Showing posts with label Country Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Country Japan. Show all posts

Tuesday, 20 May 2025

NTT DOCOMO Trialled Japan’s First Self-powered Hydropower Base Station

In a move to advance sustainable telecom infrastructure, NTT DOCOMO launched a trial of Japan’s first self-powered hydropower mobile base station in May 2024. The initiative aimed to explore the viability of using flowing water from irrigation canals and similar sources to generate renewable energy for base stations, particularly in rural locations where power options are limited.

The trial featured a compact hydroelectric system based on a jet turbine co-developed with Professor Yukihiro Shimatani of the Prefectural University of Kumamoto. The turbine design integrated the nozzle and turbine into a single unit, which allowed for simplified manufacturing using 3D printing. This approach reduced both complexity and cost, making it suitable for distributed deployments in hard-to-reach areas.

The hydropower system was designed to generate electricity and convert it into a usable form for powering mobile base stations. It also collected real-time data on power output, water flow and pressure. This data was transmitted to DOCOMO’s Energy Management System platform, which monitored and controlled power distribution while visualising the reduction in CO2 emissions achieved through the system.

DOCOMO had previously relied on solar-powered green base stations to reduce its environmental impact. By March 2024, the company had deployed 286 such sites, equipped with photovoltaic panels and large storage batteries to maintain operations during grid outages. However, in areas where solar energy was not practical, DOCOMO explored alternative renewable sources, with hydropower emerging as a promising candidate.

The hydropower base station trial formed part of DOCOMO’s broader environmental commitment. The company had set out to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 2030 and across its supply chain by 2040. With mobile base stations accounting for approximately seventy percent of DOCOMO’s energy use, the trial addressed a critical aspect of energy sustainability.

Over the one-year demonstration period, DOCOMO aimed to optimise the system’s electrical design and integration with mobile infrastructure. It also assessed which types of base stations could benefit most from hydroelectric power and how the system could be scaled for broader deployment. The company targeted March 2025 as the timeline for evaluating results and considering next steps.

This trial represented more than just an engineering exercise. It reflected a growing focus within the telecoms sector on decarbonisation, resilience and innovation. By experimenting with alternative renewable energy sources, DOCOMO showed how network operators could adapt infrastructure for a lower-carbon future, while improving coverage and reliability in off-grid areas.

As telecom networks continue to expand, projects like this highlighted the importance of flexible, locally sourced power solutions in shaping a sustainable infrastructure roadmap.

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Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Docomo's COW Setup at Peaceful Park 2024

In support of the Noto Peninsula's recovery, PEACEFUL PARK 2024 took place on July 6-7. NTT Docomo played a key role, both as a co-host and by ensuring robust connectivity for attendees.

To maintain stable communication, Docomo deployed a mobile base station vehicle and "Carry 5G" equipment to cover indoor live venues. Leveraging Massive MIMO technology, they provided a reliable network even in crowded areas. The Docomo booth also showcased their disaster response initiatives, highlighting their commitment to resilient infrastructure.

Events like these not only celebrate community strength but also showcase the importance of adaptive telecom solutions in disaster-affected regions.

The above video shows setting up of the temporary mast, a.k.a. Cell on Wheel at the event.

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Friday, 31 January 2025

Electric Vehicles as a Resilient Power Source for Telecom Infrastructure

In an era where reliable telecommunications infrastructure was critical, Japan’s telecom giant NTT DOCOMO, in collaboration with NTT Corporation and Nippon Car Solutions (NCS), launched a ground-breaking demonstration experiment to enhance base station power resilience during outages. This initiative explored the feasibility of using electric vehicles (EVs) as mobile power sources, supported by AI-driven dispatch planning.

Addressing the Challenge of Power Outages

Telecom networks rely on consistent power to maintain connectivity, especially during emergencies. Traditionally, base stations depend on backup batteries with limited capacity, supplemented by generators in prolonged outages. However, with the increasing adoption of EVs, their potential as mobile energy sources offered a novel and sustainable approach to bolstering telecom infrastructure resilience.

The experiment integrated multiple technological components:

  • DOCOMO’s Energy Management System (EMS): This platform monitored the charge status of base stations and coordinated power-sharing between EVs and telecom infrastructure.
  • NTT’s AI-Based Dispatch Planning: Leveraging deep reinforcement learning, this system dynamically optimised EV dispatch to ensure timely power delivery to affected base stations.
  • Real-time EV Data Collection: Provided by NCS, this component tracked EV location, stored power, and driving data to enhance operational efficiency.

