URLLC key to autonomous 5G applications
A new report from industry organization 5G Americas highlights how some of the longer-term goals of 5G–supporting widespread automation in verticals like manufacturing and transportation–hinge on the maturation of ultra-reliable, low-latency communications, or URLLC.
“With the wide range of unique 5G services, the context of communication will expand to vehicles, high-speed trains, drones and industrial robots with the change agent being URLLC,” 5G Americas President Chris Pearson said in a statement. “With such advancement, mission-critical applications have stringent communication performance and reliability requirements. To support such complex communication, low latency is seen as a crucial ingredient with URLLC as a key enabler in this new age of connectivity.”
One of the key goals, according to “New Services & Applications with 5G Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications,” is reducing end-to-end network latency to the 1 millisecond range. To do this requires the distribution of key network equipment so it’s physically closer to end-users. Another requirement that speaks more to enhanced mobile broadband, another major 5G use case, is a function of high-band spectrum and network densification.
Key URLLC business opportunities laid out in the report include smart factory/industrial automation; remote diagnosis and surgery for healthcare professionals; entertainment; transportation; manufacturing and smart grid.
Intel’s Director of Advanced Technologies Rao Yallapragada, who also co-lead the team that worked on the report, noted that initial 5G launches are in service of enhanced broadband, “The future of 5G will include ultra-high reliability and/or low-latency features. We are living in a time where mobile and vertical industries are undergoing a rapid transformation boosted through critical communication capabilities. URLLC will unleash an array of innovative applications and digitize a legion of verticals touching each aspect of human lives.”
