International. The 4G Wireless Industry Association Americas, which represents LTE technology and its post-5G evolution, announced the publication of a new report from Rysavy Research called, LTE and 5G Innovation: Igniting Mobile Broadband. The report outlines the latest developments in mobile broadband technology towards 5G.
LTE will provide the foundations of mobile broadband as the industry moves towards the next generation (5G). Globally, LTE more than doubled its presence in mobile connections – from 313 million in Q2 2014 to 758 million in Q2 2015, and the number of deployments grew from 373 to 425 commercial networks in the same span. First launched in 2013, LTE-Advanced comprises multiple technological innovations in 3GPP standards, and there are already 88 commercial LTE-Advanced networks in 45 countries.
Here are some salient points made by the report:
LTE-Advanced innovations such as Carrier Aggregation, Optimized Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (eICIC), Self-Organized Networks (SON), and Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission and Reception (CoMP) are all capabilities to be released soon to improve performance, efficiency, and capacity. Operators are also beginning to deploy Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) to reduce network costs and simplify the deployment of new services. Such improvements also facilitate cloud Radio Access Networks (RANs), which promise greater efficiency gains.
Small cells could play an increasingly important role in increasing capacity, benefiting from a number of developments, including SON, eICIC, enhanced backhaul options, LTE Wi-Fi Aggregation (LWA), UNlicensed LTE (LTE-U), and Licensed LTE Assisted Access (LTE-LAA).
More spectrum remains a critical global priority. There are a number of promising initiatives in U.S. markets – television incentive auctions by spectrum at 600 MHz, the 3.5 GHz band for small cells, more unlicensed spectrum at 5GHz – but only if the government implements appropriate policy measures.
Research and development efforts for 5G accelerated and deployment could begin around 2020 and continue until 2030. However, there is a lot of work to be done before 5G becomes a reality. If it takes advantage of new spectrum, such as millimeter wave bands above 30 GHz, 5G could access ten times more spectrum than is currently available for cellular operation. Many 5G functionalities can be implemented as innovations to LTE-Advanced prior to the full availability of 5G.
Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas, said, "From an evolution standpoint, LTE and LTE-Advanced have a robust technology roadmap for improved performance that will lend a significant hand in building the foundations of 5G in 2020 and beyond. This Rysavy report comprehensively outlines the transformation that LTE mobile broadband will go through in the coming years as it approaches 5G, which requires advanced technology, development and regulatory initiatives to lead us to the next generation of wireless technology."
The white paper LTE and 5G Innovation: Igniting Mobile Broadband, and its corresponding slide presentation, was developed in collaboration with Rysavy Research by 4G Americas member companies and is available for free download on www.4gamericas.org. The work is highly recommended for anyone actively involved in the mobile industry, such as government and regulatory officials, industry and media analysts, mobile ecosystem professionals, and research and academics.
