2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: The International Telecommunication Union, World Radiocommunication conference

International resolution on 5G

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered:

All about 5G network
About the International Telecommunication Union
About the World Radiocommunication conference

News Flash

The international resolution on 5G approved by the UN body International Telecommunication Union at its global meet. All the concerns raised by the telecom sector on 5G has been resolved during the meeting.

After deliberation with representatives from 193 nations at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in its World Radio Conference 2019 (28 October to 22 November 2019) has struck a balance between deployment of 5G and satellite services which will now be followed across the globe.

Key Takeaway

Proposal of India around radiation power levels from base station of 5G was close to the resolution approved by the ITU.
Now, base stations (base transceiver station) that will be deployed across the world can also be deployed in India for 5G.

A base transceiver station is a piece of equipment that facilitates wireless communication between user equipment and a network. User Equipment (UE) are devices like mobile phones, WLL phones, computers with wireless Internet connectivity.

Discussion & Analysis

The telecom and satellite were at loggerheads with each other over demand for spectrum at the ITU WRC meet.
Satellite bodies wanted the restricted use of 5G technologies in the spectrum bands where they operate while telecom bodies argued that limitation being pushed by the satellite bodies will make it impossible for them to provide 5G services.
According to satellite organisations, weather satellites will not be able to catch reflections from the earth that are used to analyse various factors, including water vapour content, to predict weather if 5G base stations emit signals at high power.
The telecom bodies argued that the satellite companies are demanding more bandwidth than required for their operations.
China, Europe and India favoured stringent norms of 5G services. Russia agreed for usage of 5G in spectrum bands where satellites are being used.
As part of the resolution, the ITU has identified large chunk of spectrum for 5G in higher frequency bands which include ranges of 24.25-27.54 Ghz, 37-43.5 Ghz, 47.2-48.2 Ghz and 66-71 Ghz.
Currently, India has only identified 275 megahertz of radiowaves frequency between 3300-3400 Mhz and 3425-3600 Mhz bands for the 5G auction.
According to ITU, a 5G application in general should be able to transmit data with 10 gigabit per second speed and in some cases 20 gigabit per second.
Industry experts have said the lower data speed case requires around 320 Mhz of spectrum, while higher data speed needs around 670 Mhz.

5G (5th Generation)

5G is the 5th generation mobile network with advanced wireless technology that has begun wide deployment in 2019.
5G will elevate the mobile network to interconnect people, interconnect and control machines, objects, and devices. 5G will redefine a broad range of industries with connected services from retail to education, transportation to entertainment, and everything in between.

Per IMT-2020 requirements, 5G is expected to deliver peak data rates up to 20 Gbps. Qualcomm Technologies’ first 5G NR modem, the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X50 5G modem, is designed to achieve up to 5 Gbps in downlink peak data rate. 5G will provide much more network capacity by expanding into new spectrum, such as millimeter wave (mmWave). 5G will also deliver much lower latency for a quicker immediate response, and an overall more uniform user experience so that the data rates stay consistently high even when users are moving around. Moreover, the new 5G NR (New Radio) mobile network will be backed up by Gigabit LTE coverage foundation, which will provide ubiquitous Gigabit-class connectivity.

Services & uses

Enhanced Mobile Broadband
Mission-Critical communications
Massive Internet of Things
Design for forward compatibility

Working of 5G

Like 4G LTE, 5G is also OFDM-based (Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) and will operate based on the same mobile networking principles. However, the new 5G NR (New Radio) air interface will further enhance OFDM to deliver a much higher degree of flexibility and scalability.

Generations of mobile networks

The other mobile network generations are 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G.

1G delivered analog voice.
2G introduced digital voice (e.g., CDMA).
3G brought mobile data (e.g., CDMA2000).
4G LTE ushered in the era of mobile Internet.

The International Telecommunication Union

It is the oldest global international organization. ITU is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies.
The ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and assists in the development and coordination of worldwide technical standards.
The ITU is also active in the areas of broadband Internet, latest-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, convergence in fixed-mobile phone, Internet access, data, voice, TV broadcasting, and next-generation networks.

World Radiocommunication conference

World radiocommunication conference (WRC) are held every three to four years. It is the job of WRC to review, and, if necessary, revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.
Revisions are made on the basis of an agenda determined by the ITU Council, which takes into account recommendations made by previous world radiocommunication conferences.
The general scope of the agenda of world radiocommunication conferences is established four to six years in advance, with the final agenda set by the ITU Council two years before the conference, with the concurrence of a majority of Member States.

Under the terms of the ITU Constitution, a WRC can:

Revise the Radio Regulations and any associated Frequency assignment and allotment Plans;
Address any radiocommunication matter of worldwide character;
Instruct the Radio Regulations Board and the Radiocommunication Bureau, and review their activities;
Determine Questions for study by the Radiocommunication Assembly and its Study Groups in preparation for future Radiocommunication Conferences.

Source: BS