The next big thing in cellular technology is inching closer out of the lab. Commercial services related to 5G are not expected until 2020, but demos, trials and work on specifications all start within the next few months.

The 3GPPP that defines 3G and LTE standards will start work on a 5G standard in December, initially modelling channel performance for frequencies above 6GHz. Many companies already have ideas for key pieces of a spec, such as a new air interface standard. A final standard is expected sometime in 2018.

Field trails will start as early as 2016. They will gradually build up to the 2018 Olympics in Korea, which is expected to be the first full blown public demo of a pre-standard version of 5G networks.

"We see 2015 as the transition from research to standardisation," said Peter Merz, head of radio systems research at Nokia Networks, which has formed its own concept of a good 5G air interface.

So far, 5G demos have been limited to single, isolated technologies. But at the Mobile World Congress in February vendors are expected to show multiple 5G technologies, and there are plenty of them cooking in the lab.

5G is expected to deliver a basket full of new capabilities including maximum date rates of as much as 10Gb/s or 20Gb/s, probably confined to dense urban areas. It may operate at millimetre or even centimetre frequencies of 30GHz to 300GHz and support M2M networks with latencies as low as a millisecond or even a few hundred microseconds, bringing new capabilities in industry automation. The features will support a diverse range of uses and include support for software-defined networks and network virtualisation.

Like many aspects of the 5G spec, the air interface needs to be flexible working across a range of centimetre and millimetre frequencies, said Merz. He believes it should be based on: orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms and access schemes using unpaired bands; frequency bands ranging from 3GHz to 40GHz; a flexible numerology and dynamic time shifting to create flexible up/downlinks; and control channels that quickly signal terminals when services need low latency.

"And it must be forward compatible because you don't want to limit yourself with decisions now," Merz said.

Top base station providers hammered out many of their ideas for air interfaces in Europe's Metis project. In addition, some operators have their own ideas, Merz said.

"Like concept cars we all have designs in mind, and we know they will not be the final outcome because it's a contribution-driven process' the devil is in the details," he said.

By: DocMemory
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