中兴通讯《B5G技术白皮书》

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

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01

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

01

Welcomingthebeyond-5Gera:

from5G-Advancedthroughto6G

02

6GR&D:vendoroutreachtooperators-Q32022

Mobiledevicevendors

havebriefedmeormy

organizationontheir6G

visions.

Networkinfrastructure

vendorshavebriefed

meormyorganization

ontheir6Gvision.

Source:GSMAIntelligence

TRUEFALSE

100%

50%

0%

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

AtGSMAIntelligence,ouranalystsspendtheirdaysworkingcloselywithoperatorstounderstandandguidetheirbusinessstrategies,demandsanddirection.Aspartofthisremit,wehavebeentalkingaboutthestateofthe5Gmarketforseveralyearsalready.

Wehavetracked5Gtrialsandcommercialdeployments,enablerssuchas5Gspectrumdeployments,andtheimpactof5Gonoperators’supplierdecisions.Wehavecarriedoutthisworkbecause5Gisthelatestgenerationofmobilebroadbandtechnology,butalsobecauseofthehighhopesaround5Gintermsofaddressingever-increasingdemandfordataandhelpingoperatorsenable(andcreatevaluefrom)thedigitaltransformationofenterprises.

5Gataglance:globaloutlook

Spectrum

auctions

Trials

Commercial

launches*

Adoption

Toendof2030

*LaunchesofcommercialmobileandFWA5Gservices

**ExcludesregionalUSandCanadianoperators

75countries

complete

assignments

969million

connections

(11%adoption)

421operators

in133markets

242operatorsin106markets

Datacorrectto30June2022.Forupdates,seeSource:GSMAIntelligence

2.3billion

connections

(26%adoption)

5.2billion

connections

(54%adoption)

738million

connections

(9%adoption)

219operators**in63markets

642operatorsin225markets

13trialsin10markets

208operatorsin79markets

4operatorsin4markets

Toendof2025

ToendofQ22022

ToendofQ22022

InQ22022

IMN

SVK

BEL

EST

Afteryearsofplanningfor5G’sarrivalandworkingthroughitsearlyphases,wearenowfirmlyinthe5Gera.Yet,asisoftenthecase,whenonemilestoneisachieved,theindustrybeginstoaskwhatisnext.

5G-Advancedstandards,forexample,haveprogressedto

thepointwherethereislineofsighttowhatthenextmajor

iterationof5Gmaydeliverwithinthenextfewyears.Vendors

andoperatorshavebeenbusyreleasing5G-Advancedand6G

messaging,communicatingtheirvisions,expectationsandR&D

plansforbeyond5G(B5G).Meanwhile,networkinfrastructureand

mobiledevicesuppliershavebeencommunicatingB5Gvisions

andR&Droadmapstotheircustomers–themobileoperatorsthat

willeventuallydeploythesetechnologies.

Industrymessagingeffortsareaboutmorethanjustsalesandmarketing.Theyareaveryrealconsequenceofoperatorinterest,customerdemandandnetworkdeploymentplans.Interestfromoperatorsaround5G-Advancedcanonlybecategorisedasintense,withmorethanhalfofthosesurveyedexpectingtodeploythetechnologybetweenoneandtwoyearsfollowingthereleaseofstandards.Thisisn’tparticularlyrealistic.Regardless,itpointstotherecognitionof–andextremefocuson–B5Gtechnologiesbyoperatorsastheylooktocontinuethemomentumof5Gbutalsoachievethebusinessgainsthat5Gpromised.Formanyoperators,afterall,5Gdeploymentshavenotresultedinrealrevenueuplift.

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

5G-Advancedtimelines:howlongfollowingstandardsreleasedooperatorsexpectdeployment?

100%

54%

16%

Theyeartheyare1year

released(est.2025)Post-release

Source:GSMAIntelligence

2yearsPost-release

3to4yearsPost-release

98%

Vendormessaging,combinedwithover-eageroperatorinterest,doesnotnecessarilymeanthatB5Gtechnologiesareimportantinthehereandnow.However,markettrajectoriesandtrendsmakethevalueandimportanceofB5Gtechnologyveryclear.

