Sorrento Networks

Global Footprint

Trusted Transport

The 5G RealitySteve Pegrum

September 2017

Courtesy of www.electronicdesign.com

Mobile Data: Exponential Growth

Courtesy of Business Intelligence

Courtesy of Cisco & Business Insider

Mobile data in Blue

5G Expectations

Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance definitions for 5G standards:

Speeds & User Types

� 10s of Mb/s for tens of thousands of users

� 100 Mb/s in metropolitan areas

� 1 Gb/s for office workers

� 100s of 1000s of connections for IoT sensors

Other Improvements

� Spectral efficiency

� Coverage improved

� Signalling efficiency

� Latency reduced

Simple Sums

� Total Network Data = Data per User * Number of Users

� User Data increasing exponentially - esp due to video

� Number of Users increasing at lower rate

Also

� Total Network Data = Data per Cell * Number of Cells

– Data per cell limited by Air interface and Backhaul capacity

More Cells! & More Backhaul

Cells & Sizes

Diagrammatic Idealised? Realistic?

Gaps, Infill & Small Cells: More Cells

And that’s before you consider so-called cell breathing

From These to These

Macro Cell vs Micro (Small) Cell

A ‘Sideways’ View

3&4G

Central Office

Central Office

5G

Separate connections?

Getting Messy at the Central office!

Network Aggregation

Connecting it All Together: AKA Transport!

Data Centre

ConnectivityPerhaps not the 5G Problem you were thinking of?

Global uptake of broadband: Courtesy of Point Topic

It’s not just mobile! Fixed Broadband Growth

Data Growth per lineCourtesy of Openreach and ThinkBroadband

Evolution of End user device types might lead you to consider that this represents WiFi growth

-Largely the same devices as Mobile-

Connectivity & Fixed Broadband Evolution

Broadband: Connected to the internet by your ISP by Copper Telephone Wires

Internet

Exchange

Super fast Broadband (FTTC): Connected to internet using Copper Wires to a cabinet and then onward with fibre

Internet

Exchange

Full Fibre Broadband: Connected to the internet by your ISP using Fibre all the way

Internet

Exchange

Fibre getting closer to the Edge!

Q2-17 News from BDUK: Over £645 million could be returned via clawback and efficiency savings, which it estimates could be enough to boost UK coverage of fixed line superfast broadband networks from 95% by the end of 2017 to 98% by the end of 2020.

Corporate Convergence

� Fixed Mobile Convergence

� EE+BT

� Vodafone: fixed and mobile

� O2 Mobile & Fixed

� Others

� Surely Mobile networks will share connectivity with Fixed networks?

– In practice they already do – via that sometimes controversial service known as the Leased Line

– Something for the Regulator to focus on…..

Fixed Mobile Connectivity Convergence

Exchange

Exchange

Internet

Connectivity Types

� Copper (eg. telephone cable)

− Good for short distances but limited

− Not alot of new copper being deployed today!

� Radio (eg. Microwave)

− Great where you can’t get anything better

� Across Railways, Rivers etc

– Even does 10Gb/s, but only for very short distances

− LPWAN?: Designed for very low power and low data rates (eg IoT sensors)

� Fibre

− Massive bandwidth into 10s and 100s of Gb/s

− Virtually unlimited distance (a few metres to 1000s of km)

− Best choice by far - where it is available!

Advantages of Fibre

� Flexible & Tough− In a cable or microduct

� Very high capacity – into the 100s of Gb/s

� Very long distance− Easily 5km, 10km, 40km or 80km in one span

� And you can have many many spans

� Immune to Electrical interference

� Compact − One fibre can replace 100s of these!

Is Fibre Scarce?� Not really no!

� But it can be difficult to get at� (Thanks to BT) I’m looking at you Openreach!

� Nevertheless:

� Providers such as CityFibre, Gigaclear, Colt, EUNetworks, Pinacl have Long Haul, Metropolitan and Rural fibre

� Maybe in the near furture we will hear more about the delayed Openreach product “Dark Fibre Access” aka DFA

� Alternatively: More Wires, Fibre, Cables & Ducts?

� Alot of Digging!

� Alternatively - Multiplexing: The practice of carrying more/different traffic at the same time

� A few choices for this…...

Multiplex Examples

� Frequency Division - (FDM): eg. Channels on FM radio

� Time Division – (TDM): eg. GSM, SDH, GPON & Ethernet

� Code Division – (CDM): eg. 3G & 4G Mobile (CDMA)

� Wavelength Division - (WDM): Prism & White Light Principles

� Many Colours (Wavelengths) on the same fibre

� Some applications only need a ‘coloured’ SFP in client equipment

� Plus some passive filters and (maybe) amplifiers, depending on distance

� Yes there is complexity here but it’s all do-able for your local friendly optical networks design team

Note: CWDM & DWDM differ only in the number of wavelength choices available. Usually 8 for ‘C’ and probably 40 or 80 for ‘D’

Fibre & WDM based Transport:

� Well Known Facts about xWDM

− Uses Fibre & provides very large capacity

� State of the art today is probably around 80 channels of 100Gb/s: eg 8Tb/s

− Although for less intense applications 4*10G (40G/s) is probably quite sufficient!

� Less well known Facts about xWDM− Entirely Independent Services (different protocols, different service, different customers)

− Each service travels at speed of Light (in glass) – Low Latency

− Distance almost unlimited

− WDM is not just a point to point thing

DWDM Does Traffic Distribution!

The OADM Zero electrical power and Unlimited

Capacity (almost...)

WDM: It’s Not just about ‘Fat Pipes’

Fibre + WDM + OADM: Infrastructure Sharing

Site A

Site B

Site C

Site D

Site E

Fibre sharing between different services, and even service providers: Fixed or Mobile

(without complexities of Layer 3 or Layer 2 interworking)

Even one fibre can provide a valid alternative to digging the road

Fibre as a shared infrastructure between fixed and mobile networks? Why not!

Consider a Fibre as Virtual Duct and a DWDM channel as Virtual Fibre

5G Realities Summary:

� Many issues not unique to 5G mobile. Also applicable to ‘fixed networks’

� Many more cells than today and a lot more backhaul

� Government led encouragement of fixed Fibre broadband

� No doubt a mix of solutions, but alot more demand on Fibre

– More actual / physical Fibre

– WDM technologies must have an important part to play

� In Fact: It’s possible to claim that in many ways 5G & Mobile Networks are similar to Fixed networks – but with Aerials on the end!

Sorrento Networks

Global Footprint

Trusted Transport

Optical Networks Made Simple!

stephen.pegrum@sorrentonet.com07588 331706

Thank You