Evolving 5G experiences

Several innovative technologies are just now reaching maturity. When they come together, the results are on a whole new level.

Wireless internet continues to evolve with each generation of 3GPP, and today connectivity has revolutionized how we design and consume internet in our daily life. Till very recently, LTE was confined to mobile phones. Every new generation meant better speeds on the mobile phone. With the advent of 5G, there is a shift in how we consume wireless internet. Now with the inherent low latency offered by 5G it is possible to enable machine-to-machine communication.

In addition to wireless internet, another major technology that transformed internet commerce is cloud computing. Cloud computing enabled a whole new ecosystem of application developers who could develop and deliver new experiences directly from cloud that enabled faster innovation and accelerated product development.

We can now have 5G-powered distributed clouds everywhere that enables new use cases beyond mobile phones – driving more automation, better productivity, new revenue opportunities and inclusive use of technologies across the society. This 5G powered distributed cloud is the multi-access edge computing.

In the last decade the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has added a lot value on how data can be leveraged to develop innovative applications that help add value to enterprises and society.

For the first time, we see a convergence of distinct technologies (5G, distributed cloud / edge computing and AI) that enables a whole new experience for warehouses, smart cities, smart farms, enterprises, manufactures, healthcare providers, government, and society in general.

What this convergence of technologies is leading to

• Imagine not having to de-weed a large farm because now the AI algorithm recognizes all possible weeds in the area and will be able to direct the de-weeding machine. Likewise, pesticide spray is targeted only at the crop and not to the weeds. Today it is possible to deliver such experiences through a small-form factor 5G Radio network combined with cloud-native core network and edge computing, with solutions running on-prem or on operator networks on a specific spectrum. Such solutions are called 5G private networks. Capgemini Road Side Unit(RSU) solution is one such example. The RSU use case involves Visual Compute Application Deployment on LOCAL BREAK-OUT to detect Vehicles and Pedestrians using Edge Compute based AI Inferencing. Vehicles and Pedestrians are captured by the 5G enabled Camera located on edge sites in the Smart RSU infrastructure as RTSP Video Streams and the Camera would source the RTSP media to Visual Compute Application for Vehicle and Pedestrian Detection.

Let’s look at some other examples:

• Small form factor low power base stations are creating Private 5G networks enabling large, areas with network connectivity. This has enabled autonomous vehicles and communications in mining, ports, smart farming etc. reducing the risks as well as operation costs.

The Edge Compute nodes can handle data and applications to provide feedback in real time for equipment automation and human decision makers.

• The computer vision application on Edge Compute platform can ensure that only the whitelisted license plate vehicles enter a secure port. It can create zoning based on the requirements restricting or allowing access as needed.

These are only a small sample. As per recent research, the global private 5G network market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 49.0% from 2022 to 2030 to reach USD 41.02 billion by 2030.

Building blocks of 5G network:

The 5G network can be thought of as three major network nodes i.e., Radio Access Networks (RAN), Core Networks and Multi-Access Edge Compute (MEC).

O-RAN, Network slicing, Ultra-low latency and Metaverse are the other buzzwords that are dominating the strategic circles in the 5G industry.

Ultra-low latency will take some time to produce actual use case applications, as many of the low-latency applications currently rely on Edge computing. However, as the applications evolve requiring near real time responses, URLLC will no longer be optional. Network slicing will help optimizing network resources and radio resources as well as provide optimal quality of service for each slice. This enhances quality of experience for the users.

O-RAN is dis-aggregating the network, enabling open interfaces that can create a platform for more innovative applications, features and functions that can add value to operators through lower costs and new revenue streams. Lower costs are achieved through disaggregation and massive automation. Lower costs and innovative applications are also enabled through telemetry and data collected from the network. RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) is the new application platform for RAN where the developer community is creating a difference with the intelligent and data-driven applications arming the RAN stack with more data points and advanced information to make decisions that were not possible in the monolithic system.

Metaverse is not just a life experience for humans in an alternate universe. The definition has been extended to industrial use cases. Digital twins are used for setting up franchises, training, and pre-emptive maintenance remotely.

Metaverse applications are being used by car manufacturers, mining field operations, franchise setups, remote maintenance of trains, bus fleets etc.

Intelligent Edge Application Platform (IEAP) from Capgemini is the new home to Metaverse applications. A Metaverse platform that is agnostic to underlying hardware or cloud technology. It can orchestrate and manage applications life cycle. It can be stitched to custom requirements, whether on-premises or on the cloud. It comes with flexibility and services on top.

5G experiences on display at MWC 2023

At MWC Capgemini is showcasing multiple industrial applications hosted on the IEAP platform. Collaborating with our partners, Capgemini has a private 5G setup at our booth enabled by IntelFlexRAN™ physical layer, Capgemini CU, DU, RU and IEAP. Supermicro has enabled all the Intel® Xeon®-based servers for this demonstration. Fibrolan switch has been used to achieve robust synchronization and high speed data.

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The mining application from a Bay Area based startup Skycatch Inc transforms mining into an XR experience using Nvidia Omniverse AI/ML tools. Users can remotely monitor a mining field including the speed of trucks in the field. Additional applications can be used and integrated into the system to extend the use case for full mining operations management inclusive of real time load management and traffic management. Omniverse and AI assisted operations management increases productivity and throughput while reducing errors.

Another application running on IEAP is a mixed media reality experience from Microsoft using Halo lens. Visitors to the Capgemini booth will be able to experience digital objects with their hands and see the reactions in real time enabled by the low latency from IEAP. Now, imagine sitting in airport gaming pods and experiencing high-quality gaming powered by IEAP. You might just have to wait a bit longer to get the same experience on airplanes too, but we’ve got you covered for the airports for now! 

Capgemini and our partners have all the parts needed to create the connected 5G experience. We hold the keys to the frameworks, platform and applications that can monetize 5G.

Connect with us at MWC and join the future of 5G!

TelcoInsights is a series of posts about the latest trends and opportunities in the telecommunications industry – powered by a community of global industry experts and thought leaders.