Huawei has released a complete range of full-scenario 5G wireless product solutions at the 2018 Mobile World Congress (MWC). These products support all 5G frequency bands and cover different types of sites including tower sites, pole-mounted sites, and small cells to suit deployment needs in diverse scenarios.
5G C-band 3D-MIMO AAUs and mmWave AAUs: Industry’s highest configuration to offer a ubiquitous xGbps experience
C-band is the key spectrum for realising continuous networking and ubiquitous xGbps experience in the 5G era. Huawei’s newly released 64T64R and 32T32R Massive MIMO AAU product portfolio boasts the highest configuration in the industry. These AAUs feature 3D-beamforming so that beams can be flexibly adjusted in both the vertical and horizontal planes.
In this way, these AAUs are well-suited for serving distinct scenarios, offering superior vertical coverage for high-rise buildings and even horizontal coverage for wide coverage scenarios. The network capacity and user experience are both optimised. The 32T32R AAUs are the lightest in the industry and ideal for large-scale 5G deployment.
A single engineer will easily be able to complete an installation without using any mechanical equipment. The 64T64R AAUs feature broader bandwidth and lower power. Thanks to increased coverage and capacity, 64T64R AAUs can fulfill the long-term network requirements in hotspots and wide coverage areas.
Huawei leads the industry in establishing the world’s first large-scale 5G continuous network in Seoul, South Korea using C-band 3D-MIMO AAUs. This network delivers ubiquitous Gbps experience for outdoor users and several-hundred-Mbps data rates for indoor users.
Huawei’s millimeter wave (mmWave) AAUs support 1 GHz bandwidth. The equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of antenna ports rank first within the industry. XGbps user experience can be maintained within the 1 km radius when the line-of-sight propagation is not blocked. The field test in Seoul witnessed a peak data rate of 20 Gbps through dual connectivity over C-band and mmWave.
Huawei’s wireless products feature an integrated, compact, and lightweight design. These attributes greatly relax the requirements on the antenna installation platform while helping to reduce engineering complexity. Meanwhile, the optical interface speed is less than 25 Gbps, which promotes these solutions as an ideal candidate for large-scale 5G deployment.
5G EasyBlink: Deployment on poles to eliminate coverage holes and boost hotspot capacity
In addition to the 5G tower site product solutions with the highest specifications in the industry, Huawei also debuted 5G EasyBlink at MWC. This solution can be flexibly deployed on multiple types of surfaces (including street lamp poles and walls). The volume and weight of 5G C-band EasyBlink is ideally suited for deployment on a variety of poles to fill coverage holes and boost hotspot capacity.
The 5G mmWave EasyBlink’s weight means that it is suitable for deployment on street lamp poles, entire areas can benefit from mmWave’s ultra-large network capacity thanks to abundant direct and reflective paths.
5G LampSite: Integration in four aspects to help achieve full indoor digitalisation right after deployment
It is widely known and accepted that the majority of data traffic is generated indoors. However, solutions such as the traditional indoor distributed antenna system (DAS) is unfit for providing 5G indoor coverage due to its intrinsic limitations. It is incapable of supporting new spectrums such as the 3.5 GHz band or the inevitable rise of multi-antenna technologies. It is clear that indoor digitalisation is emerging as an essential trend in 5G networking.
Huawei released the industry’s first digital 5G LampSite to serve diverse indoor scenarios. It is not only backwards-compatible with 4G and supports 4T4R multi-antenna mode, but also boasts integration in four aspects. These include the integration of all sub-6 GHz bands, CAT6A and fiber, 4G and 5G, enhanced broadband services and future IoT services.
Existing 4G indoor small cell CAT6A network cables or fiber optic cables can be reused for 5G LampSite deployment, with no additional cable adjustment or site addition. The engineering process is remarkably simplified and construction cost is substantially reduced. Telecom operators and tower operators can deploy 5G indoor digital networks with the lowest possible total cost of ownership (TCO), and complete all necessary preparations for the upcoming arrival of 5G.
5G C-RAN and D-RAN baseband solutions: All-cloud architecture to meet full-scenario deployment requirements
In the 5G era, wireless sites will be deployed in hybrid networking scenarios consisting of a centralised radio access network (C-RAN) and distributed radio access network (D-RAN). Huawei released CBU5900 as part of its C-RAN solution. CBU5900 features the centralised deployment of a large number of baseband units.
Using CBU5900 helps to simplify remote sites, reduce the demands for air-conditioned equipment rooms, and contribute to quick satellite clock synchronisation across the entire network. This approach also reduces the number of site visits needed during maintenance and installation, and helps to considerably lower future site maintenance and expansion costs. In addition, it will boost the performance of the entire network via large-scale close coordination.
The D-RAN product BBU5900 is the most highly integrated site solution currently available in the industry. It supports all RATs (2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G) and all frequency bands, and offers several-Gbps backhaul capability to meet 5G services’ long-term development needs. Both the C-RAN and D-RAN solutions feature all-cloud architecture to support the split and flexible deployment of centralised units (CUs) and distributed units (DU).
The first wave of 5G deployment will take place in buildings and densely populated urban areas. Diverse site forms are therefore required to accommodate the needs of complex deployment scenarios. The full range of 5900 series 5G product solutions launched and exhibited at MWC 2018 target full-scenario deployment, offering a ubiquitous xGbps access experience, and helping to turn the promise of a 5G experience revolution into reality.
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