR – Dedicated Core Network | DL – Downlink | E2E – End-to-end | eLTE – Evolved LTE |
eNB – Evolved Node B | EN-DC – E-UTRA – NR Dual Connectivity | EPC – Evolved Packet Core | FWA – Fixed
Wireless Access | gNB – Next Generation Node B | IoT – Internet of Things | LPWA – Low Power Wide Area |
LTE-M – LTE-MTC Standard | MBB – Mobile Broadband | mMTC – Massive Machine Type Communication |
mmW – Millimeter Wave | NB-IoT – Narrowband Internet of Things | NR – New Radio | RAT – Radio Access
Technology | UE – User Equipment | UL – Uplink
15. ✱ DISTRIBUTED CLOUD DISTRIBUTED CLOUD ✱
28 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 29
ofalargeamountofdatabetweenvehiclesandthe
cloud,oftenwithreal-timecharacteristicswithin
alimitedtimeframewhilethevehicleisinactive
operation.
Highdatavolume
Lookingattheautomotiveindustry,weoftenfocus
onthereal-timeusecasesforsafety,asdefinedby
V2X/C-ITS(vehicletoeverything/cooperative
intelligenttransportsystem),wherereal-time
aspectssuchasshortlatencyarethemostsignificant
requirements.However,theautomotiveindustry’s
newmobilityservicesalsoplacehighdemandson
networkcapacityduetotheextremeamountofdata
thatmustbetransportedtoandfromhighlymobile
devices,oftenwithnear-real-timecharacteristics.
Dataneedstobetransportedwithinalimitedtime
window(~30min/day),withavaryinggeographical
concentrationofvehiclesusingamultitudeof
differentnetworktechnologiesandconditions.
Themarketforecaststhataregenerallyreferred
toindicatethattheglobalnumberofconnected
vehicleswillgrowtoapproximately700millionby
2025andthatthedatavolumetransmittedbetween
Emerging use cases in the automotive industry – as well as in manufacturing
industries where the first phases of the fourth industrial revolution are
taking place – have created a variety of new requirements for networks
and clouds. At Ericsson, we believe that distributed cloud is a key technology
to support such use cases.
CHRISTER BOBERG,
MALGORZATA
SVENSSON,
BENEDEK KOVÁCS
vehiclesandthecloudwillbearound100petabytes
permonth.AtEricsson,however,weanticipatethat
theautomotiveservicesofthenearfuturewillbe
muchmoredemanding.Weestimatethatthedata
trafficcouldreach10exabytesormorepermonthby
2025,whichisapproximately10,000timeslargerthan
thepresentvolume.Gartnerrecentlyraisedthe
expectationsfurtherinitslatestreport(June2018),
estimatingthevolumetobeashighasoneterabyte
permonthpervehicle[1].
Suchmassiveamountsofdatawillplacenew
demandsontheradionetwork,asthemainpartis
ULdata.Newbusinessmodelswillberequired,asa
resultofthehighcostofhandlingmassiveamounts
ofdata.AsexplainedintheAECC(AutomotiveEdge
ComputingConsortium)whitepaper[2],thecurrent
mobilecommunicationnetworkarchitecturesand
conventionalcloudcomputingsystemsarenotfully
optimizedtohandleallofthisdataeffectivelyona
globalscale.Thewhitepapersuggestsmanypossible
optimizationstoconsider–basedontheassumption
thatmuchofthedatacouldbeanalyzedandfiltered
atanearlystagetolimittheamountofdata
transferred.
Both 4G and 5G mobile networks are
designed to enable the fourth industrial
revolution by providing high bandwidth and
low-latency communication on the radio
interface for both downlink (DL) and uplink
(UL) data. Distributed cloud exploits these
features, enabling a distributed execution
environment for applications to ensure
performance, short latency, high reliability
and data locality.
■ Distributedcloudmaintainstheflexibilityof
cloudcomputingwhileatthesametimehidingthe
complexityoftheinfrastructure,withapplication
componentsplacedinanoptimallocationthat
utilizesthekeycharacteristicsofdistributedcloud.
Theautomotivesectorandmanymanufacturing
industriesalreadyhaveusecasesthatmakethem
verylikelytobeearlyadoptersofdistributed
cloudtechnology.
