IMS: What you’ll virtually see and should have seen

 

5G Technology World compiled several 5G-related products that you’ll see at the IEEE 2020 Microwave Symposium, which takes place online starting August 4.

Just like every other event, the 2020 IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS) will take place as a virtual event. Papers and presentations have been recorded and will be available through September. To give you a taste of what you’ll see — or would have seen in Los Angeles in late June — 5G Technology World reached out to several 5G-related companies that are exhibiting in the virtual trade show or exhibited at IMS 2019.

We’ve categorized products into three groups. We also asked each company to provide their thoughts on where 5G is headed, which you can read below. The following pages contain IMS product information. You can jump among them from links at the bottom of each page.

• Components (Page 2)
• Equipment (Page 3)
• Software and IP (Page 4)

Several companies have contacted us with new products that will be released at the virtual exhibition. We’ll be adding to these pages during and soon after the virtual event.

So, what are companies saying about 5G? Let’s find out.

Abhishek Kapoor, VP Sales, Anokiwave
Millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G continues to become a market reality on a broader scale. In 2020, mmWave 5G networks are being densified with multiple deployments across several US cities with numerous other countries planning their own deployments. In the second half of 2020, we will start to see major handset manufacturers ship more consumer handsets with mmWave 5G capabilities, paving the way to mass scale adoption of mmWave 5G worldwide.

In 2021, the mmWave 5G use uses cases will explode beyond Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) to mobility, Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) and indoor coverage. Multiple types of radio units — Macro base stations, small cells, repeaters, CPE and handsets < will be introduced and deployed widely. We will also see a new set of market entrants provide infrastructure and consumer equipment versus the traditional market aggregation.

Roger Nichols, 5G/6G Program Manager, Keysight Technologies
The deployment phase of 5G will keep gaining momentum. Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, investment in 5G will continue as companies race for market leadership. From a technical perspective, the focus will be on implementing the latest changes in the standard contained in 3GPP’s Release 16, including further enhancements for transition from legacy systems — dynamic spectrum sharing, higher data rates for enhances mobile broadband (eMBB) further carrier aggregation, dual connectivity, and use of unlicensed bands, enabling IIoT with enhancements to mMTC and URLLC capabilities, and enhancements for verticals like C-V2X for automotive. Meanwhile, the standards groups and industry will be working on Release 17.

Jonathan Leitner, Senior Product Management Engineer, Menlo Micro
It’s exciting to see the accelerating pace of deployment of 5G small-cell-to-metro-cell radio systems, and the advanced radio-access network (RAN) and core networks that tie these pieces together. We’ll witness growing demands placed on these systems to meet ever-increasing frequency, bandwidth, and throughput requirements. Therefore, greater emphasis on the RF hardware will then be needed to meet the more stringent demands per the 3GPP’s Release 15 & 16 specifications, and its continued commercialization. To make 5G NR successful, traditional spatial diversity will become “massive MIMO,” and the requirements for more advanced and efficient 3D beam-steering antenna arrays will be realized.

James Martin, VP of Business Development, MixComm
The earliest demonstrations of mmWave 5G showed tremendous promise of phased array-based systems, but also highlighted the remaining obstacles to large scale deployment. High cost, limited range, high power consumption and the associated thermal challenges, and large array form factors must all be improved to allow significant proliferation of mmWave 5G.

A transition from CMOS and SiGe front end devices to RF SOI will be key over the coming year. Front ends now being produced using RF SOI are demonstrating higher linear transmit power and record-breaking efficiency for both transmit and receive – shrinking the need for bulky and costly heat management. The technology also offers a manufacturing scale which can support high volumes at low cost. These benefits make silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices ideal for 5G infrastructure ranging from gNodeB base stations and repeaters to customer premise equipment. Smaller array size and extremely low power operation will also enable 5G hotspots and other user equipment to sport smaller and more aesthetic form factors.

Tony Opferman, Wireless Business Development Manager, Rohde & Schwarz
2021 will be a pivotal year for the wider adoption and success of 5G. The migration to standalone mode (SA) and the wider deployment of mmWave (FR2) are two of the key technology shifts that will eventually unlock much of 5G’s promise. Interim technologies, such as Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), will also play a vital role in enabling carriers without low-band spectrum to deploy 5G in existing LTE bands, helping to further drive broad 5G adoption.

Throughout 2021, additional features like the adaptation of bandwidth parts, supporting different numerologies in conjunction with network slicing in the core, will enable many new and innovative services. As the adaptation of 5G through many industries continues, we will see factories in the industrial sector transform to the smart factories of the future. Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) protocol across the 5G network is just one of the features that manufacturers need to upgrade their wireless networks to 5G.

Continue to the product section, pages 2, 3, 4. Click on product images to enlarge.