Whilewemaytakethemforgranted,today’srealitiesallpointtothecriticalnatureof5G,aswellastheneedtoseriouslyplanforwhat’snext.Thesedynamicsincludethefollowing:

Unendingdatademand:moredata,inmoreplaces,supportingmoreservices

6Guse-casedevelopmenttimelines:along-termproposition

5GinsupportofB2B:thecoreindustrypromiserequiringaddedsupport

5Gina6Gworld:anenduringlegacy

ThethreeS’s:security,sustainabilityandspectrum.

Againstthisbackdrop,B5Gtechnologiesaremorethansomethingitwouldbenicetobeginthinkingabout;theyrepresentfundamentalenablersoftheindustry’shealthanditsabilitytocontinuedeliveringcritical,life-changingservices.Thismeansitcannotbetooearlytobeginexploringtheirpotentialandthinkingaboutthemholistically,askingwhatwehopetoachieveandhowtothinkaboutthemaspartofabroadertechnologyevolution.

ZTE’sresearchandwhitepaperisanimportantpartofthatprocess.WithmyriadpotentialB5Gcandidatetechnologies,theworkhelpstoexplainhowsomeofthekeytechnologiesoperateandwhattheypromise.Justasimportantlythough,takingastepbacktoaskwhatwehopetoachieveintheB5GeraiscriticalandpartofmakingsureweexploitthefullpotentialofnewB5Gtechnologies.

03

04

2021

2027

GCC

22.0

46.0

2.1x

2021

2027

CentraIandEasternEurope

9.9

32.0

2021

2027

MENA(includingGCC)

9.6

41.0

westernEurope

202115.2

202751.0

3.4x

3.6x

3.2x

4.3x

3.5x

2021

2027

NortheastAsia

13.9

48.0

Sub-Saharan

Africa

20212.9

202711.0

SoutheastAsiaandOceania

8.0

46.0

India

18.4

2021

2021

50.0

2027

2027

4.4x

3.8x

2.7x

5.8x

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

1.1WhyB5Gmatters

Mobilebroadbandtechnologieswillcontinuetoevolve.Theywillneedtoevolveinordertomeetincreasinglydemandingenterprise,consumerandsocietalrequirements.WhydoB5Gtechnologiesandinnovationsmatterintheneartermthen?ThemarketdynamicsoutlinedearlierprovideasolidfoundationforexplainingwhyB5Gmatterstodayandwhyitisnottooearlytobeginthinkingaboutandplanningforit.

1.1.1Unendingdatademand

Between2021and2027,mobiledatausageacrosstheglobewillgrowby3.6×toreach41GBpersmartphone,permonth.Growthdynamicswillvarybetweenmarkets,buteveryoperatorineverycountrywillneedtodealwithincredibledemandsontheirnetworksandserviceinfrastructure.

Mobiledatatraffic,2021-2027(GBpersmartphone,permonth)

2021

2027

NorthAmerica

14.6

52.0

LatinAmerica

20217.9

202735.0

Source:GSMAIntelligence,MobileEconomy2022/mobileeconomy/

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B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

Thatmobiledatatrafficwillcontinuetogrowoverthemid-termisnotanewinsight;demandfordatahasbeenonaninexorableclimbsincetheintroductionofmobiledataservices.

However,theevolutionofmobiledatademandoverthenextdecadewillbeaboutmuchmorethantrafficdemandanddatausage.

Justasthemobileemailandwebbrowsingservicesthatdroveearlydatausagegavewaytointeractivevideo,gaminganduser-generatedcontent,tomorrow’sdominantmobilebroadbandserviceswillbringnewrequirements.Forexample,ifexpectationsaroundthesuccessofthemetaversecometopass,itwillrequiremassivedatacapacityimprovementsbutalsolatency,coveragequality(celledge,inparticular)anduplinkbandwidthimprovementsoverthecapabilitiesoftoday’s5Gnetworks.

