Huawei Holds LATAM ICT Congress 2022

Together with GSMA Intelligence and ITU, Huawei hosted the LATAM ICT Congress 2022, aiming to build a global industry communication platform and promote the rapid development of 5G and digital transformation in Latin America. Representatives from operators, regulators, industry organizations, 5G ecosystem partners, analysts, and media partners attended the congress.

During the congress, Huawei's 5G Product Line Vice President Fang Xiang delivered a keynote speech titled Innovation for a Golden Decade of 5G in LATAM, where he said, "simplified and green 5G networks that deliver a cross-generation experience are fundamental to 5G business success. Huawei is committed to bringing ultra-wideband and multi-antenna technologies to every frequency band and scenario through continuous 5G innovation, to build a ubiquitous, simplified, and high-capacity target network and usher in a golden decade of 5G in Latin America."

5G development is accelerating in Latin America. Over the past two years, many countries including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Peru have already begun commercial 5G deployment. During this rollout, many operators have also begun exploring new models for 5G packages, and new services for individual consumers, families, and industries to maximize digital dividends.

Ultra-wideband and multi-antenna technologies have stood out during this period, becoming the first choice for most operators. This has created new challenges for the industry to face though, as Fang explained: "As the pace of 5G spectrum distribution varies across countries and the TDD and FDD spectrums have different characteristics, operators face different challenges in 5G network construction. However, all operators share the same goal: to move towards one network on multiple TDD and FDD bands and build simplified and green networks that deliver a cross-generation experience."

Huawei also discussed many of their new TDD and FDD solutions at the event. Some of these solutions have been outlined below.

The TDD ELAA-Massive MIMO Enables Optimal Performance and Energy Efficiency

Massive MIMO has become the main answer to these challenges as the industry as a whole agrees upon its suitability for deployment with continuous large-bandwidth TDD bands. Huawei's MetaAAUs introduce a new architecture — extreme-large antenna array (ELAA) — which supports doubling the array scale. They enable base stations to provide wider coverage with the same transmit power or provide the same coverage with a lower transmit power, reducing energy consumption by about 30% compared with conventional AAUs.

"Our innovative ELAA shows how we can improve coverage while reducing energy consumption. With its new architecture and algorithms, MetaAAU improves network performance and enables energy saving, helping operators build high-quality green 5G networks," Fang said.

FDD Ultra-Wideband Multi-Antenna Solutions (4T-8T-Massive MIMO) Maximize Spectrum Value

Ultra-wideband and multi-antenna technologies are also ideal for FDD spectrum as they can maximize spectrum value and improve capacity and user experience for 4G and 5G networks.

Huawei has launched a highly integrated ultra-wideband 4T4R RRU to specifically support 5G evolution. It supports simplified deployment for 700–900 MHz/AWS + PCS multi-band networks and utilizes full-band and all-RAT dynamic power sharing to improve user experience by 20% and reduce power consumption by 20%. Huawei has also launched the ultra-high-power ultra-wideband 8T8R RRU which uses AWS and PCS to work with the Hertz platform 8T8R antenna, significantly improving coverage and capacity.

For scenarios where large capacity is required but antenna space is limited, Huawei will next year launch the FDD BladeAAU. This new solution will integrate FDD Massive MIMO and full-band antennas to address deployment challenges.

For markets in which new 5G bands have not yet been provisioned, ultra-wideband and multi-antenna technologies can still be used to reduce the cost of upgrading existing sites, improve the capacity and user experience of 4G networks, and support evolution to 5G (including voice and IoT services).

The Intelligent Multi-Band Coordination Solution (HashBAND) Ensures Optimal Experiences

For future 5G networks where FDD and TDD multiple bands co-exist, Huawei has created a multi-band coordination solution — HashBAND. It enables intelligent coordination among different 5G bands to expand mid- and high-band 5G coverage while improving low-band user experience at the cell edge, bringing multi-band value to customers' networks and improving the 5G user experience.

In terms of green development of 5G, Huawei believes the best way to meet the increasing power requirements is by improving energy efficiency through hardware and software innovation as well as intelligent radio management, not simply increasing power levels.