To keep up with growing demand and capacity needs, utilities need to be as modernized and as efficient as possible. Rapid expansion of the grid with new substations will require quick implementation of communication capabilities to monitor and control elements at the new substations. While LTE can provide a multipurpose network that addresses use cases with 10s of ms in latency, 5G technology is needed to address sub-10ms latencies for critical use cases like falling conductors and tele-protection. Both LTE and 5G are made possible through rigorous industry standards like 3GPP that drive 4G/5G technological advancement and the gradual adoption of forward-thinking technology, working across device, network and application providers.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a consortium of national and regional telecommunication standards organizations that implement regulations and guidance for cellular technologies worldwide. The project dates back to 1998, during the development of 3G mobile technology. Since then, the project has published dozens of releases, each of which set standards for the creation, adoption and management of cellular technologies as they evolve with each release.
Why standardization?
Standardization is a core component in the advancement of technologies and is essential for rapid expansion within utilities. There are a number of sub-committees dedicated to radio access, core switching networks, services and systems to define inter-operability between existing technologies like 2G, 3G and non-3GPP technologies like Wi-Fi and new systems like 5G. Through these sub-committees, 3GPP is able to address all aspects of connectivity. Each of the subcommittees bring global participation from consumer operators, industrial operators, device vendors, infrastructure vendors and other standards bodies like ETSI, ATIS, ARIB. The nature of this collaboration ensures that standards drive the development of a global device ecosystem and drive the economies of scale that allow for quick and proactive deployment of new technologies. As utilities migrate from carrier to private LTE networks, the 3GPP ecosystem carries over into private networks, enabling a smooth evolution from 4G to 5G.
Additionally, 3GPP’s standards guarantee robust security within the network. Unlike proprietary networks, this security has been designed, reviewed and tested by hundreds of network operators around the world according to global standards that address domestic requirements.
5G in utilities
With utilities facing significant increases in demand for electricity, companies find themselves juggling multiple energy sources to meet sustainability and cost-control needs. Effective mission-critical communications are essential to enable and accelerate smooth digital transformation. These capabilities are made possible through evolving 3GPP standards.
In defining 5G/New Radio, 3GPP standards changed in a few key areas:
- 3GPP introduced new spectrum in the mmwave range (>25 GHz). By introducting smaller subcarrier spacing requirements, 3GPP allowed for latency capabilities from 10s of ms (in LTE) to fewer ms (in 5G/New Radio) in mmwave spectrum, bringing significant increases in speed.
- The introduction of Service Based Architecture enabled for finer configuration of multiple network elements in the core. This allowed for robust implementation of network slicing for simultaneous support of varied use cases, which better aligns with future needs of utilities.
- Configuration of device subscriber profiles with network slicing capabilities brought more efficient branching of packet flows – helping to separate traffic for utilities.
- 3GPP designed continued support for 4G in 5G networks with technologies like Non-Standalone 5G and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing that uses spectrum for 4G and 5G simultaneously.
- Lastly, 3GPP built in backward compatibility in 5G implementation for IoT technologies like NB-IoT and LTE-M, allowing for existing 4G networks to opportunistically use 5G on demand.
5G is much more than a network – it’s a platform for innovation with the ability to provide immediate scale and enable use cases that need enhanced responsiveness, superior selectivity of traffic flows and increased throughputs.
The architecture of 5G is another major advantage. Simplification in the core network architecture and state transition improvements on 5G Radio Networks allow for devices to stay in a suspended mode – allowing rapid re-establishment of internet connections. The introduction of a “slice”-based network allows utilities to define network elements with capabilities matched to the specific needs of varied use cases.
In a 5G network that has migrated within existing spectrum from 4G to 5G, it is now possible to introduce a quicker 10ms response/low capacity network (e.g. tele-protection or fallen conductor) simultaneously operating with a slower 50ms response/high capacity network (e.g. video drone control or employee workforce on tablets). Dynamic spectrum sharing between 4G and 5G also allows for utilities’ 4G devices to continue to operate on ‘5G spectrum’ during the transition period.
From an operational standpoint, 3GPP has ensured backward compatibility in many interfaces, which coupled with 5G’s architecture simplifications, provide for common operations across technologies in Ericsson’s Dual Mode 4G/5G packet core. 3GPP-specified optimizations on 5G air interfaces, along with Ericsson innovations, have delivered up to 40% less power consumption in 5G – making 5G a more sustainable technology than 4G.
5G implementation
Practically, these advantages can deliver massive improvements for utilities. Network slicing, rapid acquisition of internet connections, enhanced capabilities in narrowband IoT and reduced OPEX with increased sustainability result in rapid improvements within wireless smart grid modernization when the utility’s device ecosystem is ready for 5G.
As with any wireless evolution strategy, having access to high band mmwave spectrum is an important asset as utilities add Critical IoT based on millisecond latency. 3GPP standards will continue to evolve to allow for aggregation of spectrum assets across the increased scope of spectrum addressed by 5G (bold introduced for 5G).
- Low band: 600, 700, 850, 900 MHz spectrum
- Midband: PCS, AWS, 2500, CBRS, C-Band spectrum
- High band: mmwave 28, 39 GHz spectrum
Wireless device ecosystems and network security will continue to evolve to meet the reliability needs for grid modernization. And because 5G technologies are built on 3GPP standards, the same ones that built previous networks, utilities can feel comfortable transitioning at their own pace. LTE networks can be made 5G capable through simple updates, and existing networks can continue to be utilized across different spectrum to prioritize traffic into low-, medium- and high-bands.
Currently, device ecosystem availability and price points have driven demand for LTE deployments at Utilities. As wireless grid modernization expands into the utility sector, companies can expect the 5G to start approaching the high levels of availability and low price points of the 4G ecosystem today. This should trigger utilities to expand their spectrum assets to allow for the enhanced capabilities of a combined 4G/5G network – an inflection point expected in the next 2-3 years.
Utilities can rest assured that standards organizations like 3GPP stand ready to accept requirements from this mission-critical industry segment to bring the advantages of 4G and 5G to the smart grid.
Want to learn more?
More information on 5G networks for utilities can be found on the Ericsson website. Here are a few more articles on the evolution of wireless for utilities.
Ericsson’s Connected Energy Utilities Report
Bringing 5G to power
Intelligent energy distribution with 5G
How wireless will evolve for utilities over the next five years
Ericsson’s Smart Grid report
The power of the new