Next-generationautomotiveservices
andtheirrequirements
Mobilecommunicationinvehiclesisincreasing
inimportanceastheautomotiveindustryworks
tomakedrivingsafer,smooththeflowoftraffic,
consumeenergymoreefficientlyandlower
emissions.Automatedandintelligentdriving,
thecreationanddistributionofadvancedmaps
withreal-timedata,andadvanceddrivingassistance
usingcloud-basedanalyticsofULvideostreams
areallexamplesofemergingservicesthatrequire
vehiclestobeconnectedtothecloud.Theseservices
alsorequirenetworksthatcanfacilitatethetransfer
A KEY ENABLER OF AUTOMOTIVE
AND INDUSTRY 4.0 USE CASES
Distributed
cloud
Definition of key terms
❭❭ Distributed cloud is a cloud execution environment for applications that is distributed across multiple sites,
including the required connectivity between them, which is managed as one solution and perceived as such by
the applications.
❭❭ Edge computing refers to the possibility of providing execution resources (compute and storage)
with the adequate connectivity (networking) at close proximity to the data sources.
❭❭ The fourth industrial revolution is considered to be the fourth big step in industry modernization,
enabled by cyber-physical systems, digitalization and ubiquitous connectivity provided by 5G
and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. It is also referred to as Industry 4.0.
16. ✱ DISTRIBUTED CLOUD DISTRIBUTED CLOUD ✱
30 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 31
datalocally.Thisreducesthetotalamountofdata
exchangedbetweenvehiclesandcloudswhile
enablingtheconnectedvehiclestoobtainfaster
responses.Theconceptischaracterizedbythree
keyaspects:alocalizednetwork,edgecomputing
anddataexposure.
Alocalizednetworkisalocalnetworkthatcovers
alimitednumberofconnectedvehiclesinacertain
area.Thissplitsthehugeamountofdatatrafficinto
reasonablevolumesperareaofdatatrafficbetween
vehiclesandtheclouds.
Edgecomputingreferstothegeographical
distributionofcomputationresourceswithinthe
vicinityoftheterminationofthelocalizednetworks.
Thisreducestheconcentrationofcomputationand
shortenstheprocessingtimeneededtoconclude
atransactionwithaconnectedvehicle.
Dataexposuresecuresintegrationofthedata
producedlocallybyutilizingthecombinationofthe
localizednetworkandthedistributedcomputation.
Bynarrowingrelevantinformationdowntoa
specificarea,datacanberapidlyprocessedto
integrateinformationandnotifyconnectedvehicles
inrealtime.Theamountofdatathatneedstobe
exchangediskepttoaminimum.
Privateandlocalconnectivity
Aspartofthefourthindustrialrevolution,industry
verticalsandcommunicationserviceproviders
(CSPs)aredefiningasetofnewusecasesfor5G[3].
Privatedeploymentsand5Gnetworksprovidedby
CSPstomanufacturingcompanies,smartcitiesand
otherdigitalindustriesareonthehorizonaswell.
However,therearetwomainchallengestomobile
networkoperators’abilitytodeliver.Thefirstisthe
toughlatency,reliabilityandsecurityrequirements
ofthesenewusecases.Thesecondisfiguringout
howtoshieldtheindustriesfromthecomplexity
oftheinfrastructure,toenableeaseofusewhen
programmingandoperatingnetworks.
Secureprivatenetworkswith
centralizedoperations
Securityanddataprivacyarekeyrequirements
forindustrialnetworks.Insomecases,regulations
orcompanypoliciesstipulatethatthedatamust
notleavetheenterprisepremises.Inothercases,
someorallofthedatamustbeavailableatremote
locationsforpurposessuchasproductionanalytics
oremergencyprocedures.Atypicalindustrial
environmenthasmultipleapplicationsdeployedand
operatedbydifferentthirdparties.Whatthismeans
inpracticeisthatthesameon-premises,cloud-edge
instancethatafactoryalreadyusesforbusiness
supportandITsystemswouldalsoneedtosupport
theconnectivityforitsrobotstointeractwitheach
other.Asaresult,thereisarequirementofmulti-
tenancyforboththedevicesandtheinfrastructure.