Iftheonlymaterialchangeinrequirementsinvolvedaddeddatatraffic,itmightbereasonabletoexpectoperatorstomeetcustomerdemandbysimplydoingmoreofthesame.5Grollouts,combinedwithlegacynetworkdecommissioningandradioaccessnetwork(RAN)densification,couldallownetworkcapacitiestoscaleincredibly.But,puttingasidethecostsinvolvedandtheirimpactonendusers,currenttechnologieswillsimplynotaccommodatethenewlatency,coverageanduplink-versus-downlinkrealities–alongwithotherrequirementswehaveyettoevenrealise.

Theserequirementsdemandnewtechnologiesandmobilenetworkinnovations.And,sincetomorrow'susecaseswillbearrivingsoonerthanmanypeoplethink,weneedtobeginplanningearly.

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Mobileoperatorviewpoint:commercial6Gisatleast10yearsaway?

Source:GSMAIntelligence

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

1.1.26Guse-casedevelopmenttimelines

Theterm‘killerapp’hasbeenaroundfordecades,citedovertheyearsbytechluminariesincludingSteveJobsandBillGates.However,inmanyways,theconceptissomethingofafallacy.Fornewtechnologygenerationsatleast,thereisrarelyasingle,novelapplicationthatdrivestheindustry’ssuccess.Justasimportantly,fewpeoplehaveeverbeenabletoaccuratelypredictthenew‘killerapp’thateventuallywentontodrivetrafficandusageofthenextmobilegeneration.

Considersomeofthepotential6Gusecasesbeingdiscussedtoday.TheNextGAllianceoutlinedanimpressivesetoftheminits'6GApplicationsandUseCases'reportfromearlierthisyear:

fieldrobotsforhazardousenvironments

immersivegaming

mixed-realitytelepresenceandimmersiveeducation

untetheredwearables

remotedatacollectionpoweredbyterrestrialandnon-terrestrialnetworksynergies.

Ina6Gworld(2030orlater),fullyexecutingontheseusecaseswillrequiresupportforstringentperformancecriteriaintermsofbandwidth(uplinkinparticular),networkcapacity,latency,coverage,security,costsandmore.However,muchofthisfeelsveryfamiliarinthenearterm.

Robotsarealreadybeingusedinindustrialenvironments,supportedby5Gprivatenetworks.Gamingisalreadyshiftingfromconsolestomobiledevices,thankstomobilenetworkinnovation.Interactive,immersivecommunicationstookahugeleapforwardthankstotheCovid-19pandemicandarenowattractingattentionaspartofmetaverseaspirations.Meanwhile,multi-networkconnectivityintegratingterrestrialandnon-terrestrialnetworksisgarneringplentyofattentionasmobiledevicevendors,andmobiledevicesoftwarevendors,rushtointegratedirect-to-devicesatellitesupportintotheirsolutions.

Thisisn’ttoimplythat6Gwon’tbringnewcapabilitiesandamazing

newapplications.Rather,itisareminderthattomorrow’susecases

willbuildonwhatwehavealreadydevelopedandareplanningforin

thenearandmediumterm.Thatmeanswecangaininsightintowhat

isneededfromB5Gtechnologieswellbeforethosetechnologiesand

usecasesarrive.ThefactthatwecanseetheseedsofB5Gusecases

intoday’sapplicationssignalsthatwewillneedtoday’s5Gnetworks

toevolveinordertomeetmarketdemand.

RecentGSMAIntelligenceresearchsuggestsoperatorswere31%

morelikelytosee6Gas10+yearsawayin2022thantheywere

in2021.Thisunderscoresarealizationthat6Gmaytakelongerto

arrivethanonceexpected,andthat5Gnetworksmustcontinue

evolvingastherun-upto6G'sarrivalextendsintothelong-term.

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B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

1.1.35GinsupportofB2B

Fromtheearliestdaysof5G(wellbeforeitwasevencommercialised),simultaneoussupportformass-marketconsumerapplicationsalongwithmoredemandingenterpriseusecaseswasthemajortechnologyandbusinessinnovation.

