Next Step to 5G Taken in UK by Ofcom

Tactile Internet, which we have come to know as 5th generation wireless systems, or simply as 5G, represents the next major phase of mobile communications standards. This takes us beyond the current 4G networks. The requirements for 5G networks are denoted as follows:

• Data rates of several tens of Mb/s should be supported for tens of thousands of users
• 1 Gb/s to be offered, simultaneously to tens of workers on the same office floor
• Up to Several 100,000's simultaneous connections to be supported for massive sensor deployments
• Spectral efficiency should be significantly enhanced compared to 4G
• Coverage should be improved
• Signaling efficiency enhanced

October 2014, Samsung Electronics announced two industry first milestones in the development of 5G telecommunications networking technology. First the company clocked 7.5Gbps or 940MB per second, the fastest-ever 5G data transmission rate while in a stationary environment. The next step the company took was to also be the industry’s first to achieve an uninterrupted and stable connection at 1.2Gbps, or 150MB per second, in a mobile environment from a vehicle travelling at over 63 miles per hour.

Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the growing number of machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, there will be billions of bandwidth-hungry devices connected to the Internet via mobile networks in the years to come. However, issues such as what frequencies 5G networks will operate on, along with what their bandwidth standards will be and what kind of infrastructure they will require remain to be determined.

The Office of Communications, more commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the U.K. Today, Ofcom took what can be considered to be the next step in defining what 5G technology will be. This was accomplished by calling for industry input on the use of 5G services.

Ofcom feels that large blocks of high frequency spectrum will likely be required to achieve 5G technology’s potential to deliver data rates of 10 to 50 Gbps. The U.K. regulator is seeking views on the use of spectrum currently used for a variety of purposes including scientific research, satellite broadcasting and weather monitoring.

The problem is that the large blocks of spectrum that will be required for 5G networks will be difficult to find at lower frequencies, which makes it important to use higher bands above 6GHz. Steve Unger, who is the acting CEO of Ofcom, stated. "5G must deliver a further step change in the capacity of wireless networks, over and above that currently being delivered by 4G."

A recent report form Signals and Systems (SNS) Telecom Research suggests that investments in 5G wireless technology will reach $5 billion per year by 2020. The U.K. has already made a substantial investment towards research and development (R&D) for 5G technology. In fact, to demonstrate the strong interest in the new infrastructure London mayor Boris Johnson made headlines six months ago when he promised to get the U.K.'s capital equipped with 5G by the end of the decade.

The U.K. is looking to take a leading role in the R&D of 5G technology. The University of Surrey has already established a 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), which is designed to help define what the technology should deliver. This leads into discussions on how best to achieve those deliverables. In addition to the 5GIC, Chinese vendor Huawei has also established research centers in the U.K. to explore 5G possibilities.

The industry input that Ofcom is looking for will run through to Feb. 27. The regulator has plans of discussing the use of spectrum above 6 GHz at an event scheduled for some time in early March.

Ofcom is working on a schedule where the first 5G applications will be available by 2020. While this is an ambitious endeavor, the regulator does acknowledge that the precise timeframe is uncertain.