What was Huawei going to show off in Barcelona? Here are some of the highlights.

February 24, 2020

3 Min Read
Not MWC: Huawei bolsters its 5G network portfolio

With this year's MWC canceled, the telecom sector's vendors are using in-person roadshows and various digital platforms to share their latest portfolio developments.

Huawei was in London late last week to share its views and a range of new and updated networking products. Here's a selection of the new launches that caught the Light Reading team's eye (yes, there were more!). Take a deep breath…

  • 5G "simplified" RAN, transport and power-efficient options: A "simplified RAN" – comprising Massive MIMO antenna supporting 64T64R (64 transmit, 64 receive) capabilities, an integrated blade AAU (active antenna unit) and ultra-wideband antenna coverage of 400 MHz – plus SLA-supportable IP network elements, a new 800G optical module that enables 48Gbit/s transmission over a single fiber and integrated, smart power consumption technology are the standout features in the enhanced network portfolio. See this announcement for more details. Figure 1: Who needs binoculars? Huawei's Peng Song, president of Carrier Group marketing, holds up the 800G optical module for the audience in London. (Note: It's in his right hand...) Huawei's Peng Song, president of Carrier Group marketing, holds up the 800G optical module for the audience in London. (Note: It's in his right hand...)

    • 5G indoor coverage: Huawei has expanded its LampSite range of indoor cellular access points, including one called Spartan. For details on the models and updates, see this press release.

    • RuralStar Pro: Designed for rural deployments, this product integrates baseband, radio frequency (RF) and wireless backhaul functions into one physical unit that weighs only 550 kgs. The Pro unit needs only two solar panels for its power supply, compared with four for the previous iteration of the product, and supports 2G and 4G traffic. For more details, see this press release.

    • In-house 5G modules: Huawei has teamed up with a number of partners to develop vertical industry-specific modules based on chips developed by the vendor's subsidiary, HiSilicon. See this announcement for more details.

    • Deterministic Networking Oriented 5G Core Network Solution: A single, cloud-native core platform for 2G-5G non-standalone and standalone deployments with integrated edge computing. The "deterministic" angle is one that Huawei is eager to push to the industry to enable virtual private mobile networks. See this press release for more details.

    • AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 series: A suite of products that includes 10 new Wi-Fi 6 access point models, including some suited to outdoor deployment. Huawei claims the flagship model, the AirEngine 8760 AP, can enable data rates of up to 10.75 Gbit/s. For more details, see this press release.

    • Convergent Billing System R20: A "monetization" system designed to run as part of a cloud-based standalone (SA) 5G deployments as well as non-standalone (NSA). For more details, see this press announcement.

    • Liquid OTN and other optical solutions: The vendor says its Liquid OTN system is the first OTN system in the industry to support "granular" bandwidth as low as 2 Mbit/s without losing any supporting functionality, making it applicable to enterprise as well as telco deployments and converging the transport and access networks (should anyone wish to do so…). In addition, it has unveiled: the AirPON optical access solution designed specifically for deployment by mobile operators (as it can be deployed at existing mobile infrastructure sites); and the eAI ONT (optical network terminal), a customer premises unit that can "intelligently identify service types." For more details, see this press release.

    • SmartCare E-Planning Model: A networking planning tool that goes beyond coverage and throughput by factoring in customers' digital experience. For more details, see this press release.

    • Site digital twins: A "planning, design, deployment to maintenance" tool that creates a digital replica of a physical deployment site and uses "advanced photogrammetry, AI technologies and proposes T-BIM (Telecom-Building Information Modelling)." Sounds intriguing. For more details, see this press release.

      — Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

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