Enhancedmobilebroadband(eMBB)wouldofferhigherspeedconnectionswithlowerlatencies,whichwouldbenefitconsumersandenterprisesalike.Butmassivemachine-typecommunications(MMTC,orscaledIoT)andultra-reliable,low-latencycommunications(URLLC,ormission-criticalcommunications)wouldprovideoperatorswithanopportunitytotargetnewmarketsegmentsinthebusiness-to-business(B2B)space–andhelpthemtogrowtheirrevenuesintheprocess.

5Gwasneverjustaboutfasterdataormorenetworkcapacity.Itwasaboutservingverydemandingandlessdemandingperformancerequirementsfromacommonnetwork.Thisiswhy83%ofoperatorCEOsinaGSMAsurveyclaimedthatenterpriseandgovernmentsegmentswerethemostlikelysourceof5Grevenueupside.Thatshouldn’tbesurprisingwhenyourecognisethattheconsumersegmentaccountsforabout70%ofrevenuesacrossthemarket’stopoperators,andithelpstoexplainwhysomanyconversationsaround5Gstillreferencethosethreecoreusecases.

Totheircredit,operatorsaremakingsteadyprogressinexpandingtheirrevenuebasebeyondthetraditionalconsumerdemographic.However,ifoperatorsaretoexecuteonthebroadarrayofenterprisedemandsandsupportadiversesetofenterpriserequirements,thereisstillmoretobedone.

Someofthisissimplyaboutcontinuingonthejourneythat5Gbeganandimprovingtheperformanceofmobilenetworks:highernetworkcapacityandconnectionspeeds,alongwithfurtherlatencyimprovementsthatopenupnewusecases.Butitalsomeansextendingcoveragewhileimprovinguplinkandcelledgeconnectionperformancetoprovideenterpriseuserswiththeconfidencethatnetworkscanmeetthedemandsofmyriaddevices,regardlessofwheretheyareoperating.Anevolvingenterpriseserviceenvironmentembracingcloudenvironments,newsecurity

architecturesandadvancednetworkslicingbusinessmodelswillonlyaddfurtherdemandsontoday’snetworks.Finally,somenewrequirementshavenothingtodowithindividualdevice,serviceorbusinessrequirementsbutratherthefateoftheworld.Thatmightsoundlikehyperbole,butGSMAIntelligenceestimatesthatdigitaltransformationdrivenbymobilebroadbandtechnologycansupport30–40%ofthedecarbonisationgoalsofcritical,energy-intensiveindustriessuchastransportorpower&energy.

Toexecuteonthefoundationalenterprisedigitaltransformationpromiseof5G,drivingoperatorandsocietalgoalsintheprocess,anevolutionbeyondtoday’s5Gisnecessary.

08

Mobiletechnologygenerations:shareofconnections

Source:GSMAIntelligence

Mobileoperatorviewpoint:6GR&Dwillimprove5Gnetworks

Source:GSMAIntelligence

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

1.1.45Gina6Gworld

In2015,2Gand3Gaccountedfornearly85%ofglobalcellularconnections.Fiveyearslater,thatfigurefelltoabout40%,with4Ghavingscaledtotake58%ofthemarket.Yet,in2025,2Gand3Gwillstillaccountforabout20%ofglobalconnections,with4Gmaintainingarelativelyconstantshareofconnectionsand5Ggrowingsteadily.

Whilelegacytechnologygenerationswillnaturallydeclinein

useasnewonesscale,thereisanimportantimplicationhere.4G

deliveredacriticalsetofmobilebroadbandcapabilities,giving

birthtoanappeconomythatdrovemobiletechnologiesand

smartphonestobeapartofeverydaylife.Asaresult,4Gnow

dominatesmobilebroadbandandwillcontinuetodosointhe

nearterm.Yet,legacytechnologiescontinuetoliveon;phasing

outoldernetworksandusageisdifficultandtime-consuming.

Itisthereforenaturaltoexpectthatadecadefromnow(after6G

shouldhavearrived),5Gwillstillbeadominanttechnologyfor

deliveringmobilebroadband.

