5G is now, transport first

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As the foundation of 5G, transport networks must be constructed to truly enter the 5G era. And with the first 5G transport networks set to be commercialized in 2018, Huawei is ready to lead deployment ─ we have launched the industry's first 5G E2E commercial solution capable of supporting 5G deployment.

Joint Innovation with Operators to Accelerate Commercialization

In 2017, Huawei launched its 5G transport solution, X-Haul, to help carriers build E2E 5G networks. Over the past year, Huawei has collaborated with multiple leading carriers around the world in 5G transport.

In China, Huawei makes full use of carriers' network scale advantages to jointly carry out 5G transport cooperation. Huawei was the first vendor to pass China Mobile's 5G transport test, demonstrating the position of Huawei's 5G transport solution as a leader in multi-service transport, OAM, protection, and multi-vendor interworking. It also highlighted the key capabilities of Huawei's FlexE-based 50GE line cards: zero packet loss and, at 40km, the longest transmission distance in the industry. In China's first 5G Fronthaul test organized by China Telecom, Huawei's 5G OTN Fronthaul solution set an industry record with a transmission latency of less than 1µs and a jitter of less than 1ns. By June 2018, China Mobile Zhejiang completed deployment of 100 transport sites, making it the world's first commercially available 5G transport network.

In Japan and South Korea, two nations with the highest network deployment requirements and fastest 5G deployment speeds, Huawei has worked with multiple top carriers to carry out 5G transport tests, covering multiple KPIs.

In Europe, network scenarios are more diverse, with multiple carriers carrying out transnational services. Huawei and Telefonica verified multiple key technologies in the lab, including: PAM4-based 50Gbps ports for reducing 5G network construction costs; FlexE bundling for smoothly evolving bandwidth; and SR+EVPN to unify network protocols and service model, making network connections simpler, more flexible and efficient. Huawei 5G transport also helped Telefonica demonstrate the industry's first 5G slicing-based interactive VR service.

Huawei also worked with Vodafone in Europe to test the applicability of IP microwave backhaul for 5G. According to the test results, it’s possible to deliver up to 2.7Gbps capacity from a single IP microwave link with a single-hop latency of 50µs. In a 5G E2E network slicing demo performed by Deutsche Telekom and Huawei, a cloud transport network achieved data plane isolation over IP+Optical Infrastructure, maintaining different network topologies and SLAs for the respective control plane.

In addition, Huawei jointed with operators in other regions and countries to verify the X-Haul solution in multiple scenarios. Huawei completed 5G transport verification based on IP technologies in cooperation with Kuwait operators. In that verification, existing IPRAN networks were smoothly upgraded to deliver 10GE access and 50GE uplink transmission. Huawei is also planning further verification tests in cooperation with major operators in Saudi Arabia based on various microwave transport solutions. Huawei has already deployed thousands of hops of 5G microwave modular antenna in India to save significant tower engineering time.

Competitiveness through differentiation

Transport networks differ greatly around the world from carrier to carrier, creating a diversity of 5G transport scenarios and increasing the requirements for 5G transport solutions.

Huawei's X-Haul 5G transport solution supports a range of technologies, including IPRAN, OTN, and microwave technologies. This solution can apply to multiple service scenarios and help carriers smoothly evolve live networks to 5G transport networks.

In February 2017, Huawei launched the industry's first 50GE/100GE adaptive slicing router to meet mobile backhaul service requirements. 50GE interfaces were introduced on the access layer, reducing TCO by 30% and supporting seamless upgrades to 100GE interfaces. SR and EVPN provide elastic connection architecture for many 5G services, helping carriers to deliver 5G slicing services.

In February 2018, Huawei launched the industry's first 5G microwave equipment, with transmission bandwidth reaching 10Gbps and single-hop latency cut to tens of microseconds. This equipment supports 5G-oriented smooth evolution and smart network O&M.

In February 2018, Huawei also launched the 5G Fronthaul transport solution to support services such as mobile transport, private line cloud access, and wide home bandwidth coverage. It enables carriers to deploy a network for multiple purposes, greatly reducing network construction costs, shortening site construction timeframes, and maximizing network value.

At the same time, the emergence of these innovative 5G services imposes increased requirements on network intelligence. With this in mind, Huawei has launched the Intent-Driven Network solution that features intelligence, simplicity, ultra-broadband, openness and security. This solution helps carriers build networks centered on user experience. At Mobile World Congress 2018, Huawei additionally launched an Intent-Driven Network solution for 5G transport scenarios, helping carriers reshape their 5G business models.

Thus, Huawei is helping carriers build leading 5G transport networks with differentiated competitiveness.

Key technical initiatives

The competitiveness of Huawei's X-Haul 5G transport solution can be attributed to Huawei's long-term accumulation in core technical fields. Huawei's contribution to international 5G transport standards also accelerates the commercial use of 5G transport.

FlexE is a core technical standard for 5G transport that has been widely accepted by international standards organizations. Huawei participated in the formulation of the FlexE standards and continues to be a key contributor, with Huawei’s FlexE2.0 solution well received in the industry.

50GE is an important Ethernet interface technology in the 5G transport field. It has a mature technical background and wide market applicability. In 2016, Huawei took charge by proposing a 50GE/200GE 10km standard for the IEEE, eventually resulting in the 50GE standard. Currently, carriers around the world, including China Mobile, are actively promoting the standardization of 50GE. The whole industry is enthusiastically pushing for 50GE commercial deployment. In March 2018, Huawei and the Ethernet Alliance worked with industry partners to complete 50GE multi-vendor interoperability tests at OFC 2018, showcasing the development of the 50GE industry and supporting subsequent applications on live networks.

OTN Lite is a key standard for 5G Fronthaul scenario. It meets low-latency and cost reduction requirements based on simplified OTN frame structures and protocols. In February 2016, Huawei introduced the idea for OTN Lite at the ITU-T SG15 plenary meeting.

A prosperous industry ecosystem requires the participation of all stakeholders, because fragmented development hampers industry development. Huawei has lobbied international standards organizations and industrial organizations to build unified 5G transport standards and a complete 5G business environment. In the future, Huawei will continue to work with upstream and downstream partners to jointly promote sustainable development in the 5G transport industry and share industry dividends in the 5G era.

Mobile World Congress Shanghai – the must-attend industry event in Asia, will take place at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, June 27–June 29. To find out more about Huawei at this event, please visit the official mini-site.

http://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwcs2018