Note: This article shares the same title with a presentation by
Dr. Konstantinos Stavropoulos at the European Conference
on Networks and Communications (EuCNC), 2019.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: Konstantinos Stavropoulos, Ph.D.
develops and executes the strategy for EXFO's mobile network
(access, core, end-to-end) monitoring and optimization solutions,
which include intelligent software platforms and expert
professional services. His main areas of focus are 5G, 4G
evolution, network virtualization, transformation, analytics, and
automation. In addition to EXFO’s 5G solutions and market
positioning, he actively contributes to the promotion of EXFO’s
solutions for automated operations and optical fiber monitoring.
Konstantinos has been focusing on mobile networks for more
than 20 years through academic and professional roles. His
experience covers diverse areas from antenna array systems
research and mobile network planning and optimization consultancy
to the development, management, and marketing of
innovative software solutions. These solutions have supported
automated planning/optimization, customer experience
geolocation, device interoperability and acceptance testing,
service assurance for physical/virtual networks, centralized
and automated operations, and big data analytics. Konstantinos
holds a doctorate in electrical and electronic engineering
from Imperial College, London and has presented at dozens
of conferences and webinars. He has authored several articles,
blogs and white papers on mobile networks. Dr. Stavropoulos
can be reached at konstantinos.stavropoulos@exfo.com.
REFERENCES:
1. “Evolution from LTE to 5G: Global Market Status Report,”
Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), August 2019.
2. “5G White Paper,” Next Generation Mobile Networks, 2015.
January/February/March 2020 I 17
And what about FiberG? Is the 6G discussion relevant?
If 6G represents a radical step change from 5G and
its evolution, the requirements on the underlying fiber
infrastructure will be radically different too. In this case,
upgrades would not only be necessary, but mandatory.
If 6G turns out to be a 5G+ standard or if 6G is never
launched, the required fiber network enhancements may
only be incremental and, therefore, more manageable.
Either way, optical fiber should be regarded as a vital
part of the 5G/6G otherwise-labeled future mobile/converged
network infrastructure. Fiber has an essential role
to play for 5G and beyond.
CONCLUSION
Optical fiber can support the 5G requirements for ultra-
high throughput/capacity, ultra-low latency, and ultra-
high reliability. In fact, fiber is needed to realize the
benefits of concepts/technologies that are key 5G pillars,
including C-RAN, NFV, SDN, MEC, SBA, and the cloud.
As an indispensable part of the 5G architecture, the
performance of the underlying fiber infrastructure will
directly affect the experience of 5G. In other words, any
fiber issues will be interpreted as 5G issues and will impact
interesting and even mission-critical use cases. Therefore,
it is crucial to address the investment focus, regulation,
standardization, and performance-related fiber challenges
and to increase automation in fiber network deployment
and operation.
Besides its rising importance for services and applications
that are not 5G-specific, optical fiber is essential
for 5G and future mobile/converged networks. This is
indeed the dawn of the fiber generation. It is the dawn
of FiberG.
The 5G concept of end-to-end network slicing emphasizes the need
for a better end-to-end approach to deploying and operating networks.
This end-to-end approach will inevitably incorporate the crucial
5G fiber infrastructure.
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