Againstthatbackdrop,therearetworealitiestoconsider.First,

weneedtocontinuefocusingonhow5Gwillevolveandhow

itsperformancewillimproveoverthemediumterm.Second,

giventheimportanceof5G,weneedtoaskhow6Gtechnology

innovationsandvisionscansupport5Gnetworksandservicesin

theinterim.ThisisalargepartofwhatB5Gtechnologiespromise.

Indeed,perGSMAIntelligenceresearchfrommid-2022,thisis

exactlywhatmanyoperatorsexpect.

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B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

1.1.5ThethreeS’s:security,sustainabilityandspectrum

AddressingtheimportanceofB5Gtechnologies,we’vealreadydiscussedthekeyaspectsofanoperator’sbusinessandthewaytheywillbelookingattheirbusinessgoingforward,including:

newbusinessmodelsbuiltonenterprisedigitaltransformationandthefinancial,aswellassocietal,gainstobehadbyaddressingthem

newnetworkandservicecapabilities–includingcapacity,coverageandlatencyimprovements–thatwillberequiredtosupportcustomersoldandnew

thepaceofnetworkinnovationwhichdictatesthatthe5Gtechnologiesoperatorsareinvestingintodaywillneedto

continueevolvingandservinguserswellintothe2030s

Movingpastthesebasics,threecross-cuttingnetworkandservicedynamicsarefrontofmindforoperatorstodayandneedtoplayaroleinhowtheythinkabout,andplanfor,B5Gtechnologies:security,sustainabilityandspectrum.

WhenGSMAIntelligenceaskedoperatorsinmid-2022abouttheirmostimportantnetworktransformationpriorities,sustainabilityandsecuritydominatedthetopthreepositions.Sustainability(andenergyefficiency)washighlightedasveryorextremelyimportantfor84%ofoperatorsaroundtheworld.Networksecuritysaw72%ofoperatorsmakethesameclaim,withend-usersecuritybeingveryorextremelyimportantfor69%ofoperatorsaroundtheworld.Theserankedaheadofoft-citedstrategicfocusareassuchasautomation,opennetworkingtechnologies,supply-chaindiversityandtheupskillingofstaff.

Spectrum,though,mightnotcaptureoperatorattentioninthesameway.Newspectrumallocations,mmWavedeploymentandspectrumrefarmingwereactuallynearthebottomofoperator5GRANinvestmentprioritiesperoursurvey.Yet,theattentiongiventospectrumallocations,ongoingnetworksunsetactivityandtheamountofmoneyspentatspectrumauctionsallhighlighthowimportantspectrumtrulyistooperators.

Andwhatdospectrum,sustainabilityandsecurityallhaveincommon?

Theyrepresentafoundationalsetofprioritiesthattranscendthemarqueebusinessinitiativesthatdrivetectonicnetworkshifts.Atthesametime,theyarefundamentaltothosebusinessinitiatives.Successintheenterprise,forexample,willrequiresecurenetworks.Profitablysupportingincreaseddatademands,inturn,willrequireenergyefficient,spectrallyefficientnetworks.Thisiswhy,inonewayoranother,operatorshavebeenclearthatthethreeS’sarecriticaltohowtheyviewthefutureoftheirnetworks.

Afocusonsecurity,sustainabilityandspectrumwascoretotheway5Gtechnologiesweredeveloped.Securitywasbakedinto5Gstandardsfromtheoutset.Sustainabilityhasbeenacentralcomponentofthe5Gvaluepropositiontotheextentthat5Gcandelivermoredataforagivenamountofenergythanprevioustechnologygenerations.Likeeverynewmobiletechnology,5Gwasalsodesignedtobemorespectrallyefficientthanpreviousgenerations,aswellasmorespectrallyflexibleandcapableofsupportingdiversespectrumbands.

As5Gevolvesandgiveswayto6G,theneedtobesecure,sustainableandspectrallyefficientwillnotwane.Infact,today’soperatorprioritiessuggesttheneedwillonlyintensify.6Gwillplayaroleinmeetingthoseneeds,andweshouldbeginexploringhow.5G,inturn,willcontinuallyevolveinordertoexecuteontheseneedsandimproveonexistingnetworkcapabilities.

