Seeking the right technology mix for 5G

摘要

This year is a key one for 5G, as I commented in an April story on the topic. As James Kimery, director, marketing, RF research/SDR at National Instruments, put it, 2017 will see "... the world's telecommunication infrastructure companies, silicon providers, service operators, and test-and-measurement companies finalize the specifications, conduct field trials, and begin the commercialization process." In that same issue, I quote Dr. Li-Ke Huang, research and technology director at Cobham Wireless, as saying 5G will not be a single wireless technology like its predecessors. "It will, in fact, comprise a number of different services being delivered to the end user across multiple access technologies and multilayer networks," he said. "5G will effectively be a dynamic, coherent, and flexible technological framework—and very different from the previous generations of wireless standards. It will provide a system that leverages a variety of technologies depending on the precise needs of the application, particularly as IoT becomes more prevalent."