The path to payback

DECK In June, Huawei wireless exec Eric Zhao took questions from the media at MWC Shanghai. The topic: how 5.5G would improve coverage and customer experience—allowing operators to recoup and monetize their network investments more quickly.

In your presentation this morning, you mentioned "three natives." What are they, and what’s their significance for the evolution of 5G and 5.5G networks?

Eric Zhao: The three natives are native 10Gbps, native green, and native intelligence.

First, 5.5G is supposed to deliver a better experience and faster speed, so we need the 10Gbps to be in place. Second, as 5.5G networks get faster, we’ll need to manage rising energy consumption. That makes “native green” a critical feature of 5.5G networks. Native green means we must think about how to save energy on the very first day of a network and equipment design.

The third critical feature will be native intelligence. In the future, operators will need intelligence to cope with increased network complexity. We believe native intelligence is a key feature of our solution design. That means we bring intelligence to the wireless networks so that efficiency and precision can be improved, reducing carriers’ operating expenses.

Global telecom operators need spectrum to build a quality 5G-A network. What is Huawei's plan to help them maximize the value of network spectrum?

Eric Zhao: More wireless bands are being identified for wireless networks. There are existing bands, such as sub-3 Gigahertz, and we expect new bands, such as TDD, featuring high bandwidth. In the future, we may also see the adoption of millimeter wave and new 6GHz bands. These resources are all available for 5.5G network deployment.

To maximize the value of existing and future bands of spectrum, Huawei has designed solutions and products possessing several key capabilities. First is the ultra-wide band capability. That means we can have one piece of equipment supporting more bands. As a result, the Capex [capital expenditure] and OpEx [operating expenditure] of telecom operators can be reduced.

The second key technology is beamforming technology. Beamforming allows a base station to extend its coverage area without increasing its power consumption. That lets us provide better coverage and a better customer experience, more sustainably.  

Third, although equipment is introduced to a site, we can still keep the site small. That reduces ongoing operating costs for our carrier customers, while potentially shrinking the site's carbon footprint.

What are Huawei's views on the commercial realization of 5G-Advanced, and in what areas do you expect to see the first wave of commercial upsurge?

Eric Zhao: 5.5G can deliver 10 times the network speed as 5G. That means it can provide 10Gbps, allowing consumers to access more advanced services.

The second domain will be the home connection. 5.5G will provide what we call premium home broadband. It's able to improve an experience even better than fiber. This will support telecom operators in providing more home services.

Apart from basic connectivity, 5.5G will upgrade the capability of the IoT, allowing faster and more diverse connections.

An example will be connecting industries. The high bandwidth, high reliability, and low latency of 5.5G will make it possible for wireless technology to become a part of core production, accelerating the digitalization and intelligent transformation of manufacturers.

Another example will be the connections to the Internet of Vehicles. 5.5G will enable vehicles to become intelligent.

Does Huawei have any estimate for when it will deploy 6G?

Eric Zhao: Generally speaking, the wireless industry believes that only after 2030 will we see 6G networks being deployed at trial.

But the industry has never stopped preparing for the future of 5G. We are busy preparing technologies and specifications. Huawei works with industry, our customers, and our partners to continuously improve spectral efficiency and energy efficiency so, that we can get ready for the 6G future.

I’m curious about 5G-A’s business success. What's the expected payback for operators?

Eric Zhao: Monetization of any generation of wireless technology will always be important. With 5G, higher speed and more connections are enabled. That already allows telecom operators to monetize wireless technology. Then, when 5GA is available, stronger network capabilities, more connections, and more business domains will be possible. That will help to shorten the payback period of the 5G investment.

No matter what kind of evolution roadmap a telecom operator chooses, their goal will always be building a higher quality network with lower costs. Do you think 5GA can achieve this vision? Also, what role do you think intelligence plays in this situation?

Eric Zhao: 5G-A provides more native technologies to simplify the network, enabling operators to provide high bandwidth, low latency, and greater efficiency.

Compared with the past 2G, 3G, and 4G, we have already achieved significant progress in this domain.

Huawei has already paid attention to these topics and made efforts to introduce intelligence into wireless networks to lower costs. We have also introduced Intelligent RAN 2.0, a new solution that leverages a large telecom model in the cloud. It will collaborate effectively with the digital twin of the wireless network. This collaboration will support telecom operators by allowing them to provide new services faster, identify network faults more rapidly, and improve overall efficiency.