The 2023 edition of the Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) 2023 held in Dubai, UAE, unleashed many exciting 5G features from Huawei and its industry partners. The latest is RedCap’s commercial achievements proving that RedCap has entered large-scale commercial use worldwide with more than 10 companies from seven countries around the world successfully piloting commercial RedCap.
5G RedCap (Reduced Capabilities) devices are designed to cover a specific niche, offering reduced capabilities. These devices prioritize low battery consumption, affordability and minimal bandwidth requirements. The reduced capacity referred to as NR-Lite (New Radio-Lite), is an enhanced version of the 5G standard tailored for scenarios where ultra-low latency is not critical, but there is a requirement for reasonable data throughput to support various applications. This approach ensures that users can benefit from 5G technology without unnecessary complexities and heavy costs.
RedCap connections are expected to exceed 100 million in the next three years, establishing a new foundation for digital connections that drives the development of new 5G applications.
As a lightweight 5G technology, defined in 3GPP Release 17, RedCap can ensure an optimal balance between cost and performance for various industries such as manufacturing, power, home broadband, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and smart wearables. The cost of RedCap modules (up to USD 10) is 80% lower than that of 5G eMBB modules. RedCap has 10 times the network capacity of 4G and its devices consume 20% less power than 4G devices. It also supports core 5G features such as URLLC, network slicing, computing edge and 5G LAN to meet diversified network requirements of industrial applications.
According to industry experts, RedCap technology can be used in Smart Wearables, medical devices, video surveillance cameras, wireless industrial sensors and augmented reality applications that can significantly reduce the cost of these devices.
This MBBF brings together industry partners, including global carriers, industry customers, and device and module suppliers to discuss the network development, ecosystem, applications, and future growth of the RedCap industry. In a keynote speech, Ding Xin, Vice President of TD Tech, shared insights into the RedCap industry and ecosystem progress, noting that RedCap defined new lightweight 5G IoT to enable mass connections and allow us to usher in a new era of cellular IoT.
A series of RedCap commercial achievements were released at the 5G Industry Summit: Huawei, together with China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, has implemented the end-to-end commercial deployment of RedCap in more than 10 cities, including Shanghai, of Hangzhou. Ningbo, Shenzhen, Foshan, Ningde, Jinan and Suzhou, spanning industries such as manufacturing, electricity and V2X. They will continue to create a series of commercial RedCap benchmarks. Leading global carriers such as e& UAE, STC Saudi Arabia, Zain KSA, STC Kuwait, Zain Kuwait, STC Bahrain and AIS Thailand have also completed the technical verification or commercial pilot for RedCap.
The end-to-end RedCap ecosystem has matured. Huawei and its industry partners, including Lierda, Aumiwalker, Hangzhou For-X and Hongdian, presented more than 10 products including RedCap, DTU and CPE modules at this MBBF. It is estimated that more than 50 industry devices will have launched by the end of 2023, accelerating the development of RedCap applications and scaling its connections.
Looking to the future, Huawei will work together with global mobile operators, industry customers, and device and module suppliers to promote large-scale RedCap network deployment and enrich applications, realizing a prosperous ecosystem that will give new impetus to industry development 5G and will revitalize the mobile economy.
The Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2023 themed “Bring 5.5G into Reality” is hosted by Huawei, together with industry partners GSMA, GTI and SAMENA. Held on October 10 and 11 in Dubai, UAE, this annual forum brings together mobile operators, vertical industry leaders and ecosystem partners from around the world to explore the success of 5G commercialization and accelerate the commercial use of 5.5G.