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B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

1.2HowtothinkaboutB5G:efficiency,extension,enhancedcapabilities

Onemajorcomplicationinlookingforwardtofuturemobiletechnologygenerations,aswellastheevolutionofexistingtechnologies,iswheretofocusourattention.Therearemanyaspectsthathelptocharacteriseagiven‘G’anddetermineitsdevelopmenttrajectory:

organisationsandstudygroups–nationalandinternationalresearchgroupsthatbringtogetheroperators,suppliers,academicsandgovernmentstodriveinnovationswhichoftenfeedintoindustryspecificationsandstandards

technologyinnovation–thenewairinterfaces,antennatechnologies,transmissionprotocols,architecturalrevolutions(andmore)thatenableanewgenerationofnetworkandservicecapabilities

standards–thetechnicalspecificationsadoptedbystandardsdevelopmentorganisationswhichturntechnologyinnovationsintoscalable,interoperablesolutions

usecases–theapplications,servicesandspecificsituationsinwhichthetechnologiescouldbeputtouse,andwhichwilldefinetheirperformancerequirements

societaldemands–thebroadergoalsforanewmobiletechnologythatstretchbeyondnetworkorserviceperformance,suchassecurity,sustainabilityandinclusion

Youcanseethisdynamicinhowsomeindustryleadersandinnovatorshavetriedtocapturethemultipledimensionsof5Gusecases,breakingdowneachusecaseintoperformancerequirementsandeventhetechnologiesorstandardsthatenablethatperformance.Addingspecificbusinessorconsumerapplicationstobesupportedcanaddanotherlayerofcompleteness–andcomplexity.

MassiveInternet

ofThings

Ultra-lowenergy

10+yearsofbatterylife

/financialtrusted

Ultra-highdensity

1millionnodesperkm2

Enhancedmobilebroadband

DeepcoverageStrongsecurity

Toreachchallenginglocationse.g.,Health/government

Ultra-highreliability

＜10-5per1millisecond

Ultra-lowlatency

Aslowas1millisecond

Extremeusermobility

Upto500km/h

Deepawareness

Discoveryandoptimization

Extremedatarates

Multi-Gbpspeakrates;100+Mbpsuserexperiencedrates

Ultra-lowcomplexity

10sofbitspersecond

Mission-criticalcontrol

Source:Qualcomm

capacity

perkm2

Extreme

10Tbps

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Human-centricimmersive,interactive,controllable

Enhancement

Thing-centric

cost↓efficiency↑quality↑safety↑

Entirety

efficient,orderlyandgreen

Extension

Efficiency

•MetaCell

•Reconfigurable

IntelligentMetaSurface

EntertainmentHealthcareIndustry

Digitalfactory

Digitalcity

Digitalgovernance

Green

Synergy

Open

•SmoothVirtualCell

•Sub-bandFullDuplex

•eMUSA

•ExtremeLarge-ScaleMIMO

•Multi-UEVirtual

Aggregation

•SmartRepeater

•PassiveIoT

B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

Ontopofthis,nationalandregionaldynamicsaddalayerofcomplexityandcompletenessinthesearchtounderstandfuturetechnologies,becausesomuchofwhatgoesintocreatinganewtechnologygenerationwilldifferacrossmarkets.ThespectrumallocationsandregulatoryregimesinEuropemaydifferfromthoseinAsiaorNorthAmerica.TheservicesandapplicationsdrivinguptakeinpioneeringmarketssuchasJapan,SouthKorea,ChinaortheUSwilldifferfromthoseinLatinAmericaorSub-SaharanAfrica.Userbehaviourpatterns;societaldemands;marketstructuresimpactingfixed-mobileserviceconvergence;deploymentmaturityandwhetheroperatorsinsomeregionswillbeabletobegintheir5Gjourneywith5G-Advancedorwilllooktodeployittactically.Allofthiswillvarybymarket–acrossandwithinregions–impactingtechnicalchoicesthatgointothecreationofnewtechnology.

