Wi-Fi gets a needed shot in the arm to handle increased internet traffic and to offload traffic from 5G. This morning, 5G Technology World reported on new ICs that will take advantage of an expected boost in Wi-Fi that adds 1200 MHz of spectrum. Today, the FCC announced its approval of the so-called 6 GHz…
5G
Wi-Fi 6E is coming, chipsets with MIMO now sampling
The QCS-AX2 series from ON Semiconductor brings 6 GHz Wi-Fi 6E to routers and access points. Just as LTE cellular is running out of capacity (hence 5G), so is Wi-Fi. Originally operating at 2.4 GHz (70 MHz band), IEEE 802.3n added 5 GHz, which supplemented with 500 MHz but at a decreased range. That’s happening…
What every engineer can do about 5G/Wi-Fi handoff security
Security in handoffs from cellular base stations to Wi-Fi needs help. Make your voice heard. 5G is rolling out across the world such as speed, reliability, and network efficiency. 5G is unlocking or improving use cases such as IoT communications at the edge, high quality video, lower latency to support industry controls and automation, highly-accurate…
Grandmaster clock gets enhancements
Microchip’s TimeProvider 4100 adds virtual Precision Reference Time Clock support, transferring time throughout a network. With IEEE 1588 moving into 5G networks, having a grandmaster clock becomes essential for the protocol to distribute time around a network. Microchip’s IEEE 1588v2 grandmaster clock, TimeProvider 4100 Release 2.1, adds features such as virtual Precision Reference Time Clock…
Internet Protocol: The workhorse becomes the bottleneck
The Non-IP Networking group within ETSI seeks to reduce the packet overhead of Internet Protocol because it’s become a bottleneck in today’s high-speed mobile networks. Internet Protocol (IP) is one of the technologies that made the internet a reality. Occupying Layer 3 of the Open Systems Interconnect network model, IP works on the premise that…
The basics of 5G’s modulation, OFDM
Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing has become the standard modulation format for 5G New Radio. Lean how OFDM works and how it’s used. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is an efficient modulation format used in modern wireless communication systems including 5G. OFDM combines the benefits of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) and Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) to produce…
IEEE 1588 adds timing performance while reducing cost and risk
GPS and GNSS have been the standards for network timing, but they have security issues. A Master clock and IEEE 1588 reduces the risk and lowers installation costs. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide the critical primary reference clocks that networks need to correctly operate and seamlessly coordinate the flow of voice, data and…
5G fronthaul networks add flexibility
Flexibility in network control and distribution has created the need for separating the functions between wireless and wired network equipment. To deliver on the promise of 5G, which sometimes seems like everything to everyone, network operators will need to augment their existing network architectures, addressing some flexibility brought into existence with the new 5G technologies…
How 5G changes the V2X communications game
The concept of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications has been around for 20 years. So far, V2X has achieved limited uptake for several reasons. That’s about the change with the widespread deployment of 5G technology. The 5G new radio (NR) standards contain several innovations that will change the game for V2X technology, saving lives, reducing fuel consumption,…
5G does not spread biological viruses
Misinformation is getting out of hand. 5G is not the problem, people are. Over the last day, several people have emailed me about reports coming from the UK of people destroying cell towers. Indeed, it’s all over the news media as misinformation spreads that 5G is spreading the coronavirus. The belief that 5G is responsible…