A Smart, AI-Driven Approach

One of the key innovations in this experiment was the use of AI-driven route planning to deploy EVs effectively. The AI system not only determined the fastest routes for EVs to reach power-downed base stations before backup batteries depleted but also ensured that vehicles were directed to charging stations before their own power ran low. By optimising travel and energy allocation, the AI model addressed logistical challenges that could otherwise hinder the feasibility of EV-based power support.

The trial, conducted in Chiba Prefecture, simulated wide-area power outages and assessed the effectiveness of the AI dispatch model in real-world conditions. By driving EVs according to AI-generated plans and measuring the charging effectiveness at base stations, the experiment aimed to refine this approach for broader adoption.

Sustainable and Scalable Solutions for Future Telecom Networks

Beyond immediate disaster response, this initiative aligned with broader sustainability goals. As a member of the EV100 initiative, NTT was committed to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles within corporate fleets. Integrating EVs into telecom infrastructure resilience strategies not only enhanced disaster response but also contributed to reducing carbon footprints in the industry.

If successful, this model could be used as a blueprint for telecom operators worldwide, particularly in regions prone to natural disasters. By leveraging AI, energy management systems, and EV technology, telecom networks could build a more resilient, flexible, and sustainable power backup strategy.

This forward-thinking trial underscored how emerging technologies could be harnessed to address infrastructure vulnerabilities, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity when it mattered most. As the telecom industry continued to evolve, integrating intelligent, sustainable power solutions remained key to enhancing network reliability and disaster preparedness.

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Friday, 17 May 2024

KDDI's Power Backup Solutions

Over the last few years you might have read multiple blog posts on our blogs (see related posts below) about how KDDI is preparing for disasters by having all kinds of backup solutions. In the last six months they have taken this even further by taking about their bendable solar cells and lighter backup batteries.

In some situations the base stations have to be installed at locations where it is not possible to deploy solar cells for power. In these locations, KDDI is working with partners to use next generation "perovskite" solar cells which are thin, light and flexible so it can be wrapped around the poles and generate a reasonable power all day long. 

Here is a video (no subtitles, but none needed):

You can learn more about this here.

Another innovation being tested by KDDI is the use of zinc secondary batteries to strengthen power outage countermeasures during disasters. While backup power supply equipment is effective as a countermeasure against long-term power outages during disasters, the problem is that it cannot be installed or expanded due to the load capacity of the building. 

Quoting from the Google translated article:

Zinc secondary batteries are approximately 50% lighter than the lead-acid batteries used in many base stations, allowing for more space to be installed, while having twice the capacity for the same size, extending base station operating time. This can be extended up to 72 hours. 

At base stations, there is an urgent need to install or expand large-capacity backup power supply equipment as a countermeasure against long-term power outages such as during disasters. Zinc secondary batteries are lightweight, allowing more space for installation, and are the same size as lead-acid batteries, allowing base stations to operate for long periods of time, so they are expected to contribute to maintaining communications during disasters. In addition, since it does not contain harmful lead and there is no risk of heat generation, installation work can be simplified, and it is expected to contribute to the acceleration of the expansion of 5G areas.

In this demonstration, we plan to operate a base station that uses zinc secondary batteries as backup power supply equipment in a real environment for one year, confirming its operation through seasonal changes in temperature and humidity, and conducting power outage tests.

Looking forward to hearing about the results of both these initiatives.

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Friday, 2 February 2024

NTT Docomo's Cell On Wheels (COW)

Yagisawa Dam (矢木沢ダム) is a dam in the Gunma Prefecture of Japan; it supports a 240 MW hydroelectric power station. 

Between May and June, test release of water is done to check that the emergency spillway gate is working fine. On these occasions, many tourists visit to experience this. There may be mobile coverage there but there isn't capacity to support large number of people. 

To alleviate the network congestion, many Japanese networks send their Cell On Wheels' (COWs) to handle the traffic. NTT Docomo's COW is as shown above.

Another COW with mmWave radios is shown above. 

