5G Updates: Reduced Capabilities in 5G or 5G RedCap NR

5G RedCap NR (Concept by Microsoft CoPilot AI)

RedCap is abbreviation for Reduced Capabilities in 4G or 5G. This tech was conceptualized during Release 17 but it is getting traction in the era of 5G-NR (New Radio). 5G RedCap is also known as 5G NR-Light.

If you can remember Uninor or Telenor India has launched 4G over 1800MHz in India - that was narrow band LTE or NB-LTE. RedCap can be utilized in such scenario. 

"5G RedCap is introduced to bridge the gap between 4G and 5G. The minimum 5G requirement earlier was 100 MHz bandwidth and 4 RX antennas. This was not suited for low-cost and battery-involved LPWA IoT applications. 5G RedCap is defined to power low complexity LTE and NR devices with minimum hardware requirement. It functions in the FR2 frequency range of 5G NR making a whole new band of frequencies available for current 4G devices and initiates the migration from 4G to 5G."

EchoStar backed ORCID to Keep Open RAN Alive

In recent times, Open RAN has faced some backlash, but that does not mean the tech is dead nor the enthuathism around the technology. EchoStar Corporation, the company behind Boost Mobile, DISH TV, Hughes believes in Open RAN. The company has identified the flexibility of Open RAN is priceless. Then they brought their own playground for Open RAN players - ORCID. 

HQ at Englewood, Colo. (US), EchoStar Corporation, a global telecom and satellite service provider, has announced the launch of the Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID), a state-of-the-art Open RAN (O-RAN) testing and evaluation lab housed at EchoStar's Cheyenne, Wyoming, data center.

Road to 6G: 3GPP's Release 18 or 5G-Advanced

5G Advanced - AI Generated Photo (by Opera Aria) 

By the end of June, 2024 The 3GPP or the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, the organization responsible for developing protocols for mobile telecommunications, has introduced Release 18, also dubbed as 5G-Advanced after long work of 3 years. 

It should be reminded that in 2011 the 3GPP also used a similar 'Advanced' upgrade tactic during 4G-LTE days. LTE-Advanced came with Release 10 of 3GPP. 5G came with the 3GPP Release 15 in 2017. 

Interestingly as soon  as 5G-Advanced is launched, the specifications are already available to 5G equipment vendors. Telecom equipment vendors are happy to get it, as it would open a new road of revenue.