A highlight at this year’s MBBF 2023, hosted by GSMA, GTI, Samena Telecommunications Council, and Huawei in Dubai, is the new technology of “RedCap”.  This lightweight 5G technology, as defined in 3GPP Release 17, is poised to revolutionize industries across the spectrum, from manufacturing and electric power to home broadband, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and smart wearables. What does RedCap really entail?

“A full-scale 5G deployment is expensive. RedCap as an alternative solution, offers industries the same 5G performance, with low latency, high broadband speeds, and cloud security, but at a much lower price,” states Dr Philip Song, chief marketing officer of Huawei Carrier BG, in an exclusive interview with FUENF-G. Its modules have been designed to be more affordable, with prices plummeting to as low as USD10. According to Huawei’s latest press release, they’re also 80% more cost-effective than their 5G eMBB counterparts. When it comes to network capacity, RedCap boasts a staggering tenfold increase over 4G. Furthermore, RedCap devices consume a mere 20% of the power that 4G devices do.

The technology is said to support essential 5G capabilities, including URLLC, network slicing, edge computing, and 5G LAN, ensuring it can meet the diverse network requirements of various industry applications. At the Mobile Broadband Forum 2023, industry luminaries and leaders from around the globe converged to discuss the deployment, ecosystem, applications, and the future of RedCap. Ding Xin, Vice President of TD Tech, delivered a keynote, highlighting how RedCap can usher in the new era of cellular IoT by enabling massive connections with its lightweight 5G IoT.

RedCap commercial pilots carried out

Commercial achievements in the RedCap realm were also announced at the 5G Industry Summit. A collaboration involving Huawei, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom saw the deployment of RedCap in over ten cities, spanning diverse industries. Meanwhile, global heavyweights like the UAE, STC Saudi Arabia, Zain KSA, STC Kuwait, Zain Kuwait, STC Bahrain, and AIS Thailand have also jumped on the RedCap bandwagon, completing technical verifications and commercial pilots.

At the MBBF, Huawei and its industry partners showcased a plethora of products, including RedCap modules, DTUs, and CPEs. With over 50 industry devices set to launch by the close of 2023, RedCap applications and connections are being propelled for use in vertical industries.

The Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2023, themed “Bring 5.5G into Reality,” is being hosted in Dubai, UAE, on October 10 and 11. This annual gathering brought together mobile network carriers, industry leaders, and ecosystem partners from around the world, all united in their quest to accelerate the commercial use of 5.5G.

To read more about the technical aspects of RedCap and the MBBF, click here.

With the conclusion of MBBF and the start of the UBBF, presenting further new innovations and use cases, your FUENF-G team continues to bring you comprehensive and detailed reporting, straight from Dubai. To make sure, that you do not miss any updates, subscribe to our newsletter for all things 5G. Also, find us on social media.

Read our detailed article on the launch of MBBF 2023 here.