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Tuesday, 14 March 2023

KDDI's Underground 5G Base Stations

Some five years back I talked about NTT Docomo's underground LTE base stations, now it's KDDI's turn for an underground 5G base station. Last week the Japanese operator KDDI announced to the world that they are testing an underground base station in a handhole (just big enough for the hand to go in as opposed to manhole where a person can go in). 

The press release (translated by Google from Japanese) said:

In December 2022, KDDI became the first domestic telecommunications carrier to begin operation of an embedded 5G base station (hereafter referred to as this base station) in Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (on the premises of the KDDI Otemachi Building).

In the future, we aim to accelerate the expansion of areas that require consideration of scenery, such as Bikan districts, by utilizing this base station

Background

Conventional tower-mounted base stations and building roof-mounted base stations have exposed base station antennas, which can affect the scenery. It was. As one solution to this problem, the introduction of buried base stations, in which the base station equipment is installed underground (below the ground surface), is expected. In July 2021, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' new system of radio wave protection guidelines for embedded base stations came into effect.

About this base station

Since 2018, KDDI has been considering the start of commercial operation of embedded base stations. In December 2022, we succeeded in emitting radio waves from this base station, and verified radio wave propagation characteristics until February 2023, confirming that a communication area with a radius of about 50m can be secured.

By storing the devices necessary for radio wave radiation, such as wireless devices and antennas, in a housing buried underground (below the ground surface), it is possible to install the device in consideration of the landscape. In addition, by radiating radio waves upward, it will be an area along the ground.

It adopts a highly waterproof metal housing and is designed to withstand water intrusion. Also, since the antenna is underground, it is less susceptible to strong winds.

KDDI will continue to develop new concept base stations that are not bound by existing base station installation forms, and will continue to expand service areas, improve quality, and create an environment that is easier for customers to use.

Nice to see mobile enthusiasts already testing the base station out. We will have to wait to see how the PoC goes and if we will see more of these deployed commercially. 

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Thursday, 12 January 2023

KDDI Plans to Improve Rural Connectivity in Japan using SpaceX's Starlink

Back in December 2022, KDDI announced that the first mobile tower in Japan to use Starlink has started commercial operation in Hatsushima, a remote island in Sagami Bay. The press release said:

Starting with this location, KDDI will expand its coverage to 1,200 remote towers in order to pursue its vision to bring an urban mobile experience to its rural customers.

Developed by SpaceX, Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency satellite broadband internet around the world. With satellites positioned in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 550 km, over 65 times closer than conventional geostationary satellites, Starlink achieves significantly lower latency and higher transmission speeds for its end users. Using Starlink to backhaul service from these remote stations complements KDDI's urban towers that utilize fiber for backhaul.

KDDI has been conducting technical demonstrations of Starlink including for use in mobile backhaul since 2021. In order to ensure sufficient quality for cellular service with voice and data, Starlink has met the company's network technical guidelines in latency, jitters and uplink/downlink bandwidths. KDDI has completed its evaluation of Starlink and confirmed the conformance in customer experience that could be comparable to that of optical fiber.

KDDI will also offer Starlink Business to enterprise and civil government customers this year. With Japan having more than 16,000 mountains and 6,000 islands, with Starlink KDDI is now able to bring a new dimension of connectivity to Japanese society.

The video of the launch ceremony is embedded below:

In addition to the image from KDDI press release, additional images from Twitter here and here.

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Friday, 26 August 2022

Rakuten Mobile and TEPCO Power Grid establish 'Rakuten Mobile Infra Solution'

Back in 2019, I wrote about how TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power COmpany) Power Grid was trying to utilize their utility poles and other electric power infrastructure for mobile network infrastructure sharing. They managed to get KDDI, Softbank and Rakuten Mobile onboard with their approach. 

Japan is vying to be a global leader in 5G and that has been one of the main drivers to encourage active and passive mobile network sharing. We covered some of these in the blog post here.

In their annual report for last year, TEPCO said: 

We shall coordinate with other operators and leverage the assets of TEPCO Power Grid to provide support for the efficient installation of base stations and eliminate landscape issues by clustering facilities together. We aim to further improve convenience in your daily lives by building infrastructure that meets diverse needs.

Our base station sharing service will integrate location, fiberoptics, and co-location services for configuring base stations. Sharing base stations with multiple companies will contribute to reducing the facility investment of communications operators.

In 2020, TEPCO also carried out trials with NTT Docomo and Rakuten Mobile where they deployed 5G smart poles and digital signage on their power distribution ground equipment. 

