5G通信技術的影響是全球性的，其新功能橫跨多個行業，如能源生產、交通、專業服務、採礦和醫療等。然而，要實現5G網絡的功能，需要分配新的頻譜，尤其是在24 GHz以上的高頻頻段，即毫米波。毫米波頻譜支持5G將給世界各地的個人、企業和政府帶來深遠的影響，為了更深入地分析毫米波 5G的影響，以應對具體的挑戰，本期智芯研報結合撒哈拉以南的非洲，南亞、東南亞和太平洋島嶼，拉丁美洲和加勒比地區，區域聯邦的具體案例分析，深度挖掘5G毫米波在全球潛在影響的深度和廣度。
南亞、東南亞和太平洋島嶼的某些地理氣候和地理特徵對部署和維護高質量的信通技術網絡提出了挑戰，本文研究探討了5G毫米波應用，這些應用提供了應對這些特定挑戰的可能解決方案。
In the South and South East Asia and the Pacific Islands region,Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are drivers of growth in the mobile industry,with the region serving as a key source of new subscribers globally. Given the projected continued growth of theregion’s mobile industry, 5G is expected to play an important role in thefuture. Enabled by the capacity of mmWave spectrum, even more possibilitieswill open for 5G through various data-intensive and latency-criticalapplications.
This section explores two specific cases to examine how mmWave 5Gapplications may address pressing challenges in the region. Certain geoclimaticand geographic characteristics of this region pose challenges to deploying andmaintaining high-quality ICT networks, notably its rapid urbanisation and itssusceptibility to natural disasters. The two case studies explore the mmWave 5Gapplications that present possible solutions to address these specificchallenges.
These two cases are only an example of where mmWave 5Gapplications could make an impact in the region. Beyond these cases, there arenumerous mmWave 5G applications that will more broadly impact the region.Recent estimates predict that, by 2034, mmWave 5G will deliver the region $45billion in GDP and $8.7 billion in tax revenue across a range of industries(Figure 7).
1. Case Study #1:Connectivity
This case study examines how mm Wave 5G can improve the region’sconnectivity, especially considering its rapid urbanisation. mmWave 5G canprovide fibre-like speeds without the high deployment costs of fixedinfrastructure, enabling urban populations from all backgrounds to connect todata-intensive 5G applications. High-speed connectivity will also benefit theregional economy by enabling the full spectrum of mmWave 5G use cases acrossall industries in the economy.
Urbanisation is a long-term, global phenomenon that posesperennial challenges for societies. The United Nations (UN) predicts that theglobal percentage of city dwellers will increase from 55% today to 68% by 2050with most of this increase attributable to Asia and Africa. For the developingAsia-Pacific region, urbanisation is a particularly significant issue.Including China, 26 of the world’s 47 megacities—citieswith more than 10 million people—are located in this region.Excluding China, 11 megacities ar located in South and South East Asia (seeFigure 8).
However, there is an even more important trend taking place insmall- to medium-sized cities. Contrary to what may be assumed from the abovefigure, the majority of the region’s urban residents live in small- andmedium-sized cities, and these cities are rapidly growing. Over 50% of urbanresidents live in smaller cities with populations under 500,000 inhabitants.9Together, the populations living both in megacities and small- and medium-sizedcities make the Asia-Pacific region the densest on Earth (see Figure 9).
For these countries, the challenges of urbanisation areparticularly pressing. Challenges include the need for adequate housing,transport, energy and communications infrastructure, as well as education andhealthcare systems. High-speed broadband is becoming a more significant part ofa well-functioning urban environment and a key part of an integrated urbanpolicy. Yet, rolling out high-speed broadband can be especially problematic inthese urban environments. Laying cable means acquiring rights-of-way (ROW), acostly and time-consuming process, particularly when traffic congestion isalready a problem or permit processes are convoluted. Typically, these citieshave few available ducts and for those that do, securing space may requireextensive and costly negotiations and bureaucracy, as well as recurring feeobligations.
Low fixed broadband penetration numbers in the region reflect thehigh cost of rolling out high-speed broadband. For instance, while developingeconomies such as Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have among the highest mobileInternet penetration rates in the region, they lag in fixed broadbandpenetration. According to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia andthe Pacific (ESCAP), the top performers in South and South East Asia in termsof fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants are Thailand and Malaysiawith only 9.2 and 9.0, respectively, followed by Vietnam (8.1) and Brunei(8.0).10 By comparison, Myanmar (0.3),Laos and Cambodia (0.5), Indonesia (1.1), and the Philippines (3.4) have thelowest penetration rates in the region.
This confluence of challenges makes the application of mmWave 5Gconnectivity promising for the region. mmWave 5G can deliver high-speedconnectivity in dense environments at a very low cost when compared to fibre,as it avoids the need to dig up streets and co-ordinate with various levels ofgovernment. mmWave 5G enables 「fibre in the air」 connectivity in urbanenvironments achieving multi-gigabit speeds by transmitting via antennae on thesides of buildings, rooftops and street fixtures (lamp posts, traffic lights).Small fixed wireless nodes can be attached to existing structures and eliminatethe need for significant civil works (Figure 10).
These mmWave 5G solutions would work together with existingtechnologies. For example, an anchor cell connected via fibre to an operator’score network would provide coverage to the neighbourhood or office area, thensmaller cells would channel a signal around the neighbourhood to provide high-throughputdistribution. Distribution cells would provide connectivity directly toend-user locations.
