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Better energy efficiency for 5G
January 2021
By Jean-Michel Cornily, Orange, 3GPP WG SA5 Rapporteur Rel-17 work item ‘Enhancements on EE for 5G networks’.
As part of the global trend to reduce the impact of ICT equipment on the environment and the constant desire to reduce the network operator’s operational expenses, 3GPP has been working for years on standards for the energy efficiency of mobile networks - by following a two-step approach: (1) Defining Energy Efficiency (EE) KPIs & methods to measure them and (2) By defining use cases and solutions for Energy Saving (ES).
The energy efficiency of a mobile network can be defined by its performance divided by its energy consumption, where the definition of performance depends on the network entity it applies to. For a unit of energy consumed by the mobile network, the higher its performance is, the higher its energy efficiency is.
Media Production over 5G NPN
April 23, 2021 (update)
3GPP Market Representation Partner - The 5G Media Action Group (5G-MAG) has completed its workshop “Media Production over 5G Non-Public Networks”, around the objectives of a new 3GPP study on the topic.
Videos and the presentations from the workshop are now available for viewing on the 5G-MAG website.
NG-RAN Architecture
February 19, 2021
In his recent contribution to "5G and Beyond", by Springer, 3GPP WG RAN3 Chair, Gino Masini, describes the NG-RAN architecture as being like "Janus bifrons" - as it supports both non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) deployments - Looking at both the past and the future, like the ancient Roman god.
He also describes how the "monolithic" gNB can be split into its components, like layered wooden dolls, with gNB-CU, further split into gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP, and gNB-DU all nested one inside the other, resembling the Matryoshka.
Gino Masini identifies how 3GPP aims to specify the best possible technical solution, given the requirements from all interested parties. The NG-RAN architecture results from such a mix of very different requirements since the days of Rel-15, building on the success of LTE by meeting the following headline requirements for 5G:
Serving up interoperability for railway communications
April 15, 2021
ETSI have announced that its Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) Plugtests will soon be arriving on their platform.
The remote event, 14 -18 June 2021, will validate equipment interoperability using test scenarios based on the 3GPP Mission Critical work - with its focus on the rail specific features, testing for railways-oriented capabilities like Functional Aliases, Multi-talker and MCData IP Connectivity.
The event will use Over-The-Top (OTT) tests via VPN connections from the vendor labs. The tests will be based on 3GPP, ETSI and IETF standards, and are designed for the following equipment:
3GPP TSG election results
March 24, 2021
The 3GPP Technical Specification Group (TSG) Plenary e-meetings are now being held, concluding on March 26.
In addition to making progress on Release-17 studies and specifications, all three TSGs have now held leadership elections, for Chair and Vice-Chair positions. Elections in 3GPP are held every two years, with the officials appointed in a series of election rounds of delegate votes, on behalf of their individual 3GPP member companies or organizations.
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