Tactileinternetandaugmentedreality
Augmentedreality(AR)andmachinelearning(ML)
technologiesarewidelyrecognizedasthemain
pillarsofthedigitalizationofindustries[4],and
researchsuggeststhatwidedeploymentof
interactivemediaapplicationswillhappenon5G
networks.Manyobserversenvisiontheworker
oftomorrowassomeonewhoisequippedwith
eye-trackingsmartglasses[5]andtactilegloves
ratherthanscrewdriversets[6].Human-to-machine
applicationsrequirelowlatencywhiledemanding
highnetworkbandwidthandheavycompute
resources.Runningthemonthedeviceitself
wouldresultinhighbatteryconsumptionandheat
dissipation.Atthesametime,latencyrequirements
donotallowtherunningofthecompleteapplication
inlargecentraldatabasesduetothephysicallimits
oflightspeedinopticalfibers.
Topology-awarecloudcomputingandstorageis
anexampleofonesuchsolutionthatprovideswhat
wecallaglobalautomotivedistributededgecloud.
Thelimitationontheamountofdatathatcanbe
effectivelytransportedoverthecellularnetwork
mustnotbeallowedtoaffecttheserviceexperience
negatively,asthatwouldhindertheevolutionofnew
automotiveservices.Itisthereforenecessaryto
increasecapacity,availabilityandcoverageaswellas
findingappropriatemechanismstolimittheamount
ofdatatransferred.Orchestratingapplicationsand
theirdifferentcomponentsrunninginamultitudeof
differentcloudsfromdifferentvendorsisoneofthe
challenges.Vehiclesconnectingtonetworkswithout
anexistingapplicationedgeinfrastructureis
another.
Theplacementofapplicationcomponentsat
edgesdependsonthebehavioroftheapplication
andtheavailableinfrastructureresources.
Whendealingwithhighlymobiledevicesthat
connecttoamultitudeofnetworks,itmustbe
possibletomoveexecutionoftheedgeapplication
automaticallywhenamoreappropriatelocation
forthevehicleisdiscovered.Someapplications
requiretransferofpreviouslyanalyzeddataand
findingstothenewlocation,whereanewapplication
componentinstancewillseamlesslytakeovertoserve
themovingvehicle.
Distributedcomputingonalocalizednetwork
Wehavedevelopedtheconceptofdistributed
computingonalocalizednetworktosolvethe
problemsofdataprocessingandtrafficinexisting
mobileandcloudsystems.Inthisconcept,several
localizednetworksaccommodatetheconnectivity
ofvehiclesintheirrespectiveareasofcoverage.
AsshowninFigure1,computationpowerisadded
totheselocalizednetworks,sothattheycanprocess
Figure 1 High-volume data automotive services and their characteristics
Local Regional
Regional DCLocal DC
MTSO
MTSO
MTSO
H
National DC
National sitesLocal and regional sites
Service exposure
HD maps HD maps
Data exposure for automotive services
Access sites
Hub sites
Video stream
ECU sensors
HD maps
Video stream
ECU sensors
HD maps
Mobile
telephone
switching office
Intelligent driving Intelligent driving
Advanced driver
assistance
Advanced driver
assistance
Huge
amount
of data
INDUSTRYVERTICALS
ANDCOMMUNICATION
SERVICEPROVIDERSARE
DEFININGASETOFNEW
USECASESFOR5G
17. ✱ DISTRIBUTED CLOUD DISTRIBUTED CLOUD ✱
32 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 33
models.Oneexampleofapossiblescenarioisfora
CSPtoofferconnectivityandacloudexecution
environmenttoenterprisesasaservice.Inthiscase,
aCSPmanagesthecomputationandconnectivity
resources,butthesearelocatedattheenterprise
premises.Theapplicationcharacteristicsdetermine
theplacementofapplicationsatvariousgeolocations.
InthecaseofAR/VRandimagerecognition
applicationsusedbytechnicianstofixabroken
powerstation,forexample,itwouldbemosteffective
toplacethemclosetothebrokenpowerstation.
Edgecomputing
Ourdistributedcloudsolutionenablesedge
computing,whichmanyapplicationsrequire.
Wedefineedgecomputingastheabilitytoprovide
executionresources(specificallycomputeand
storage)withadequateconnectivityatclose
proximitytothedatasources.
