Global 5G deployment is growing at an enormous rate. According to the forecast by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), more than 170 5G networks will be commercially adopted by the end of 2020. Over the past year, global deployment has led us to discover many challenges facing operators when evolving their mobile networks to 5G.

• Space for antenna installation is limited. Approximately, 70% of sites worldwide have only one or two poles available. A multitude of devices are already installed on the existing poles, leaving insufficient space for new 5G modules.
• The power supply is inadequate. The existing power supply systems on approximately 30% of sites worldwide do not meet 5G power requirements, meaning efficient and smooth expansion cannot be achieved.
• The installation is complicated. 5G Massive MIMO installation scenarios are diversified, involving poles of varying diameters on rooftops, at roadsides, and in tunnels.

Huawei offers a solution to these challenges by launching the 5G ultra-lean site solution. The solution incorporates a series of innovations in simplified baseband, radio, antennas, simplified energy, mounting kits, and scenario-specific pole sites, greatly simplifying radio, antenna, and power supply deployment as well as overall site installation. It aims to assist global mobile operators in achieving quick and cost-effective 5G construction with minimal modification to existing sites.

Simplified Radio

In 2020, Huawei launched the next-generation Massive MIMO AAU product. The AAU features lighter weight, lower power consumption, and higher bandwidth over previous models, ensuring a continued leadership in the industry. With its weight far lower than the industry's average, the AAU can be carried by a single person, avoiding high costs for use of cranes during installation. The power consumption is further reduced to be comparable to 4G RRUs. It supports up to 400 MHz bandwidth, allowing operators to tap the full potential of ultra-wide and discrete spectrum resources. In the cases where two AAUs are needed with traditional solutions, the leading bandwidth capability requires only one AAU, significantly reducing the costs for site construction and operation.

Huawei's Super BladeSite consists of blade RRU, blade BBU, blade power supply, blade battery, and blade microwave units, enabling full-blade site deployment in full-outdoor scenarios. Huawei's innovative BladeAAU supports both sub-3 GHz passive antennas and 5G Massive MIMO antennas over a single antenna. This allows operators to quickly achieve scaled 5G deployment in densely populated urban areas where space is extremely limited or high rents are required.

Simplified Antenna

In cases where two poles are available, Huawei proposes a simplified solution of deploying all sub-3 GHz bands on a single antenna. This solution allows multiple antennas to be integrated into a single one, enabling 5G modules to be installed onto the existing poles without massive site reconstruction. In 2018, Huawei launched its all-in-one antennas based on the Munich, London, and Bangkok platforms to support FDD, FDD/TDD converged, and multi-sector site deployment.

In 2019, Huawei achieved a fresh breakthrough by launching a new series of blade antennas. This series introduced modular design to the highly integrated all-in-one antennas, adding extra convenience to enabling on-demand configuration and flexible evolution. As a result, only the affected modules rather than the entire antenna are replaced to provide new ports for additional bands and channels, maximally protecting operators' investment. Improved radomes streamline blade antennas for improved wind resistance, further simplifying site deployment and reducing 5G network costs.

Simplified Energy

5G deployment faces a number of challenges associated with insufficient power supply. These touch upon AC mains, DC power supply capacity, power distribution channels, battery backup power, and long-distance power transmission. Huawei's 5G Power solution offers an ideal product for operators to address these challenges, further achieving end-to-end (E2E) minimized modification to power supply systems.

Huawei offers the all-scenario high-density power solution, helping operators solve the issues relating to insufficient capacities of DC power supplies. The solution uses a 3 U power supply system to provide a high output power of up to 24 kW. The energy density level is substantially higher than the industry's average, allowing for one whole site to be powered with only a single cabinet. This eliminates the need for extra rental and infrastructure costs arising from deploying new cabinets.

A single blade-power module allows for a maximum output power of 6 kW or 8 kW, which is three to four times the industry's average level. Through simple overlay, a site can be constructed with an overall blade unit, freeing any requirements for existing power supply systems to be modified. Furthermore, Huawei provides innovative intelligent peak shaving and voltage boosting solutions, significantly reducing mains reconstruction and power cable replacement. Overall, this allows operators to save costs and shorten the deployment time.

Simplified Deployment

Huawei has launched a full series of innovative SuperKits to simplify 5G installation. Massive MIMO installation involves diversified scenarios where pole diameters vary greatly. In the case of large-diameter poles, traditional installation requires labor-intensive and time-consuming customization and installation of additional auxiliary poles.

To solve this issue, Huawei has provided an innovative bracelet kit, with its bracelet design enabling the mounting kits to flexibly adapt to poles of varied diameters. This eliminates the need for additional auxiliary poles during AAU installation while also improving installation efficiency. In the countries where no auxiliary poles are allowed on urban utility poles, this innovative bracelet kit provides extra convenience of tapping into full potential of urban utility poles as site resources for Massive MIMO deployment. Furthermore, one bracelet kit allows nine RRUs to be installed at the same layer, significantly improving the utilization of pole resources.

Accelerating 5G deployment and fast growing 5G services will continue to increase site resource demand. Huawei provides an all-new scenario-specific pole site solution based on the next generation of pole site modules, boasting a significantly increased number of supported bands and channels. It allows operators to achieve flexible, on-demand deployment in streets, residential areas, business campuses, and many other areas where premium 5G experience is needed.

Furthermore, Huawei has been advocating site openness and collaboration via its Open Site initiative, epitomizing Huawei's efforts in promoting good practices in site development. The initiative emphasizes policy openness, smart pole standardization, and ecosystem openness to acquire site resources for scaled 5G site deployment. So far, the smart pole standards have been widely recognized in the industry. For example, Shanghai has taken the lead in developing the standards for multipurpose integrated poles. Based on its action plans, a total of over 400 km of roads will be reconstructed by adding more than 30,000 smart poles. All these poles will be able to be integrated with 5G base stations.

5G deployment is in full swing worldwide. Huawei will continue to be customer-centric with sustained heavy R&D investment in a bid to achieve new breakthroughs in simplified sites. These efforts will allow global operators to achieve scaled 5G deployment, with minimized site reconstruction and maximized cost efficiency.