Carriers and network equipment manufacturers have stepped up tests and trials of 5G New Radio Reduced Capability (RedCap) in recent months. Geographically, these tests are taking place around the world, reflecting the global interest in 5G RedCap and the hope that the technology will both expand the 5G device ecosystem and 5G use cases.
So who is testing RedCap, and what do they anticipate that the technology will be used for? (See Part 1 for additional carriers and tests.)
This fall was a particularly time for RedCap testing, with a slew of announcements in September and October. Those included:
–Telia Finland announced in late September that it had conducted RedCap field testing. Telia worked with Nokia and MediaTek on the field tests, using a base station from Telia Finland’s production network and a Standalone 5G core network on MediaTek’s RedCap test platform. The test also included mobility tests to ensure signal transmission, Telia said.
“Successful field tests confirm that Nokia’s independent 5G networks are ready for RedCap technology. RedCap terminals enable the use of an independent 5G network in applications that use lower bandwidth. In this way, we ensure that RedCap serves the IoT needs of companies and industry and enables the development of a wider range of consumer devices,” said Ari Kynäslahti, strategy and technology director of Nokia’s Mobile Networks business group .
“Cooperation with Telia and Nokia has been a key factor in building the 5G IoT market,” said MediaTek’s European sales director, Pascal Lemasson. “RedCap is a significant technology step that makes 5G-IoT devices, for example wearable devices and industrial wireless sensors, more efficient and affordable, while they utilize all the advantages of 5G connections.”
-Additional RedCap testing in Europe came to light in mid-October, with BT, Nokia and MediaTek announced successful field tests at BT Group’s Adastral Park site on EE’s 5G SA network, with BT indicating that it is “evaluating RedCap to support new 5G use cases which could benefit both EE’s business and consumer customer bases.” Possible RedCap devices mentioned by Nokia included “small IoT devices such as wearables or health trackers for consumers as well as ruggedized routers, and environmental or other condition-based monitoring sensors.”
“This trial with Nokia demonstrates the potential of RedCap technology in unlocking a new wave of innovation within the 5G services ecosystem. This is especially the case as we move towards the arrival of 5G SA, bringing with it enhanced reliability, responsiveness, security, and speed which – through 5G RedCap – promises to benefit a host of new IoT devices and use cases,” said Greg McCall, chief networks officer at BT Group.
-India’s Bharti Airtel said in late October that it had worked with Ericsson to test the NEM’s pre-commercial RedCap software on Airtel’s 5G network. Qualcomm was also involved with that testing, providing RedCap test modules.
Randeep Sekhon, CTO of Bharti Airtel, said that RedCap “will enable futuristic IoT broadband adoption for devices including wearables and industrial sensors in a way that is both cost and energy efficient.”
–Huawei and a number of partners released a series of RedCap announcements in mid-October as part of the Global Mobile Broadband Forum event hosted by the Chinese NEM, claiming that the technology “has entered large-scale commercial use worldwide.”
Huawei said at the time that more than 10 carriers from seven countries had already piloted or tested RedCap, name-checking a number of Middle East carriers such as e& UAE, STC Saudi Arabia, STC Kuwait and STC Bahrain, as well as Zain KSA and Zain Kuwait, among others. In China, Huawei said that it has worked with the three major Chinese operators on commercial deployment of RedCap in more than 10 cities. The vendor also declared that “the end-to-end RedCap ecosystem has matured,” touting RedCap products from several industry partners that included modules, industrial database transfer units (DTUs) and customer premise equipment (CPE). Huawei said that it expects to see more than 50 RedCap devices for industry launched by the end of this, and added that RedCap connections were expected to surpass 100 million in the next three years and provide “a new foundation for digital connections that drives the development of new 5G applications.”
Looking for more insights on RedCap as a technology, potential use cases and its strategic role in the 5G ecosystem? Check out the editorial webinar available on-demand, featuring Counterpoint Research, Fibocom and Viavi Solutions—and keep an eye out for our upcoming special report!
