2021 witnesses the rapid development of 5G technology. The global 5G mobile communication infrastructure deployment is accelerating in full speed; the exploration of 5G use case is being actively pursued. Both the consumer market and the vertical industry market are growing fast.  Radio China talks to Mr. Yongjian Mou, CTO of Caltta, about Caltta’s strategy of 4G/5G and its convergence portfolio.

The future is here, 5G+technology empowers the industry's digital wave

In the trend of digital transformation, the 5G technology will penetrate into all aspects of the society, such as infrastructure, social governance, production, work and life. According to Deloitte's forecast, when the 5G adoption in industries reaches 10-20%, the industry will enter exponential growth phase. By 2025, the revenue of the global ICT industry will reach $4.7 trillion, and the total value of 5G will be $1.6 trillion, $600 billions of which will be from the digitization of industries.

In 2020 and 2021, 5G along with cloud computing, big data, AI, AR/VR, IOT, MEC and other technologies are widely trialed in many industry scenarios, such as industrial internet platforms for smart manufacturing, distribution automation for smart grids, CBTC of smart transportation, RCMS of smart ports, V2X for smart driving, etc.

Caltta Goes “Full Convergence” with 5G 

Caltta is committed to providing integrated solutions of platform, system, and terminal, as well as a complete set of technical support and maintenance services for the field of emergency communication. We offer a series of system products, such as vehicle mounted DMR/LTE base station, backpack LTE base station, broadband Ad Hoc Mesh backpack base station, and narrowband Ad Hoc backpack base station. With multi-mode convergent terminals and multiple access devices, rapid deployment can be fulfilled to implement wireless communication coverage in the emergency area of the first-line rescue site. So the remote command center can coordinate different task forces.

The technological trend of private network evolution, from narrowband to broadband, from the first-generation analog MPT1327, the second-generation PDT/DMR/P25/TETRA, and the third generation GoTa to the current fourth-generation LTE-based B-TrunC and 5G trunking in the future, has made the service more abundant, the capacity higher, and the performance better. Based on the customer needs of existing networks, Caltta believes that narrowband will exist for a long time, and the long-term coexistence of broadband and narrowband is an inevitable trend. Therefore, we first proposed the "2+4" broadband and narrowband convergence solution in the industry. With the advent of the 5G era, we also believe that in the concept of broadband and narrowband convergence, 5G networks should also be integrated. At the same time, data silos should be broken, data streams should be opened up, and data integration should be done. Therefore, we have proposed a comprehensive "full convergence" strategy in terms of terminals, networks, services and ecology, as well as a variety of broadband and narrowband integration solutions such as "2+4", "2+5", and "2+4+5".

In the private LTE market, Caltta's products and solutions are widely used in municipality, rail transit, public safety, oil and gas, utilities, airports, ports and other industries. Based on rich industry experience, Caltta explores deeply into customers’ needs and pain points and believes that the layout of the private 5G can be carried out in two approaches. First, based on MNO’s network, to provide a convenient way of obtaining 5G service for industry users with high reliability and security. Second, to accelerate the formulation of 5G trunking standard and promote the evolution and integration of private wireless network technologies, such as B-TrunC, LTE-M, LTE-G, etc.

According to customers’ needs in different industries, Caltta can provide:

Industry-specific 5G miniaturized core network.

On the one hand, industry users can share 5G base stations built by operators, and build a miniaturized 5G core network with physical isolation, self-management, and high security level to form a complete SA 5G network, saving wireless network investment; on the other hand, compared with the carrier-grade large-scale 5G core network, the industry-specific miniaturized core network is more suitable for the construction of the industry's private 5G network, since it supports customization and rapid deployment of applications.

Series of base stations. 

A. For macro coverage of cities, campus, and main roads with high-rise buildings, complex reflection and diffraction scenarios, high service continuity requirements, high traffic volume, and large number of users, go with 64TR/32TR equipment with large capacity, strong coverage, and optimal cost of comprehensive network construction.

B. For QCell indoor coverage for buildings, basements, and tunnels, traditional passive DAS system cannot support 5G due to the limitation of frequency band and MIMO support. Caltta’s QCell indoor coverage solution is specific for indoor coverage scenarios; it is flexible to deploy and convenient to install.

C. Pad base stations achieve zero-footprint coverage in the campus/factory/street/hot spot. They are deployed on demand with large capacity and wide coverage.

D. The vehicle-mounted mobile 5G system based on integrated compact base station supports emergency deployment and fast blind spot coverage

5G trunking technology research and standard formulation. 

5G trunking will support professional wireless trunking services, as well as mission-critical voice, video and data. It will facilitate daily safe production, work dispatch and emergency command of railway, industry, park, municipality, public safety, utilities, transportation, energy and other industries.

Customizable, multi-mode terminals. 

Portable radio, fixed radio, mobile radio, data transmission terminal, wireless router, explosion-proof radio, manpack device and other serialized industry terminal equipment, meet the IP67 protection requirements, rugged and reliable. They support different wireless standards, broadband and narrowband integrated, public and private convergent multi-mode terminals.

The introduction of new technologies will bring new service revolution. However, there are still many legacy systems for private networks, and old technologies have their applicable scenarios as well. The coexistence of old and new technologies is also an objective fact. It requires an integrated solution with smooth transition and integration. This is exactly the area that Caltta is good at. We already have integrated service products for 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, IoT, carrier network and satellite. As an open platform and ecology, it can accommodate a variety of different technologies and services in the era of new infrastructure, and continuously expand to maximize the value together.

The future is here. Caltta is ready to embrace the digital transformation of the industries and empower the industry to create value.