5G RAN

Advanced 5G use cases will continue to demand much higher bit rates and greater capacity for each consumed bit. Spectral-efficient solutions – such as Massive MIMO, beamforming, carrier aggregation and ever-increasing transmit and receive branches – are key to maximizing data transmission over any given bandwidth, enabling wider coverage and improved cell edge reception. Multi-band radios and antenna systems are also critical pieces of this performance puzzle – enabling higher spectrum utilization with a smaller site- and energy footprint.

With traffic set to rise 2.5 fold by 2030, networks must be dimensioned to scale with capacity demands as they grow. Massive MIMO provides this possibility, delivering 10x more downlink capacity versus legacy solutions and better support for both uplink- and downlink heavy use cases across urban and suburban sites.

The rapid uptake of AI applications, as well as extended reality use cases are expected to demand as much as twelve times the uplink radio network capacity compared to typical mobile broadband users. Today, 4T8R radios provide a cost- and space-efficient way to achieve this across medium traffic areas – providing 2x the uplink capacity on FDD mid-band and improved cell edge throughput - without changing the passive antennas. For even greater capacity across traffic-dense locations, FDD Massive MIMO can provide an effective boost for both uplink (2x) and downlink (3x) when combined with TDD midband support.

The importance of compute power will intensify in coming years, as networks grow more complex and accountable to critical, data-heavy use-cases. Efficient RAN Compute solutions remain critical to enhancing network performance by optimizing signal processing and supporting several radio access technologies simultaneously, e.g. running 4G and 5G on low bands and mid-bands with Massive MIMO. Compute-enhancing solutions such as Ericsson RAN Connect also play a pivotal role in ensuring greater radio site scalability through the aggregation of multiple radio sites to a shared high-capacity fronthaul interface.

There are many various solutions and strategies that make it possible to reduce network energy consumption while maintaining or even increasing the traffic load. This includes the Ericsson Radio System and Antenna System – developed using energy-efficient Ericsson Silicon, as well as new AI-powered software functionalities, such as sleep mode, that intuitively switches off surplus hardware at low traffic loads. The energy impact of site infrastructure and its cooling systems, also among the highest contributors, can be significantly reduced by shifting to outdoor enclosures or even rail-based zero footprint site infrastructure.

RAN solutions that are compact (for a lower site footprint and rental costs) and future proof (for a longer product lifecycle) can also make a significant positive impact on the overall TCO. This includes radios and antennas designed to support multiple access technologies and frequency bands at a single site, allowing for legacy bands to be refarmed as 5G traffic increases. Solutions that balance high output power with low weight offer a reduction on both the cost of rollout and the on-site footprint, in addition to carbon footprint savings. 

Intelligent RAN automation platforms – with intelligent resource allocation and predictive maintenance – are key to delivering cost-effective network management and significant long-term savings. The ability to perform remote radio rehoming and reconfiguration on flexible, future-proof solutions such as Ericsson RAN Connect can also contribute to significant TCO savings. 

Introducing outdoor enclosures at select sites can both increase resilience and reduce energy consumption. This can be supported through site-level solutions such as heat exchangers instead of air conditioning, as well as digitized temperature monitoring and adjustment based on real-time conditions

Resilient network require at least 4 hours of battery backup across each site, a requirement that can be addressed by introducing lithium-ion batteries to site backup systems – enabling continuous monitoring of the network’s backup capacity.

IoT systems can ensure effective remote management, intelligence and security of the site’s enclosure and power systems. This enables remote monitoring of voltage and charge level, status of charge, alarms and the temperature inside – potentially preventing disturbances that could impact both network performance and revenue loss.

Learn more in the brochure Build a stronger, more resilient network.