Intheautomotiveusecase,thenetworkis
designedtosplitdatatrafficintoseverallocations
thatcoverreasonablenumbersofconnected
vehicles.Thecomputationresourcesare
hierarchicallydistributedandlayeredinatopology-
awarefashiontoaccommodatelocalizeddataandto
allowlargevolumesofdatatobeprocessedina
timelymanner.Inthisinfrastructureframework,
localizeddatacollectedvialocalandwidearea
networksisstoredinthecentralcloudandintegrated
AsimpleARapplicationanditsmaincomponents
areshowninFigure2.Thecomponentsofthe
applicationcouldbeexecutedeitheronthedevice
itself,theedgeserverorinthecentralcloud.
Deployingapplicationcomponentsatthenetwork
edgemaymakeitpossibletooffloadthedevicewhile
maintainingshortlatency.Edgecomputeisalso
optimizingtheflowwhencoordinationisrequired–
forexample,whenusingmultiplereal-timecamera
feedstodeterminethe3Dpositionofobjects,also
asshowninFigure2.Furthermore,advancedcloud
softwareasaservice–ML,analyticsandDBsasa
service,forexample–mayalsobeprovidedonthe
edgesite.
Ourdistributedcloudsolution
Ericssonhasdevelopedadistributedcloudsolution
thatprovidestherequiredcapabilitiestosupport
theusecasesofthefourthindustrialrevolution,
includingprivateandlocalizednetworks.Our
solutionsatisfiesthespecificsecurityrequirements
neededtodigitalizeindustrialoperations,with
automotivebeingoneofthekeyusecases.Ericsson’s
distributedcloudsolutionprovidesedgecomputing
andmeetsend-to-endnetworkrequirementsaswell
asofferingmanagement,orchestrationandexposure
forthenetworkandcloudresourcestogether.
AsshowninFigure3,wedefinethedistributed
cloudasacloudexecutionenvironmentthatis
geographicallydistributedacrossmultiplesites,
includingtherequiredconnectivityinbetween,
managedasoneentityandperceivedassuchby
applications.Thekeycharacteristicofour
distributedcloudisabstractionofcloud
infrastructureresources,wherethecomplexityof
resourceallocationishiddentoauserorapplication.
Ourdistributedcloudsolutionisbasedonsoftware-
definednetworking,NetworkFunctions
Virtualization(NFV)and3GPPedgecomputing
technologiestoenablemulti-accessandmulti-cloud
capabilitiesandunlocknetworkstoprovideanopen
platformforapplicationinnovations.Inthe
managementdimension,distributedcloudoffers
automateddeploymentinheterogeneousclouds.
ThiscouldbeprovidedbymultipleCSPs,where
workloadplacementispolicydrivenandbased
onvariousexternalizedcriteria.
Toenablemonetizationandapplicationinnovation,
distributedcloudcapabilitiesareexposedon
marketplacesprovidedbyEricsson,thirdparties
andCSPs.Thedistributedcloudcapabilitiescanbe
offeredaccordingtovariousbusinessandoperational Figure 3 Distributed cloud architecture
Service and resource orchestration
Any workload
Access sites
Local and regional DC sites
National sites
Anywhere in the network End-to-end orchestration
Marketplace
Service exposure
Global clouds
Public
safety
Automotive
FWA
Factory
Video
streaming
Metering
APP
APP
VNF
VNF
APP
APP
APP
VNF
VNF
VNF
VNF
VNFVNF
Figure 2 An AR application and its modules optimized for edge computing
Capturing Preprocessing Object detection
feature extraction
Recognition
database match DB
Display Tracking and
annotation
Position
estimation
Template
matching
IoT device/user equipment
-20ms
BW reduction
-20ms/frame
Computation heavy
-20ms Computation heavy
Multiple device
data aggregation
-100ms
Requires access
to central storage
Edge site National site
OURDISTRIBUTED
CLOUDSOLUTIONENABLES
EDGECOMPUTING,WHICH
MANYAPPLICATIONS
REQUIRE
19. ✱ DISTRIBUTED CLOUD DISTRIBUTED CLOUD ✱
36 #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEWERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019 37
Further reading
❭❭ Ericsson Consumer IndustryLab, 5G business value: A case study on real-time control in
manufacturing, April 2018, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/reports/5g_for_industries_
report_blisk_27062018.pdf
❭❭ Ericsson, Turn on 5G: Ericsson completes 5G Platform for operators, February 8, 2018, available at:
https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2018/2/turn-on-5g-ericsson-completes-5g-platform-for-operators
❭❭ Ericsson, Going beyond edge computing with distributed cloud, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/
digital-services/trending/distributed-cloud
❭❭ Ericsson/KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Resource monitoring in a Network Embedded Cloud:
An extension to OSPF-TE, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/publications/conference-
papers/03-cloud-ospf-camera-ready.pdf
❭❭ M2 Optics Inc., Calculating Optical Fiber Latency, January 9, 2012, Miller, K, available at:
http://www.m2optics.com/blog/bid/70587/Calculating-Optical-Fiber-Latency
❭❭ Application function placement optimization in a mobile distributed cloud environment, Anna Peale,
Péter Kiss, Charles Ferrari, Benedek Kovács, László Szilágyi, Melinda Tóth, in Studia Informatica -
Issue no. 2/2018, pp37-52, available at: http://www.studia.ubbcluj.ro/arhiva/abstract_en.
