Fifth-generation (5G) technology has been in commercial use around the world for four years, driving new value creation, and 5.5G is the next step forward, Chinese multinational technology corporation Huawei rotating chairperson and CFO Sabrina Meng has highlighted. 

Meng was delivering a keynote address titled “Embracing 5G transformation” at the MWC Shanghai 2023, running this week in China, and in which Huawei is participating under the theme “Guide to the Intelligent World”.

Meng pointed out that 5.5G would feature 10 Gb/s downlink speeds, 1 Gb/s uplink speeds, the ability to support 100-billion connections and native artificial intelligence (AI).

She posited that 5.5G would result in better connectivity between people, as well as create new business opportunities with more targeted support for industrial needs in domains like the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced manufacturing.

Meng outlined that 5.5G was rapidly approaching for the communications industry, with these technologies expected to improve network capabilities tenfold and create 100 times more business opportunities for operators.

At this year’s MWC Shanghai, Huawei is showcasing four of the major features of 5.5G – 10 Gb/s downlink, 1 Gb/s uplink, 100-billion connections and native AI.

It is also exploring the five connectivity areas expected to go mainstream with 5.5G – connectivity for people, for things, for vehicles, for industries and for homes.

Huawei acclaimed that it had already started helping a number of operators around the world begin commercial verification of 5.5G.

It highlighted that the 5.5G industry would continue to grow quickly as the first release of 5.5G standards is expected in the first half of 2024 and related technologies have already been extensively verified.

ADVANCING 5G

Meng said the commercial deployment of 5G had created a growing appetite for more groundbreaking, leapfrog innovation.

Paving the way for 5G’s ongoing success would require finding the right technology for different scenarios and performing more comprehensive systems engineering, she pointed out.

This would also require diving deeper into industrial scenarios, truly understanding customers’ pain points, and adopting a more holistic systems engineering mindset, she added.

Meng emphasised that the industry needed to work more closely together both up and down the value chain – with peers and partners, customers and developers – throughout the entire product lifecycle, from research and development and procurement, to supply and marketing.

She posited that the industry needed to pave the way for 5G’s ongoing success by working on solution modelling and optimisation, as well as tools and methodologies.

INTEGRATED APPROACH

“The digital infrastructure of the future intelligent world will be deeply integrated into every aspect of our lives, industry and society. It won't be based on advancements in individual technologies, but rather on incredibly massive, complex systems – the convergence of multiple elements.

“It’s going to require systems-level thinking and design. When watching a chess game, you can see the big picture. But when you're playing chess, you focus on the details. Likewise, systematic capabilities to integrate technology and transform management are critical for the future success of 5G,” Meng postulated.

She outlined that, in terms of integrating different technologies, greater synergy could be achieved across cloud, networks, edge and devices through systematic design and innovation across domains.

“When coupled with optimisation across software, hardware, chips and algorithms, we can address the challenges associated with developing complex solutions for vastly different industrial scenarios,” she highlighted.

Looking at management transformation, Meng asserted that digital and intelligent transformation were not merely limited to the technology itself, but were rather about transforming one’s approach to management.

“Going digital requires redefining the relationships between people, events, things and theory, and adopting a more open, forward-looking management approach to address future challenges,” she averred.