Signals Flash! In for a Pound, Looking for a Penny
Signals Flash! In for a Pound, Looking for a Penny
Takeaways from the Ericsson Smart 5G Factory Event and Network X Americas
05/30/2024 | 17 pages
Last week Signals Research Group (SRG) attended the Ericsson Smart 5G Factory Event in Lewisville, TX, and the Network X Americas event just down the road in Irving, Texas. The Network X event included a 6G Workshop on the day preceding the first official day of Network X. We also had the opportunity to present some results from some of our 5G benchmark studies that we’ve done over recent months in North America. The slides from our presentation are available on LinkedIn and on the SRG website (registration is required).
Key Highlights and Observations
Something is Missing. It took us a while, but we finally figured out something was largely missing at the Network X event (formally known as the Big 5G Event. There was very little discussion on the radio side of the house, including forthcoming advancements to the air interface, and vendor differentiation (infrastructure, chipset, etc.). We think we know why. In for a pound, looking for a penny.
Fixing 5G with 6G? We discuss what went right and wrong with legacy G technologies, arguing that much of the “wrong” had nothing to do with the associated G. For better or worse, 6G builds upon 5G from a technology and infrastructure perspective, suggesting more of the same. AI is a differentiator, but it isn’t unique to 6G.
Odds and Ends. We recap our 5G factory tour, as well as comments from AT&T and Ericsson executives.