php?editie=INFORMATICAnr=2an=2018id_art=15974
References
1. TelecomTV, Gartner says 5G networks have a paramount role in autonomous vehicle connectivity,
June 21, 2018, available at: https://www.telecomtv.com/content/tracker/gartner-says-5g-networks-have-a-
paramount-role-in-autonomous-vehicle-connectivity-31356/
2. AECC White Paper, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/2014/consumerlab/liberation-from-
location-ericsson-consumerlab.pdf
3. Government Technology, Making 5G a Reality Means Building Partnerships — Not Just Networks,
June 5, 2018, Descant, S, available at: http://www.govtech.com/network/Making-5G-a-Reality-Means-
Building-Partnerships--Not-Just-Networks.html
4. Wired, Eye tracking is coming to VR sooner than you think. What now?, March 23, 2018, Rubin, P,
available at: https://www.wired.com/story/eye-tracking-vr/
5. Think Act, Digital factories – The renaissance of the U.S. automotive industry, Berger, R, available at:
https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Publications/pub_digital_factories.html
6. Ericsson, Technology Trends 2018, Five technology trends augmenting the connected society, 2018,
Ekudden, E, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/ericsson-technology-review/archive/2018/technology-
trends-2018
7. Ericsson Technology Review, Open, intelligent and model-driven: evolving OSS, February 7, 2018,
Agarwal, M; Svensson, M; Terrill, S; Wallin, J, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/ericsson-technology-
review/archive/2018/open-intelligent-and-model-driven-evolving-oss
8. 5G-ACIA, 5G for Connected Industries and Automation, April 11, 2018, available at: https://www.5g-acia.
org/publications/5g-for-connected-industries-and-automation-white-paper/
theauthors
Malgorzata
Svensson
◆ is an expert in operations
support systems. She
joined Ericsson in 1996
and has worked in various
areas within research and
development. For the past
10 years, her work has
focused on architecture
evolution. Svensson
has broad experience in
business process, function
and information modeling,
information and cloud
technologies, analytics,
DevOps processes and tool
chains. She holds an M.Sc. in
technology from the Silesian
University of Technology in
Gliwice, Poland.
Christer Boberg
◆ serves as a director
at Ericsson’s CTO office,
responsible for IoT
technology strategies
aimed at solving networking
challenges for the industry
on a global scale. He initially
joined Ericsson in 1983 and
has in his career within and
outside Ericsson focused on
software and system design
as a developer, architect and
technical expert. In recent
years, Boberg’s work has
centered on IoT and cloud
technologies with a special
focus on the automotive
industry. As part of this
work, he drives the AECC
consortium together with
industry leading companies.
Benedek Kovács
◆ joined Ericsson in 2005
as a software developer and
tester, and later worked as
a system engineer. He was
the innovation manager
of the Budapest RD site
2011-13, where his primary
role was to establish an
innovative organizational
culture and launch internal
startups based on worthy
ideas. Kovács went on to
serve as the characteristics,
performance management
and reliability specialist in
the development of the 4G
VoLTE solution. Today he
is working on 5G networks
and distributed cloud, as
well as coordinating global
engineering projects. He
holds an M.Sc. in information
engineering and Ph.D. in
mathematics from the
Budapest University of
Technology and Economics
in Hungary.
Theauthorswould
liketothank
thefollowing
peoplefortheir
contributions
tothisarticle:
CarlosBravo,
AlaNazari,
StefanRuneson,
OlaHubertsson,
ThorstenLohmar
andTomas
Nylander.