Until recently, mmWave 5G solutions were not considered arealistic option due to their short range and susceptibility to blockage.However, several notable industry innovations remove many of these obstacles.In particular, by deploying numerous antennas with multiple line-of-sighttransmission paths, the network can re-route traffic by an indirect route whenunforeseen, temporary blockages occur (e.g. passing traffic or buildingconstruction).
With time, there will be greater integration of mmWave with sub-6GHz bands to ensure wide-area coverage and seamless connectivity, thusfostering the development of multimode devices. In turn, users will simultaneouslyconnect to both sub-6 GHz bands for wide-area coverage and mmWave bands foradditional bandwidth and capacity.
mmWave 5G can enable rapidly growing urban communities to avoidmany of the problems associated with rolling out fixed broadband networks. Inso doing, these communities can embrace more leading-edge technologies anddeploy innovations available with high-speed connectivity in various ways, forinstance in transportation, healthcare, and education, among others.
2. Case Study #2: DisasterCommunications
This case study considers the different ways in which mmWave 5Gapplications may impact the region’s ability to handle natural disasters.Several mmWave use cases are relevant, such as connected vehicles andinfrastructure, virtual reality applications, and quick deployment to maintainconnectivity. Similar to the connectivity example, the benefits identified inthis case study are expected to span all industries due to the wide-rangingimpacts of natural disasters across a country’s economy.
South and South East Asia and the Pacific Islands are particularlyvulnerable to natural disasters due to the geoclimatic characteristics of theregion, including mountain ranges, coastlines, seas, and sea floors (e.g.tectonic plates). Between 1998 and 2017, the broader region of Asia and Oceaniahas reported the highest numbers of disaster events from geophysical andclimate-related disasters and the second-highest in terms of economic losses(see Figure 11).
In addition to existing social and economic costs, climate changeamplifies the risk of losses from natural disasters, increasing the intensityand frequency of catastrophic events and making the disasters themselves moreintense and unpredictable.
While it is always difficult to predict and prepare for naturaldisasters, mobile communications play a vital role in rescue and reliefactivities, as shown in past natural emergencies. For instance, mobilecommunications came into play during the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in thePhilippines in 2013 and two severe earthquakes in Nepal in 2015, when dronesobtained information regarding the cartography of the emergency areas andhelped rescuers deliver aid.SMS messages have also been used for communicationsbetween aid relief organisations or government alagencies and those in need. 5Gnetworks, including those enabled by mmWave 5G, are expected to play an evengreater role in disaster risk management schemes in the future.
m Wave 5G networks are poised to provide and maintain high-capacity,low-latency communication infrastructure to deliver mission-criticalcommunications. While mmWave 5G networks will face some of the same physicalvulnerabilities affecting existing networks in natural disasters, research onmitigation tactics is increasing network dependability during weather events.mmWave 5G networks may also extend coverage to out-of-coverage areas byleveraging device-to-device connectivity in cases of infrastructure failure.Building resilient and high-capacity networks will be especially important torestore mobile communication networks in urban areas hit by natural disastersand to handle the high-volume data demands of a highly concentrated population.Since a disaster can hit anytime, network demand is dynamic. mmWave 5G canmanage this dynamic demand by quickly deploying temporary connectivity to theaffected areas. mmWave 5G can act either as a last-mile connection or abackhaul network to effectively turn on or off nodes according to traffic onthe network.As shown by the left side of Figure 12, under low trafficconditions in normal circumstances, the mmWave 5G small-cell base stations areactivated or deployed only when sufficient traffic exists to warrant the extracapacity. As many future mmWave 5G networks are expected to be implemented inconjunction with other lower-band frequencies, traffic may be handled by otherfrequencies in cases where the mmWave 5G small cells are not activated.However, when a disaster strikes, mobile data traffic abruptly increases,activating many more mmWave 5G nodes. This method of quick deployment ofincreased capacity with mmWave 5G small cells allows the network to meetunexpected demand in an effcient way that adjusts as needed, based on networkdemand.
This additional capacity will allow for many other 5G applicationsto operate effectively in a disaster zone, as shown in Figure 13. Theseinclude:
Ø Remote operation of drones for live video feeds andhigh-definition cartographic mapping, as well as aid delivery to inaccessibleareas;
Ø Data transmission from Internet of Things (IoT) sensor networksand connected vehicles for information regarding terrain, environmental andinfrastructure stability, and position of population;
Ø Unmanned ground (e.g. ambulances) or aerial vehicles for emergencyrescue operations;
Ø Augmented reality applications that provide environmental andstructural information to first responders or firefighters entering intodangerous buildings/terrain and assist in situations of poor visibility due tosmoke or debris; and
Ø Live video feeds to transmit to experts in other locations toassist in rescue or relief operations, potentially including emergency healthoperations.
These applications can improve safety for first responders andrelief workers by providing more tools to analyse critical disaster areas,receive feedback from remote experts, and assess risk, ultimately resulting inmore informed decisions and actions. In addition, the use of remotely operatedvehicles and devices can help reach inaccessible areas and people or provideneeded resources.
The collection of high-quality and detailed data, enabled bymmWave 5G, also opens possibilities to use other new technologies, such as bigdata analysis. This may improve predictive meteorological models, resulting inmore proactive disaster risk management plans.
The potential applications that mmWave 5G networks make viablecreate new possibilities to improve disaster response and rescue activitiesthrough the quick deployment of temporary connectivity, virtual and augmentedreality applications, connected infrastructure, and automated vehicles. Thedisaster response management improvements enabled by mmWave 5G are likely tobroadly impact the economy, lessening the overall socioeconomic impacts of the disaster.
……未完待續……
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