Viewpoint
Traditionally a telecoms event, this year’s Mobile World Congress stayed true to its theme of ‘mobile is everything’, with key players from various vertical industries taking part in the conference’s keynote sessions. Ford, for example, revealed its latest progress and future plans for connected cars, while PayPal’s President and CEO Dan Schulman spoke banking. But, if mobile is everything, how are the networks designed to only accommodate voice and messaging going to cope with this explosion of applications and accompanying data?
Today’s digital landscape
According to Huawei’s latest global connectivity index, there will be one billion connections globally by 2025. Of these, the report states, 55 per cent will come from the business works, for example smart manufacturing, while the other 45 per cent will come from consumer trends like the Smart Home, Internet of Vehicles and wearables.
“The seven billion people connected on earth will only account for ten per cent of the one billion connections. The other 90 per cent will be connectivity between things but today 99 per cent of things are still not connected to the Internet.”
This is the picture that Guo Ping, Deputy Chairman and Rotating CEO at Huawei, painted during the Mobile World Congress conference in a Keynote titled: ‘Mobile is Connected Living.’ Following Mark Fields, President and CEO at Ford, and PayPal’s President and CEO Dan Schulman, Ping took to the stage to try to answer the question of how we enable the world where everything is connected.
5G: The optimum solution
In order to answer this question, Ping first explored the concept of 5G.
“In the last couple of years we have talked a lot about 5G at Mobile World Congress and there is no doubt this is the future of technological revolution,” he said. “Huawei has invested heavily in this area and will continue to do so. However, even for the most innovative carriers, 5G will not be ready before 2020 and it will take even longer to launch 5G on a larger scale.”
Ping went on to highlight that in the time before 5G arrives there are likely to be many uncertainties brought about by new technologies and new business models. In order to address these, he continued, we need to apply some of the principles of 5G today so that industry players do not miss out on the opportunities available.
Creating the future
In order to achieve this, according to Ping, there are three basic improvements which need to be made before 5G arrives.
“The first thing which needs to be done is to increase connectivity,” said Ping “What is vital in doing this is Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology supporting large-scale IoT. This will make static things smart and interactive, enabling communication between many objects and turning our physical world into a smart, digital one.”
NB-IoT is one feature of 4.5G, which Ping also identified as a basic enabling technology in increasing connectivity. 4.5G, Ping went on, also has a data rate higher than one gigabit and enables HD voice and video services anytime, anywhere.
“These will be the basic features of mobile networks over the next five years,” he added.
Enabling vertical industries was next on Ping’s list of transformations needed before 5G is deployed. He called for the industry to shift from being supply-driven to demand-driven – whereas vendors used to provide services based on available technologies, things have now changed.
“People are demanding more and more from the network and this is only going to increase as we begin to see the realisation of concepts like Smart Cities,” said Ping. “ICT has become a new tool that verticals can use to increase their competitiveness. The ICT industry should seize this opportunity, develop a deeper understanding of verticals’ needs, and help them go digital.”
Finally, Ping turned to the network, identifying this as the area where the third change needed to occur before the industry realises 5G.
“We need to redefine our networks’ capabilities,” he continued. “Telcos need an SDN architecture, agile operations and big data capabilities. Carriers need to choose a strategic partner that has integration capabilities, as well as developing their own and building more open and innovative ecosystems.”
Ping referred to Huawei’s SoftCOM as an example of how operators can create this kind of network. The solution leverages cloud computing, Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and internet-based operations to streamline the networks of telecommunications operators and maximise information technology resources.
“With SoftCOM, the services, efficiencies and overall operations of the telecom industry will be dramatically improved due to the reconstruction of the network architecture to become defined by software and not hardware,” said Ping. “SoftCOM will help telcos to embrace the strategic opportunities of the information age and effectively manage the challenges brought about by the structural limitations of existing networks.”
Conclusion: The time to act is now
Ping concluded his presentation by telling the packed auditorium in Theatre 1, Hall 4, that the digital transformation market will be worth $15 trillion by 2020. He urged the industry not to wait for the technology to arrive before embracing this opportunity but to begin the digital revolution today.
“We need to increase connectivity, and create new business models and new business value right now,” he finished. “We need to support the integration of verticals and enable a digital transformation, thus driving forward a digital revolution. Carriers will be at the core of a better connected world and we will work together with them to create a better network environment so everyone can enjoy this world.”
Ping’s sentiments were expanded on by Walter Weigel, Vice President, Huawei European Research Institute, who took part in a panel discussion as part of the session: ‘5G: Creating Value for Customers’. Among the questions put to the panel was the issue of mass market take up of 5G and whether consumers will be able to afford it.
“SDN and NFV will make a huge difference in the journey to 5G, not only in implementing it but also in making it an affordable technology for consumers,” said Weigel. “A hospital, for example, might want to run a network but because they can only do this if they know it is very secure, they might go to an operator and ask for a virtual private network to be created for them and this is where we will see the really dramatic changes.”