In the most recent announcement, Rakuten Mobile and TEPCO Power Grid announced the establishment of a new company for base station construction solutions. "Rakuten Mobile Infra Solution, Inc.," started business on 01 July 2022. The press release said:

Rakuten Mobile Infra Solution will further improve the efficiency of base station construction by effectively utilizing public assets to expand Rakuten Mobile's network, developing installation specifications for Rakuten Mobile's base station equipment and managing installation work. Through this work, the company aims to contribute to the provision of a stable communications environment.

In the construction of its network, Rakuten Mobile is already utilizing some power assets to enable rapid network construction. This has contributed to Rakuten Mobile achieving its target for 4G population coverage on its network about four years ahead of schedule. With the establishment of the new company, Rakuten Mobile will further expand its 4G and 5G coverage, increase the densification of its base stations and strengthen the development of communications infrastructure to provide a stable service. In addition, utilizing existing power assets will improve the cost efficiency of base station construction.

TEPCO PG is actively engaged in infrastructure sharing that utilizes electric power assets such as distribution ground equipment, and has been considering the possibility of new social contributions through its electric power assets. Through the establishment of this new company, TEPCO PG will contribute to the realization of a stable communications environment by supporting the efficient installation of base stations and reducing capital investment, through utilization of the assets, construction capabilities and know-how of the TEPCO PG Group.

We are looking forward to the companies sharing details about the operation in the future.

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Thursday, 26 November 2020

NTT Docomo's 5G RAN Infrastructure

We looked at NTT Docomo's 5G Journey and 5G Network Deployment details recently here. In this post we will look at the 5G Infrastructure that Docomo is using in their network. It is detailed in their latest Technical Journal here. In this post we will look at the infrastructure part only.


The 5G network configuration is shown in Figure 4. With a view to 5G service development, NTT DOCOMO developed a Central Unit (CU) that consolidates the Base Band (BB) signal processing section supporting 5G, extended existing BB processing equipment known as high-density Base station Digital processing Equipment (BDE), and developed a 5G Radio Unit (RU) having signal transmit / receive functions. Furthermore, to have a single CU accommodate many RUs, NTT DOCOMO developed a 5G version of the FrontHaul Multiplexer (FHM) deployed in LTE. Each of these three types of equipment is described below.

1) CU
(a) Development concept: With the aim of achieving a smooth rollout of 5G services, NTT DOCOMO developed a CU that enables area construction without having to replace existing equipment while minimizing the construction period and facility investment. This was accomplished by making maximum use of the existing high-density BDE that performs BB signal processing, replacing some of the cards of the high-density BDE, and upgrading the software to support 5G.

(b) CU basic specifications: An external view of this CU is shown in Photo 1. This equipment has the features described below (Table 3). As described above, this equipment enables 5G-supporting functions by replacing some of the cards of the existing high-density BDE. In addition, future software upgrades will load both software supporting conventional 3G/LTE/LTE-Advanced and software supporting 5G. This will enable the construction of a network supporting three generations of mobile communications from 3G to 5G with a single CU.

The existing LTE-Advanced system employs advanced Centralized RAN (C-RAN) architecture proposed by NTT DOCOMO. This architecture is also supported in 5G with the connection between CU and RUs made via the fronthaul. Standardization of this fronthaul was promoted at the Open RAN (O-RAN) Alliance jointly established in February 2018 by five operators including NTT DOCOMO.  Since the launch of 5G services, the fronthaul in the NTT DOCOMO network was made to conform to these O-RAN fronthaul specifications that enable interoperability between different vendors, and any CU and RU that conform to these specifications can be interconnected regardless of vendor. The specifications for inter-connecting base-station equipment also con-form to these O-RAN specifications, which means that a multi-vendor connection can be made between a CU supporting 5G and a high-density BDE supporting LTE-Advanced. This enables NTT DOCOMO to deploy a CU regardless of the vendor of the existing high-density BDE and to quickly and flexibly roll out service areas where needed while making best use of existing assets. In addition, six or more fronthaul connections can be made per CU and the destination RU of each fronthaul connection can be se-lected. Since 5G supports wideband trans-mission beyond that of LTE-Advanced, the fronthaul transmission rate has been extend-ed from the existing peak rate of 9.8 Gbps to a peak rate of 25 Gbps while achieving a CU/RU optical distance equivalent to that of the existing high-density BDE.

