LIVE FROM HUAWEI GLOBAL ANALYST SUMMIT 2015: The gap in performance between current LTE networks and the requirements of future 5G networks means that the new technology is a “revolution, instead of an evolution of today’s 4G network,” Yang Chaobin (pictured), CMO of Huawei’s wireless network unit, stated.

“If look at the requirement of today’s LTE network, and the requirement of the 5G network, we can see that there is a huge gap in terms of latency, throughput, number of connections per square kilometre, mobility and network architecture,” he said.

4.5G
But that doesn’t mean that 4G is a dead end, reckons the Huawei man, who noted that technology developed for 5G networks can be implemented in the LTE environment. “Today’s LTE network will continue to keep improving, and we will continue to enhance the network capabilities. But that’s not 5G, that’s 4.5G,” the executive said.

Nevertheless, this evolutionary step will be a necessary one in moving the industry forward. “All kinds of new applications can be introduced in the evolution of the 4.5G network, to help forge a new market for 5G,” Yang said.

Huawei’s view of the demands of 5G technology are shared with other industry players, such as the need to make the most of fragmented and diverse spectrum allocations, and the need to meet the requirements of players in vertical markets beyond the telco space. And the development of a new air interface forms “the most important part” in this.

While much of what 5G will offer comes through the adoption of technologies such as MIMO and small cells, the executive said that the technology should also offer an upgrade on a “like-for-like” basis.

“For the same applications that are run on today’s 4G network, if in a certain area the number of sites remain unchanged, if the number of antenna remains unchanged, and the amount of bandwidth remains unchanged, the capacity needs to increase at least three times. If the current network architecture remains unchanged, if operators upgrade from 4G technology to 5G technology, then their network capacity can be increased by at least three times,” he said.

Speaking in Shenzhen this week, Yang said that “by the end of last year, we had already finished some of the key technology research, and we have already finished verification in the lab. So this year and next year, we will further develop our technology in the field, to verify the performance of our technologies.”

“Then, by the year 2017 and 2018, we will start to do some pre-commercial [5G] trials with our partners,” the executive continued.

Huawei has publically announced 5G efforts with operators including NTT Docomo (Japan), LG U+ (South Korea), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), SingTel (Singapore), MegaFon (Russia) and Etisalat.