5G is opening the door to an intelligent world, and the leap to 5.5G will be a key milestone along this journey.
This is according to Huawei’s Carrier BG president Li Peng, speaking at Huawei’s MWC Barcelona 2023 Day 0 Forum.
Li emphasizes that the industry had to work together to move faster towards an ultra-broadband, green and intelligent world, and that Huawei’s GUIDE business blueprint could help lay the foundation for this important achievement.
The physical and digital worlds seem to be growing ever closer as the effects of digital and intelligent transformation become increasingly apparent in our workplaces, our homes, and our personal lives. Many carriers have responded to the increasing demand in these areas for higher-quality experiences and higher productivity, pushing the ICT industry forward, he says.
By the end of 2022, more than 230 5G networks had already been commercially deployed, supporting over one billion 5G users and a multitude of 5G devices, and 5G has driven rapid development of the ICT industry. In the consumer market, carriers have been innovating to extend “Connectivity+”. As 5G capabilities continue to improve, leading carriers in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East have scrambled to develop different kinds of digital services.
Some carriers have converged connectivity with local OTT services, which allows them to achieve shared success. These offerings bundle connectivity with digital services like social media, helping them grow into a one-stop digital service provider.
The home market has also become an area where carriers can generate more value as 5G and fiber penetration continues to grow. So, carriers are widening “Connectivity+” for better experiences, better services, and more efficient O&M. Premium home broadband services, like 5G FWA and 10G PON have expanded faster than expected, helping carriers in regions, including Europe and the Middle East increase ARPU by 30% to 60%.
General-purpose technologies like 5G, AI, and cloud computing are driving industrial digitalization and bringing new strategic opportunities. Enterprise customers need more offering portfolios, carriers need to reinforce “Connectivity+”, Peng says. One Chinese carrier had combined connectivity with cloud, AI, security, and platform services to expand into new markets and grow its revenue from industrial digitalization by over 20% in 2022.
Moving forward, carriers will continue to improve their network capabilities, to provide more guaranteed experiences. So, carriers are making “Connectivity+” more open. Huawei has joined the CAMARA project led by the GSMA, he adds. Through this project, we aim to help carriers transform networks into service enablement platforms and monetize better customer experience.
Moving forward, the intelligent world will be deeply integrated with the physical world. Everything, including personal entertainment, work, and industrial production, will be intelligently connected. This means that networks will have to evolve from ubiquitous Gbps to ubiquitous 10Gbps, connectivity and sensing will need to be integrated, and the ICT industry will have to shift its focus from energy consumption to energy efficiency.
The evolution from 5G to 5.5G will be key to meeting these growing requirements, according to Peng.
In 2022, the ITU-T officially released NCIe, an indicator to measure the intensity of network carbon emissions, as a formal standard. Leading carriers in China and Europe have verified new multi-dimensional energy efficiency indicators on their live networks, and improved energy efficiency by 20% to 50%.
In conclusion, Li called upon the whole industry to follow the GUIDE business blueprint to accelerate 5G prosperity and make fast strides towards an ultra-broadband, green, and intelligent world together.
Huawei used the occasion of its Green ICT Summit at MWC to launch its Huawei Green 1-2-3 solution.
Peng Song, president of ICT strategy and marketing at Huawei, pointed out that An AI Big Bang is underway. AI brings new benefits and opportunities to operators. However, it also requires better ICT infrastructure, due to higher bandwidth and increased computing power leading to a rapid increase in network energy consumption.
“The ICT industry seems to be faced with the tough choice to either go green or develop. However, we believe the industry can choose not to choose, and instead go green and develop simultaneously ” Peng said.
He pointed out that simultaneous green ICT and ICT development is possible if the right balance is struck between energy efficiency, renewable energy utilization, and user experience. At MWC Barcelona 2023, Huawei will launch solutions that embody this approach to pave the way for the green development of ICT infrastructure networks.
In terms of energy efficiency, Huawei advocates expanding the focus from just improving network energy efficiency to also reducing absolute energy consumption. In light-load scenarios, multi-dimensional shutdown technology can be employed to enable intelligent shutdown across different dimensions, such as frequency, time, channel, and power.
Meanwhile, in ultra-light-load scenarios, equipment can be put into a deep dormancy mode. For example, new materials and processes can be used to solve condensation and low temperature issues when AAU hardware shuts down. This enables the power module to independently remain in standby, meaning the power consumption of the AAU during extremely light load can be reduced from 300W to less than 10W.
In terms of renewable energy, the company calls for a focus expansion, from the scale of green power deployment to the efficient use of renewable energy. An upgrade from network-specific policies to site-specific policies can be undertaken in order to improve the accuracy of renewable energy deployment. Additionally, the time required for intelligent scheduling can be reduced from days to minutes, thus maximising the economic and environmental benefits of renewable energy.
Multi-dimensional site information such as weather, electricity price, battery status, and service volume can be obtained, and intelligent scheduling algorithms can maximize power generation efficiency and load-based power availability, while minimising overall power cost.
In terms of user experience, Huawei proposes that the focus should no longer solely be on network energy saving and KPI assurance but extend to user experience assurance. Optimal energy saving policies can be adopted according to different network scenarios. In low-traffic scenarios, basic network KPIs are guaranteed to maximise energy saving, while user experience is guaranteed in high-traffic scenarios. Experience-driven approaches are being upgraded to data-driven approaches, allowing energy-saving policies to be generated in minutes and optimization policies to be delivered in milliseconds.
Peng emphasized that Huawei iteratively updates its green solutions in accordance with its belief in the potential of the three aforementioned areas, and has launched the Huawei Green 1-2-3 solution. Within this solution, “1” refers to one index for green network construction; “2” refers to the focus on two scenarios: high energy efficiency and ultra-low energy consumption; and “3” refers to a systematic three-layer solution that covers sites, networks, and operations.