The evolution of wireless networks toward 5G, the next generation of cellular technology, brings exceptional communications capabilities for utilities and opens new opportunities for collaboration with mobile network operators.

The need for higher efficiencies, security and better user experience is driving the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) into a number of industrial and smart cities applications. Utilities’ communications are among the most demanding applications in terms of wireless reliability and coverage. Networks need to cover their entire service territories including challenging locations such as remote rural areas and deep inside apartment, basement and office buildings. Millions of devices have to be connected with an extreme degree of reliability and security – satisfying strict demands for performance, low-latency and reliability to support a wide variety of use cases going from smart metering to real-time fault management and direct load control.Newer cellular technologies including LTE IoT today and 5G tomorrow are designed not only to better interconnect people, but also to interconnect and control machines, objects, and devices. They will deliver new levels of performance and efficiency that will support a broad set of industries including utilities. 5G is not just about multi-Gbps peak rates, it also brings ultra-low latency, high reliability & massive IoT scale – allowing utilities to tap into these new capabilities could enhance customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs and improve the resiliency of their service.

What is 5G?

5G is the fifth generation mobile network which has been designed from the beginning for a broader scope than previous generations. Like 4G LTE, 5G is also OFDM-based and will operate based on the same mobile networking principles. However, the new 5G NR (New Radio) air interface will further enhance OFDM to deliver an improved degree of flexibility and scalability.

In general, 5G use cases can be broadly categorized into three main types of connected services:

• Enhanced Mobile Broadband: 5G is expected to deliver peak data rates up to multiple Gbps. A technology company based in San Diego, CA, has created a 5G modem that is designed to achieve up to five Gbps in downlink peak data rate. Multi-Gbps speeds and the enhanced capacity could allow utilities, for example, to rapidly push large firmware images to address critical security issues in smart meters.
   
• Mission-Critical communications: 5G is expected to eventually enable new services with ultra-reliable/available, low latency links – for use cases such as remote control of critical infrastructure. This could allow utilities, for instance, to remotely send commands to distribution devices to change their configurations or to control their operations in real-time, with an end-to-end message latency down to 1ms.
   
• Massive Internet of Things: 5G will connect a massive number of embedded sensors over 50,000 per cell per single carrier through the ability to scale down in data rates & more efficient protocols including new low power modes. This could allow the network to support a high density of control and monitoring equipment as well as smart meters – far beyond the usual thousands of devices per square kilometer required by utilities in urban areas.
   

5G has the potential to transform utility communications, but there is no need to wait for 5G NR to fully proliferate to start realizing some of its benefits. 4G LTE already provides great coverage and many foundational services essential to 5G. To address the growing demand of connecting low-complexity, low-power devices to the wide-area mobile network, LTE IoT was introduced as part of the latest 4G specifications. It is a suite of two narrowband technologies, eMTC (AKA LTE Cat-M) and NB-IoT, that scale down device complexity to enable low cost sub $5 modules, maximize battery life enabling greater than 10 year battery life for gas & water meters, extend range by up to 20db enabling connectivity in basements and increase device density to over 50,000 per cell per carrier.

Addressing Coverage, Future-proofing, Reliability and Security

Today’s cellular networks have large footprints covering nearly 100 percent of the population many regions. Building such a level of coverage with 5G will likely take some time. To reap the upcoming benefits of 5G without waiting for coverage to expand, utilities could utilize multimode systems that support all major cellular technologies simultaneously, from 2G to 5G – so devices would connect initially with

3G or 4G and then use 5G as network coverage becomes available. Multimode is also a great way for utilities to help future-proof their systems as operators migrate networks from one generation to the next one. When necessary, additional solutions such as small cells could be used to further extend coverage. As a result, connectivity can be provided to all smart meters and distribution network devices in the utility’s service area.

The use of cellular networks also can provide utilities with benefits in reliability and security. Cellular networks are designed with reliability and high availability as basic requirements. Cellular networks operate in licensed spectrum that forms the foundation for offering good quality of service. Technologies operating in unlicensed spectrum are not able to the control number of users or type of protocols used. This makes it difficult to guarantee quality of service over long life cycles which is a key requirement for industrial applications including utilities. Modern network equipment incorporates redundancy features to help ensure continued operation even when there is component failure. Transport networks are designed with multiple redundant data paths and with fast rerouting when failure occurs, cell sites have overlapped coverage, etc. Cellular operators, like AT&T and Verizon, have deployed backup battery and power generators at cell sites and data centers to help ensure services will not be interrupted during power outages. On top of the above, transportable cell sites, such as cell sites on wheels with satellite backhaul, are on standby to minimize network downtime even in disaster situations.

For security, cellular networks support a full suite of features and protocols, including authentication, integrity protection, ciphering, network security, and user confidentiality – and 5G is designed with a more advanced security architecture.

Cost-effectiveness

Just like other major cellular technologies, 5G is backed by global standards, helping ensure interoperability among devices and networks enabled by in band and guard band operation. The global standards-based approach has resulted in a large ecosystem including chip developers, device makers, infrastructure vendors, and service providers – which leads to low device, deployment, and operation costs. Some of the biggest countries in the world are adopting cellular for smart metering as a result.

In addition, the competition among network operators to expand their businesses into IoT opportunities has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the price of cellular connectivity in the last few years. When taking performance into account, cellular solutions can deliver the highest performance and available data rate at the lowest cost – a trend that is expected to extend after the arrival of 5G.

With more connections worldwide than people on Earth, cellular is the most proliferated communication platform ever developed. Utilities can benefit from the strong ecosystem that has been put in place by the mobile industry – as well as with the new mobile broadband, ultra-reliable and scalable capabilities that 5G will bring in the next decade.