China Unicom, State Grid Shandong, and Huawei Launch China's Largest Commercial 5G RedCap Project in Laiwu

Recently, China Unicom, together with partners including State Grid Shandong and Huawei, launched a city-wide commercial deployment of 5G RedCap + power deterministic network slicing in Laiwu, Shandong Province. The project saw the deployment of the largest city-wide deterministic network slicing 5G private network in China. As part of the deployment, 3,220 RedCap power terminals were brought online, making this commercial RedCap project the largest of its kind to-date in China. In addition, the project uses the innovative RAN digital twin system to implement precise service experience prediction and sets a record for the fastest service deployment and rollout in China. The successful deployment marks the start of a new phase of 5G smart grid applications, featuring low cost, high security, and easy deployment and lays a solid foundation for building the world's largest 5G-enabled new power system.

Grid connection control for the RedCap 5G distributed PV of State Grid Laiwu

5G RedCap automatic power distribution application of State Grid Laiwu

Power systems are key infrastructure that supports economic and social development as well as ensuring people's livelihoods. Reliable power supply is crucial for the running of a modern society. With China now setting clear carbon peaking and neutrality deadlines, there is a strong need to accelerate the application of advanced technologies such as 5G and continuously promote the digital and intelligent upgrade of power systems in order to build a new national power system in China. Power distribution and consumption are characterized by large numbers of access points and wide coverage areas. Power services face challenges such as high deployment costs, high security requirements, and long rollout period. RedCap, as a lightweight 5G technology, achieves optimal balance between costs and performance. It greatly reduces 5G module costs, while retaining 5G native capabilities such as network slicing, high reliability, and low latency, providing the optimal connection solution for large-scale deployment of 5G smart grid applications.

In May 2023, China Unicom Shandong, together with State Grid Shandong, Huawei, and NARI, rolled out the first commercial pilot of 5G private network RedCap + deterministic network slicing in Laiwu, Shandong Province. The success of the pilot project proved the feasibility of large-scale commercial use of lightweight and low-cost 5G RedCap in the electric power industry.

Leveraging 5G RedCap lightweight terminals and the E2E deterministic network slicing solution, the project see the deployment of deterministic network slices in more than 650 5G sites in Laiwu (over 30,000 5G sites across Shandong), providing communication assurance for power production control services such as distributed PV and power distribution automation. Based on the precise service experience prediction function of the RAN digital twin system, more than 5,000 electric power terminals (including 3220 RedCap terminals) were rolled out within a week, setting a new record for the fastest electric power service deployment in China.

Commenting on the successful deployment, Chief Engineer Sun Gang from State Grid Shandong remarked, "5G RedCap can reduce the deployment cost and power consumption of electric power terminals by 60% and 32%, respectively, achieving lightweight 5G electric power applications and laying the foundation for large-scale deployment of 5G smart grids. State Grid Shandong plans to deploy 300,000 electric power terminals by June 2024. It is estimated that by 2027, the number of RedCap connections in electric power scenarios will exceed 50 million, resulting in cost savings of about CNY90 billion."

Deputy General Manager Lin Jun of China Unicom Shandong remarked: "5G RedCap, with its optimal cost-effectiveness and performance, is the best bearer for medium- and high-speed IoT. It can be widely used in industries such as electric power, manufacturing, security, vehicle-mounted devices, and wearables. It will open up a new blue ocean for IoT with 1 billion connections and trillions of market value. Looking ahead, China Unicom Shandong will stick to the principle of network first and moderate advancement, and work with industry partners including Huawei to accelerate the construction of a ubiquitous 5G RedCap medium- and high-speed IoT infrastructure network consisting of networks, applications, and ecosystems. Together, we will build a commercial benchmark in the first phase of RedCap application markets, and vigorously promote the rapid growth of RedCap connections in the industry."

Zhu Xiaodan, Sales VP of Huawei's Wireless Network Product Line, remarked: "China is the first country in the world to achieve 'more things connected than people'. As the commercial use of RedCap scales up, mobile IoT will shift from high-speed development to high-quality development, in order to achieve more traffic and value. Huawei will work with industry partners to promote the development of the RedCap ecosystem, accelerate the scaled deployment of RedCap networks, inject new momentum into the development of 5G applications, and lay a solid foundation for the intelligent transformation of various industries."