ADVERTORIAL: Ubiquitous connectivity is essential in our modern world. As individuals, we need it to work, to learn, and to engage with many kinds of public and private services via the mobile devices we carry around. Industry requires reliable, secure communications as smart system monitoring and powerful automation transforms modern manufacturing. These intelligent, often privately networked, systems expand and improve manufacturing efficiency. This transition to highly connected, data-driven industrial production capabilities, powered by IoT, AI, and advanced robotics, creates the flexible, efficient, and sustainable smart factories needed for our collective future.

However, to achieve this level of ubiquitous connectivity the communications industry must address some significant challenges. The industry has made strides towards lowering its carbon footprint and maximizing infrastructure cost efficiencies, but the energy consumption and level of investment required to expand 5G infrastructure and in the future 6G, will be considerable, and demand new effective solutions. Innovators must work closely together to reduce energy usage to meet the industry’s carbon footprint goals.

Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are focused on significant energy savings across their Radio Access Network (RAN), which consumes the most energy of any part of a mobile network. The rollout of 5G provides operators an opportunity to modernize their existing networks with tools and capabilities such as AI and machine learning (ML), in addition to automation solutions, to increase energy efficiency of existing and new spectrums.

The transformative Telco to Techco journey

Network architectures are becoming more virtualized with 5G, but the advantages of virtualization do not apply to the Radio Unit (RU). The virtual world must connect with the real world at some point and that happens at the RU. Along with the launch of 5G, a new ecosystem is emerging around O-RAN, enabling disaggregation of the network so that operators have more vendor choice in how they construct their networks. But as usual, more choice means more complexity.

Analog Devices’ role is to tame this complexity. We work to achieve this by collaborating closely with our customers and partners to co-create new connectivity advancements that offer a complete and highly efficient signal chain and power solutions so RU designers can more rapidly bring their platform portfolios to market, while reducing RU energy consumption.

Realistically, the move to more virtualization and O-RAN are not immediate transitions. Instead, they are longer multi-step evolutionary paths which telcos are just beginning to forge. Nevertheless, to make this new open ecosystem work for everyone, we must solve these technology challenges and provide a platform that can handle different products. O-RAN needs innovations in the

communications ecosystem, and radio technology is essential for making these improvements. By combining RUs that are more integrated, simpler, and more accessible, we can make it easier for new players to step in and create new value.

Collaborative co-creation is the common thread

ADI has been a leading contributor to the development of each previous generation of wireless networks. This leadership is built from our RF expertise, with knowledge extending across the entire RU system. We have created integrated hardware, firmware and low PHY that has been tested and verified at system level to enable faster data conversion and communication. This empowers our customers to create the most energy efficient and advanced RUs in the world.

We are harnessing this experience to meet the specific demands of 5G network technology, creating a completely new communications architecture in the form of a software-defined RF transceiver family. This technology integrates the complex signal chain into a single microchip.

“ADI’s deep industry expertise transcends beyond components. We’re focused on tackling a whole system-based challenge,” says Joe Barry, Vice-President of Systems and Technology Cloud and Communications, at Analog Devices. “We have a level of system architecture knowledge, along with a very strong portfolio of core technology, which allows us to address the challenges of RU energy, size, and cost in building 5G cell sites in an efficient way.”

Demonstrating our technology

Join us at MWC 2024 in Barcelona, where ADI will showcase and demo the wide variety of radio products that use our solutions from customers and partners such as Vodafone, NEC, Intel, EdgeQ, and Benetel. From Small Cells to massive MIMO, in-building networks and macro deployments across the entire usable RF spectrum, Analog Devices has a solution to offer.

Working with Vodafone, Analog Devices will demonstrate energy savings using embedded features in ADI’s RadioVerse® Transceiver SoC. By capturing micro-second gaps in transmissions, the ADRV904x can reduce RU energy consumption by more than 40%, without incremental technology or expense.

We’ll also be showing how New Edge Signal Solutions leveraged ADI’s 8T8R Open RAN Radio Unit Platform to win the top Mobility prize at the NTIA’s 5G  Challenge, while simultaneously commercializing the design into  a production ready solution for a major OEM customer within 12 months.

We are also presenting an integrated 4G, 5G, WiFi plug and play small cell, complete with single chip multi-mode L1 Physical Layer and interoperable L2/L3 software stack from Blinq Networks and EdgeQ. Customers can leverage this converged solution, which can be upgraded over-the-air, to realize compelling unit economics at half the cost and using 33% less energy.

To see all our latest developments, come and visit ADI’s booth at, Hall 2, booth #2B18, from February 26 – 29.

Sharing our thought leadership

ADI’s senior executives will be participating across a number of speaking opportunities during the show.

Cloud and Intelligent Edge: Shaping the Future of 4IR
Tuesday, February 27
14:45 to 15:45
Stage A

Join Martin Cotter, President of EMEA and SVP of Industrial & Multi-Markets at ADI, as he takes the stage at MWC alongside Aurelien Le Sant, CTO and SVP Innovation & Technology Industrial Automation from Schneider Electric. They will share their vision on the future of industrial networking, how wireless connectivity will help complement sustainability metrics in digital factories, and the technological advances required to meet the expected growth in connectivity demands.

ADI Partner Programme – The Dawn of Industrial 5G
Wednesday, February 28
10:00 to 10:35
Partner Theatre 2, Hall 8

Joe Barry, VP Marketing, Systems & Technology, Cloud & Communications BU at Analog Devices is joined on stage by Dr. Andreas Mueller, 5G and 6G Leader at Bosch, who will present a concise yet comprehensive overview of the past, present and future of Industrial 5G and the primary challenges that need addressing to enhance its adoption and effectiveness.

Register now: https://analog.swoogo.com/ADIatMWC2024

ADI Partner Programme – The Business of 5G: Driving 5G Monetization Opportunities
Wednesday, February 28
11:00 to 12:05
Partner Theatre 2, Hall 8

This panel session will host a range of speakers, moderated by Dan Littmann from Deloitte, as they discuss burgeoning opportunities from the latest 3GPP developments, delving into the extraordinary potential that lies ahead for 5G monetization.

Panel:

  • Nokia: Mark Atkinson, SVP & BU Head of Radio Access Networks
  • Dell: John McCready, Senior Director, 5G Solutions Product Management
  • DISH: Sidd Chenumolu, VP of Technology Development
  • ADI: Andy McLean, Corporate VP, Communications & Cloud
  • MNO: Azita Arvani, Former CEO Rakuten Symphony NA, Board Member, Entrepreneur
  • Deloitte: Dan Littmann, Principal, Technology, Media & Telecommunications

Register now: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/agenda/sessions/4487-the-business-of-5g-driving-5g-monetization-opportunities-panel

We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona!