IEEE Future Networks Tech Focus
Volume 3, Number 2, September 2019

In This Issue

Advanced 5G Validation Trials across Multiple Vertical Industries

Meng Lu, Dynniq The Netherlands, and Haesik Kim, VTT, Finland

Europe has launched in 2019 a research and innovation project on 5G validation trials across multiple vertical industries, targeting the healthcare, aquaculture and transport sectors. Healthcare, aquaculture and transport are important industry sectors in Europe, in terms of jobs, market size and international trade. Moreover, they are also vital from a social perspective, e.g., for better patient treatment, more sustainable food production and safer road transport.

The needs and requirements of vertical industries are the key drivers for the next generation wireless mobile telecommunications technology. There are also huge challenges for the network and connectivity, especially concerning latency, reliability, throughput (peak data rate) and connection density. The 5G validation trials focus on 5G applications in the three vertical industries especially for improving utility, efficient processes, and safety. It defines vital vertical use cases of healthcare, aquaculture and transport respectively by using the fifth generation wireless mobile telecommunications technology. The project investigates architecture and approaches for the validation of the trials of the three vertical industries from both technological and business perspectives. In addition, it explores business opportunities for future 5G applications in healthcare, aquaculture and transport industries, as well as a European 5G vision of "5G empowering vertical industries". It is challenging to get the 5G vision closer to deployment with innovative digital use cases involving cross industry partnerships. It requires technological and business validation of 5G end-to-end connectivity and associated management from two perspectives: i) within the set of specific requirements from one application domain; ii) across all sets of heterogeneous requirements stemming from concurrent uses of network resources by different vertical domains. [1]

5G Communications Systems and Radiofrequency Exposure Limits

Kenneth R. Foster (IEEE Life Fellow), Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA USA, Sachiko Kodera, Department of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan, and Akimasa Hirata (IEEE Fellow), Department of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan

The prospective rollout of 5G around the world has brought with it the requirement that 5G systems comply with limits for human exposure to radiofrequency radiation, both for handsets and for base stations. This article reviews two major international guidelines/standards for RF exposure, focusing on exposures to an individual in the far field of transmitters such as from a wireless base station. The scientific basis of the limits is described. The paper will briefly describe other “precautionary” limits adopted in some jurisdictions. While the 5G is still an evolving technology, prospective technical issues with establishing compliance of 5G base stations with regulatory limits are briefly described.

Key New Fiber Wireless Access Technologies for 5G and Beyond

Gee-Kung Chang, You-Wei Chen, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, and Jeff Finkelstein, Cox Communications, Atlanta, GA

To make the performance goals of 5G a reality, New Radio Access Network Architecture based on Fiber-Wireless Integration and Networking (FiWIN) is essential in serving diverse user scenarios, which require high wireless throughput, extremely low-latency, ultra-reliability and seamless multi-device connectivity. This paper reveals some of grand challenges in 5G mobile fronthaul and the enabling radio access technologies as well as the research breakthroughs for heterogeneous mobile data communications.

Ultra-high Capacity Wireless Communication by Means of Infrared Optical Beams

Ton Koonen, Ketemaw Mekonnen, Frans Huijskens, Zizheng Cao, and Eduward Tangdiongga, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

Optical wireless communication is well positioned to resolve congestion in the radio spectrum caused by the booming wireless traffic demands. Two-dimensionally steerable infrared beams can provide ultra-high capacity wireless communication to many users individually. The narrow beam size enables tight spatial re-use, hence a huge data throughput. We demonstrated an indoor system providing up to 128 beams, with a capacity up to 112 Gbit/s per beam. Its on-demand highly-localized delivery scheme yields energy-efficient operation, assures enhanced privacy, and minimizes latency. It can off-load high data-rate traffic from WiFi networks, which thus get ample room to host the numerous internet-of-things devices.

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IEEE Future Networks Tech FocusVolume 3, Number 2, September 2019