Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1192126
January/February/March 2020 I 9 5G IS HERE Yes, 5G is here, now! Following launches by 56 network operators, 1 the time has come for 5G to start delivering on its promises. However, is 5G just another mobile net- work generation standard? 5G can be seen as an end-to-end ecosystem 2 that will enable a number of interesting use cases across dif- ferent consumer/enterprise verticals (Figure 2). Undoubt- edly, the specified 5G capabilities of ultra-high through- put/capacity, ultra-low latency, and ultra-high reliability are impressive. It is important to point out that the end-to-end eco- system of 5G relies on existing and new infrastructure concepts/technologies—from fiber and 4G that is essential for 5G non-standalone (NSA), to cloud and centralization (C-RAN, cloud/centralized-radio access network), network function virtualization (NFV), software-defined network- ing (SDN), multi-access edge computing (MEC), service- centric operations as service-based architecture (SBA) and cloud (and cloud-native). In fact, many of these FIGURE 2: 5G boasts impressive capabilities and will enable interesting use cases across verticals. concepts/technologies rely on fiber. In effect, fiber is needed to realize the benefits of C-RAN, NFV, SDN, MEC, and SBA. These concepts/technologies are critical pillars for 5G and future cloud-native networks. FiberG Significance Optical fiber is important for 5G because it can support the demanding ultra requirements of 5G with regard to throughput/capacity, latency, and reliability. In fact, fiber can meet the requirements of concepts/technologies that are essential 5G pillars. As a proven and trusted enabler of past mobile net- work generations/standards that focus on the transport domain, including backhaul, fiber has already been considered a key factor in deploying small cells as part of 3G/4G network densification and 5G fixed wireless access networks. Rather than being competitors for the fixed wireless access or home broadband market, 5G and optical fiber should be seen as complementary as well as an inevitable Smart buildings Smart home Massive IoT (mMTC) Enhanced experience (eMBB) Critical IoT (uRLLC) Work/play in cloud UHD/3D AR/VR Robots Smart cities Autonomous vehicles Smart agriculture Digital health Transport & logistics Industry automation 1M nodes/km 2 density 10+ years life energy 10+ Gbps data rate 10 Tbps/km 2 capacity <10 -5 outage reliability 1 ms latency