5G wireless technology is intended to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultralow latency, improved reliability, boosted network capacity, greater availability, and a better uniform user experience. 5G is set to transform the technology world.
To gain explore some of the key triggers with the 5G movement and how well it will be rolled out, Digital Journal caught up with EdgeQ CEO Vinay Ravuri.
With the roll-out of 5G, Ravuri says we should “expect “Netflix”-type of turnkey 5G services invoked within enterprise settings such as factories, warehouses, airports, hubs …. As new content and new data become available at the edge by new users, there will need to be content delivery platform. Hyperscale Cloud providers have the unique ability (that is, platform) to deliver such 5G content and services.”
There are some other trends as well, which Ravuri has identified.
Death of Moore’s Law. What Then Must We Do?
With this well-used IT concept, Ravuri says: “Moore’s law (the doubling of transistors every two years on the same silicon real estate) which has governed the performance and miniaturization of semiconductor technology since the 1960s has stalled and will come to its last breath in this decade.”
What does this mean for technology? According to Ravuri: “For the first time in semiconductor industry, the intersection of Moore’s Law, Hardware Acceleration, and Softwarization will be principle to the future of performance scaling and chip design. The industry will shift towards software-defined hardware with emphasis on highly custom, programmable chip designs rather than monolithic one-size-fits all chips. Specific intensive functions will be compartmentalized to hardware accelerators, but the design trend will be towards smaller processors to tackle more specified tasks using software definition. With respect to 5G, customers will look for elastically programable baseband chips that are dynamically configurable, fluidly adaptable, and yet performant.”
Crossing the Chasm: Open-RAN
Ravuri places the rise of 5G with some specific sectors that are set to make the most of the technology. For example: “The democratization of 5G has been highly anticipated in the context of Open-RAN. The inflated promise of O-RAN has encouraged many new OEMs, private entities, and operators to design their own 5G systems. Those drawn to the promise of disaggregation are realizing the need for integration.”
Disaggregation + Integration
Ravuri says that change will soon be upon us: “2022/2023 will be the focal year of 5G Disaggregation and Integration. Expect the major Hyperscale Cloud Providers to play a critical role in providing an integrative solution, cloudifying 5G ORAN. Telco operators, like Rakuten’s Symphony, are deviating from traditional telco operating model by experimenting on a similar cloud approach.”
As to what is needed for this, Ravuri pinpoints several critical enablers that will need to be realigned to enable mass adoption of ORAN. He pinpoints these as:
1. Availability and maturity of the full stack (L1 and L2/L3)
2. Integration of the full RAN stack and hardware
Expect 5G+AI to Converge
One of the more exciting areas is with the development of artificial intelligence and here AI and 5G could be positioned synergistically. Ravuri see this as: “The convergence of 5G and Artificial Intelligence will become more indispensable and value oriented. Enterprises will expect 5G and AI to be seamlessly integrated as a key value center of 5G deployment. This will include the use of AI for advanced network automation and for intelligent analytics to streamline operations, optimize network performance and drive greater efficiencies overall. These capabilities will be important in the deployment, management, and operation of 5G.”