Inreality,alloftheseareimportantconsiderations;R&Dinnovations,usecases,standards,studygroups,societaldemandsandregionaldifferencesallfeedintotheshapeoftomorrow’s5Gand6Gtechnologies.Noattempttocharacterisethisdevelopmentwithasinglevisionwillbeperfect.

Againstthisbackdrop,ZTE’sBeyond5GVisionattemptstorepresentsomeofthesevariedrealitiesinaclear,logicalmanner.

Requirement-driven

Source:ZTE

TechnicalInnovation

•DeeplyIntegratedNewInformation

Infrastructure

•IntegratedSensingand

Communication

•Space-Air-Ground

IntegratedNetwork

•AIandSecurityNative

•NewServices

•EnergyEfficiency

•AIforAirInterface

•NetworkEfficiency

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B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

Beginningwiththenotionthatfutureusecaseswillneedtoaddressbothhuman-centricandthing-centricapplicationrequirements(nodifferentfromtoday’s5Gusecases),ZTEremindsusthatsocietalandnetworkrequirementsmustalsobetakenintoaccount.Whetherthatmeansafocusonsustainability,security,opennetworkingorsynergiesacrossusecases,it’sclearhowthisfutureB5Gvisioncarriesforwardtoday’soperatordemandsand5Gthinking.

Buildingontheserequirements,ZTE’sdiscussionofenhancement,extensionandefficiencylaysouttheinnovationsthatcouldhelpsupportB5Grequirements.Enhancednetworkanddevicecapabilitiesdeliveronfuturecoverage,capacityandqualitydemands.Theextensionofwirelessnetworkstonewarchitecturesanddomainsensurestheybenefitfrominnovationstakingplaceacrosscommunicationsecosystems.Focusingonefficiency–includingAIandautomationtoolsrequiredtodriveefficiencygains–recognisesthatnewusecases,technologies,networksandserviceswillstillneedtoberolledoutinacost-effectivemannerwhiledeliveringsoliduserexperiences.TheprocessbywhichspecifictechnologyinnovationsandvendorR&Dtranslateintostandardsandfuturetechnologygenerationsisnotasimpleone;standardsorganisationsdothedifficultworkofbuildingspecificationsfrominnovation,balancinguserdemandswiththecapabilitiesoftechnology.Wearecurrentlyseeingthatasthe3GPPcontinuesworkonRelease-18and5G-AdvancedwhilealreadybeginningearlyworkonRelease-19.

ZTE’scontributiontothediscussion,viaitsin-depthandtechnicalwhitepaper,isbothanattempttoframeawayofthinkingaboutB5Gtechnologiesandamenuoftechnicalinnovationsandadvancementsthatcouldbringthosetechnologiestolife.Moreimportantly,ithighlightsquestionsweneedtobethinkingabout.Whichtechnologieswillenablein-demandcapabilitiesandwhichneedtobeprioritised?Wherewillweseeconnectionsbetweendisparatepartsofthecommunicationsindustry?Howshouldoperatorsconnectthemselvesintonewrevenuesources?Tothisend,thewhitepaperisanimportantcomponentinplanningforwhatcomesnextinmobile–whatliesbeyondtoday’s5Gnetworksandservices.

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B5GTechnologyWhitePaper

1.3Whybeyond5Gtechmattersnow

ZTE’swhitepapermaybeavaluablecontributiontothediscussionofwhatfuturemobilenetworksandserviceswilllooklike.Tounderstandwhyitisworthourattentionwemustansweronelastquestion.

Whynow?

With4Gand5Gnetworkscontinuingtosupportmobilebroadbanddemandsinthehereandnow,and6Gnotexpecteduntil2030orlater,whyshouldwebefocusingonbeyond5Gin2022?ThefundamentalquestionweneedtoanswerbeforeturningthefirstpageofanyB5GwhitepaperiswhyB5Gtechnologiesmattertoday.Luckily,we’vealreadylaidoutthepartso