Intro
Huawei and Ericsson are two top 5G infrastructure providers up to 2020, after an exhaustive survey on Internet, we conduct this survey on their detailed technological specifications of 5G terminals, C-RAN architecture, and reported applications. Work compiled following is entirely based on white papers and official documentations provided by each providers.
Radio and Modulation
To compare the radio technology and modulation between Huawei and Ericsson, we selected two products from Huawei and Ericsson 5g radio lines respectively. Both of these two products support massive MIMO.
| Product Model | Huawei AAU5980 | Ericsson AIR 6468 |
|---|---|---|
| MIMO | 32x32 | 64x64 |
| Maximum Effective Radiated Power | 100 W | 120 W |
| Frequency Band | 1710-1785 MHz (Rx); 1805-1880 MHz (Tx) | 2496-2690 MHz |
| Multiple Access | Sparse Code Multiple Access | OFDMA |
| Duplex | TDD | TDD |
| TX RX channel | 32T32R | 64T64R |
Cellular Architecture
Both Huawei and Ericsson participated in the development of 5G Cloud-based RAN architecture. The cellular architecture uses Cloud-RAN to reconstruct radio access networks (RAN) to provide massive connections of multiple standards and implement on-demand deployment of RAN functions required by 5G.
A C-RAN architecture has three primary components — a centralized baseband unit (BBU) pool, remote radio unit (RRU) networks, and transport network or fronthaul:
- BBU pool — The BBU pool, located at a centralized site, functions as a cloud or a data center. Its multiple BBU nodes dynamically allocate resources to RRUs based on current network needs.
- RRU network — The wireless RRU network connects wireless devices similarly to access points or towers in traditional cellular networks.
- Fronthaul/transport network — Using optical fiber communication, cellular communication, or millimeter wave (mmWave) communication, the fronthaul is the connection layer between a BBU and a set of RRUs, providing high-bandwidth links to handle the requirements of multiple RRUs.
Reported Data Rate and Applications
| Huawei | Ericsson | |
|---|---|---|
| Max Reported DL Datarate | 3.67 Gbps | 4.3 Gbps |
| Operators | CMHK, Monaco Telecom, Vodafone (Italy), Aritel (India), etc. | Deutsche Telekom, SmartTone, etc. |
| Reported Applications | First-person VR skiing, Remote-controlled construction vehicle, UHK streaming of beautiful embroidery in 5G+8K, 5G AGV for hospitals, etc. | Ericsson 5G IoT Platform |
Reference
[1] Huawei Antenna & Antenna line Products Catalogue 2018. https://www.scribd.com/document/400462768/Huawei-Antenna-Catalogue-2018
[2] 5G Network Architecture: A High Level Perspective. https://www.huawei.com/minisite/hwmbbf16/insights/5G-Nework-Architecture-Whitepaper-en.pdf
[3] Huawei 5G CPE Pro Datasheet. https://www.router-switch.com/pdf/huawei-5g-cpe-pro-datasheet.pdf
[4] Ericsson AIR 6468 Manual Datasheet. http://www.1com.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ericsson-AIR-6468-Manual-Datasheet.pdf
[5] Massive MIMO AAU Field Trial. https://www.ofca.gov.hk/filemanager/ofca/en/content_669/tr201804_02.pdf
[6] Industries + 5G. https://carrier.huawei.com/en/Industries-5G
[7] Ericsson.com: 5G use cases. https://www.ericsson.com/en/5g/use-cases