2) RU
(a) Development concept: To facilitate flexible area construction right from the launch of 5G services, NTT DOCOMO developed the low-power Small Radio Unit (SRU) as the RU for small cells and developed, in particular, separate SRUs for each of the 3.7 GHz, 4.5 GHz, and 28 GHz frequency bands provided at the launch of the 5G pre-commercial service in September 2019. Furthermore, with an eye to early expansion of the 5G service area, NTT DOCOMO developed the Regular power Radio Unit (RRU) as the RU for macrocells to enable the efficient creation of service areas in suburbs and elsewhere.

A key 5G function is beamforming that aims to reduce interference with other cells and thereby improve the user’s quality of experience. To support this function, NTT DOCOMO developed a unit that integrates the antenna and 5G radio section (antenna-integrated RU). It also developed a unit that separates the antenna and 5G radio section (antenna-separated RU) to enable an RU to be placed alongside existing 3G/LTE/LTE-Advanced Radio Equipment (RE) and facilitate flexible installation even for locations with limited space or other constraints.

(b) SRU basic specifications: As described above, NTT DOCOMO developed the SRU to enable flexible construction of 5G service areas. It developed, in particular, antenna-integrated SRUs to support each of the 3.7 GHz, 4.5 GHz, and 28 GHz frequency bands provided at the launch of the 5G pre-commercial service and antenna-separated SRUs to support each of the 3.7 GHz and 4.5 GHz frequency bands (Photo 2). These two types of SRUs have the following features (Table 4).

The antenna-integrated RU is equipped with an antenna panel to implement the beamforming function. In the 3.7 GHz and 4.5 GHz bands, specifications call for a maximum of 8 beams, and in the 28 GHz band, for a maximum of 64 beams. An area may be formed with the number of transmit/receive beams tailored to the TDD Config used by NTT DOCOMO. In addition, the number of transmit/receive branches is 4 for the 3.7 GHz and 4.5 GHz bands and 2 for the 28 GHz band, and MIMO transmission/reception can be performed with a maximum of 4 layers for the former bands and a maximum of 2 layers for the latter band.

The antenna-separated SRU is configured with only the radio as in conventional RE to save space and facilitate installation. With this type of SRU, the antenna may be installed at a different location. Moreover, compared to the antenna-integrated SRU operating in the same frequency band, the antenna-separated SRU reduces equipment volume to 6.5ℓ or less. The antenna-separated SRU does not support the beamforming function, but features four transmit/receive branches the same as the antenna-integrated SRU for the same frequency band.

(c) RRU basic specifications: The RRU was developed in conjunction with the 5G service rollout as high-power equipment compared with the SRU with a view to early expansion of the 5G service area (Photo 3). This type of equipment has the following features (Table 5).


Compared with existing Remote Radio Equipment (RRE) for macrocells, the volume of RRU equipment tends to be larger to support 5G broadband, but in view of the latest electronic device trends, NTT DOCOMO took the lead in developing and deploying an antenna-separated RRU that could save space and reduce weight. Maximum transmission power is 36.3 W/100 MHz/branch taking the radius of a macrocell area into account. The RRU features four transmit/receive branches and achieves the same number of MIMO transmission/reception layers as the antenna-separated SRU.
NTT DOCOMO also plans to deploy an antenna-integrated RRU at a later date. The plan here is to construct 5G service areas in a flexible manner making best use of each of these models while taking installation location and other factors into account.

3) 5G FHM
The 5G FHM is equipment having a multiplexing function for splitting and combining a maximum of 12 radio signals on the fronthaul. It was developed in conjunction with the 5G service rollout the same as RRU (Photo 4).
If no 5G FHM is being used, each RU is accommodated as one cell, but when using a 5G FHM, a maximum of 12 RUs can be accommodated as one cell in a CU. At the launch of 5G services, this meant that more RUs could be accommodated in a single CU when forming a service area in a location having low required radio capacity (Figure 5). Additionally, since all RUs transmit and receive radio signals of the same cell, the 5G FHM can inhibit inter-RU interference and the occurrence of Hand-Over (HO) control between RUs as in the conventional FHM. Furthermore, the 5G FHM supports all of the 5G frequency bands, that is, the 3.7 GHz, 4.5 GHz, and 28 GHz bands, which means that service areas can be constructed in a flexible manner applying each of these frequency bands as needed.