Terms and abbreviations
AECC – Automotive Edge Computing Consortium | API – Application Programming Interface |
APP – Application | AR – Augmented Reality | BW – Bandwidth | CSP – Communication Service Provider
| DB – Database | DC – Data Center | ECU – Engine Control Unit |ETSI – European Telecommunications
Standards Institute | FWA – Fixed Wireless Access | IoT – Internet of Things | ML – Machine Learning |
MS – Millisecond | MTSO – Mobile Telephone Switching Office | NFV– Network Functions Virtualization |
UL – Uplink | VNF – Virtual Network Function | VR – Virtual Reality | V2X/C-ITS – Vehicle-to-everything/
Cooperative Intelligent Transport System
20. #01 2019 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 3938 ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ #01 2019
Industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial revolution – is already transforming the
manufacturing industry, with the vision of highly efficient, connected and
flexible factories of the future quickly becoming a reality in many sectors.
Fully connected factories will rely on cloud technologies, as well as connectivity
based on Ethernet Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and wireless 5G radio.
JOACHIM SACHS,
KENNETH WALLSTEDT,
FREDRIK ALRIKSSON,
GÖRAN ENEROTH
Automation(5G-ACIA)[2]showthatindustries
recognizethisneedfor5Gtechnology.
ThelowersectionofFigure1isoftenreferred
toastheoperationaltechnology(OT)partofthe
manufacturingplant,comprisingboththefield
level(industrialdevicesandcontrollers)andthe
manufacturingexecutionsystem.Thetopsection
istheinformationtechnology(IT)part,madeup
ofgeneralenterpriseresourceplanning.For
connectivityatfieldlevel,avarietyoffieldbusand
industrialEthernettechnologiesaretypicallyused.
EthernetandIParewellestablishedcommunication
protocolsathigherlevels(ITandthetoppartofOT).
TheOTnetworkdomainiscurrentlydominated
(90percent)bywiredtechnologies[3]andisa
heavilyfragmentedmarketwithtechnologiessuchas
PROFIBUS,PROFINET,EtherCAT,Sercosand
Modbus.Currentlydeployedwirelesssolutions
(whicharetypicallywirelessLANbasedusing
unlicensedspectrum)constituteonlyasmallfraction
The goal of Industry 4.0 is to maximize
efficiency by creating full transparency
across all processes and assets at all times.
Achieving this requires communication
between goods, production systems, logistics
chains, people and processes throughout
a product’s complete life cycle, spanning
everything from design, ordering,
manufacturing, delivery and field
maintenance to recycling and reuse.
The integration of 5G ultra-reliable
low-latency communication (URLLC) in the
manufacturing process has great potential
to accelerate the transformation of the
manufacturing industry and make smart
factories more efficient and productive.
■ Today’sstate-of-the-artfactoriesare
predominantlybuiltonahierarchicalnetworkdesign
thatfollowstheindustrialautomationpyramid,as
showninFigure1.Thefourthindustrialrevolution
willrequireatransitionfromthissegmentedand
hierarchicalnetworkdesigntowardafullyconnected
one.Thistransition,incombinationwiththe
introductionof5Gwirelesscommunication
technology,willprovideveryhighflexibilityin
buildingandconfiguringproductionsystemson
demand.Theabilitytoextractmoreinformationfrom
themanufacturingprocessandfeeditintoadigital
representationknownasthe“digitaltwin”[1]enables
moreadvancedplanningprocesses,includingplant
simulationandvirtualcommissioning.Initiativeslike
the5GAllianceforConnectedIndustriesand
Figure 1 Hierarchical network design based on the industrial automation pyramid
IT domain
OT domain
Field level
Enterprise
resource
planning
Manufacturing
execution
system
GW GWIndustrial
controllers
Industrial
devices
Definition of key terms
❭❭ Ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) refers to a 5G service category that provides the ability
to successfully deliver a message within a specified latency bound with a specified reliability, such as delivering
a message within 1ms with a probability of 99.9999 percent.
❭❭ The fourth industrial revolution is considered to be the fourth big step in industry modernization, enabled by
cyber-physical systems, digitalization and ubiquitous connectivity provided by 5G and Internet of Things (IoT)
technologies. It is also referred to as Industry 4.0.
smart
manufacturingWITH 5G WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY
BOOSTING
FEATURE ARTICLE – 5G AND SMART MANUFACTURING ✱✱ FEATURE ARTICLE – 5G AND SMART MANUFACTURING