Feature: IoT
For IoT-device designers, the huge change that matters most is
not the step from 4G to 5G, but a step that has already happened: the split at the 4G node between mobile broadband and mobile narrowband networking; see Figure 1. As the diagram shows, there is an abrupt fork at the 4G node:
here, it was no longer feasible for machines with low power requirements and carrying low volumes of data traffic to share the same network systems as consumer handsets, which require mobile broadband capability and which have a large battery capacity. Figure 1 also shows that 5G narrowband network technology is
a natural development of previous narrowband systems, such as Cat-M1 and NB-IoT.
IoT supporting 5G So how can IoT-device designers evolve their products to take advantage of 5G capabilities? In fact, 5G is starting to be used in major cities around the globe already. Te architecture of 5G networking provides for three main categories of user (Figure 2): • eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband) – supports very high data- transfer rates, sufficient to, say, allow consumers to watch HD or UHD content on their handsets;
• uRLLC (ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications) – provides low-latency, deterministic, data-transfer operations for use in safety-critical and high-reliability applications such as autonomous vehicles and vehicle-to-vehicle communication;
• mMTC (massive Machine-Type Communications) – the flavour of 5G which supports very high-density connection of IoT devices – as many as one million connected devices in an area of just 1km2
.
For devices connected today via a cellular Low-Power Wide-
Area Networking (LPWAN) technology, such as Cat-M1 or NB2, it is the mMTC element of 5G networks that will provide the low- power operation and reliable connectivity they require. And, already features of the new 5G technology are being
introduced into components for embedded products. New RF ICs became available at the start of 2020, which offer improved connectivity and lower power consumption thanks to their implementation of new features: Power Saving Mode (PSM) and extended Discontinued Reception (eDRX) – core elements of the 5G mMTC specification. Of course, the type of 5G technology adopted in an embedded
device depends entirely on its application. Choosing the right 5G technology for IoT systems should take into account the seven important criteria shown in Figure 3. It can be seen in the diagram that mMTC scores highly for
battery life and connection density, but is optimised for fixed placement, as it scores low on mobility. IoT devices which perform mobile asset tracking, for instance, will oſten be better served by a different 5G technology such as uRLLC, but with a power-consumption tradeoff.
Roadmap for suppliers of 5G components Cellular networking is a dynamic commercial and technical environment; nevertheless, for embedded device manufacturers, there is a clear pathway extending the narrowband and low-power capabilities of 4G into the 5G era. At the same time, the industrial market will benefit from the uRLLC and mMTC types of 5G, to allow for new connectivity applications in factory automation and Industry 4.0. At the same time, the low-power features of 5G
Figure 1: The most important development in cellular networking was the introduction of narrowband technologies
www.electronicsworld.co.uk November/December 2020 27
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