All the fronthaul and other interfaces that Docomo used in their network was based on O-RAN alliance specifications. In a future post, we will look at some of the details.

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Monday, 5 October 2020

Softbank Demoed Drone Wireless Relay System

Back in 2016, I was involved with doing testing using drones and Helikite with the UK operator EE. You can read more about that here. Since then, many different operators have tested the use of drones mainly for disaster recovery kinds of scenarios. The Japanese operator Softbank recently tried the same.


The press release from them provided the following details:

When typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and other types of natural disasters strike, mobile phones serve as an important lifeline for people to get information and to stay in touch with their family, friends and colleagues. SoftBank Corp. recognizes the importance of restoring communications lifelines quickly, and is engaged in developing and building systems for disaster preparedness.

One such service restoration initiative SoftBank has been working on is the “Drone Wireless Relay System.” On August 31, 2020, SoftBank demonstrated the solution for the press at Katsuma Radio Control Airstrip in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, just east of Tokyo.

Thanks to their portability and ease-of-use, drone-based wireless relay base stations are showing promise as a means of providing connectivity when outages occur in the wake of natural disasters. SoftBank has been working with theTokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech)’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering since 2019 to conduct research on drone-based wireless relay systems that use a wired power feed.

SoftBank’s drone-based relay base station rises to an altitude of 100 meters, covering a 10km radius. The drone can be transported in a small vehicle and is easy to set up. Compared to another SoftBank network recovery solution, the moored-balloon relay system, the time to deployment is much shorter. In addition, the wired power supply allows the drone to fly continuously for three days or longer, making it suitable for operations over the short- to medium-term.

The moored-balloon wireless relay system is capable of lifting wireless relay equipment to an altitude of 100 meters, covering a five-kilometer radius in open terrain. SoftBank 3G (mobile phone) (2.1 GHz band) voice communications and packet transmissions (email, Internet, etc.) can be used within the coverage area. We are also conducting trial tests of a new moored-balloon wireless relay system for SoftBank 4G LTE that can be deployable from ships, as part of our efforts to continuously improve this system.

A video from the recent drone event is as follows:

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Tuesday, 4 August 2020

Some Pictures of Macrocells (and Small Cells) from Rakuten, Japan

If you have been following the Japanese operator Rakuten's progress, you will already know that they use variety of radio hardware vendors. Some of these we have covered in this blog. For example, Airspan's macros and small cells that I blogged here is used in quite a few locations. Similarly, I blogged about NEC O-RAN radios here that are being used in the live network too.

Here are some pictures from Twitter.

Rakuten mobile base station in Akiba (source)

Rakuten Mobile 5G base station, Komazawa Dori from Kanhachi (source)

Rakuten Mobile's 5G n77 base station. (source)

Indoor Rakuten mobile base station at the Haneda Airport International Terminal (source)

Antenna for high-rise buildings (source)

NEC on Rakuten Mobile 5G (source)


Airspan Air5G RDU 46, 28GHz (n257) (source)

You can't have a post on base stations without a speed test, so here we go

Speedtest on Rakuten 4G network (source)

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Wednesday, 3 June 2020

NEC's 5G Antenna-equipped Smart Street Lighting to be Trialled in Tokyo

Smart poles and lamp posts are popular topic in this blog. You will find links of many examples at the bottom of this post. NEC has a Smart Street Lighting solution that is designed with smart cities in mind. You can read more about it here.

In a recent press release, it announced: 

Sumitomo Corporation has concluded an agreement with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on the preliminary/trial installation and verification of smart poles being carried out by the government. Together with NEC Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation intends to install two types of smart poles in the Nishi-shinjuku area of Tokyo by the end of June 2020.

In its "TOKYO Data Highway Basic Strategy" formulated in August 2019, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government calls for constructing an ultra-high-speed mobile Internet network in Tokyo. As part of that effort, the government is looking to install smart poles at an early date in the Nishi-shinjuku area, a priority improvement zone. Smart poles are multi-functional poles equipped with communication base stations, Wi-Fi, street lighting, signage, etc., and they are expected to serve as infrastructure useful for the provision of new community services.


In partnering with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Sumitomo Corporation and NEC will be installing two types of smart poles in the Nishi-shinjuku area by the end of June 2020 to verify their utility under both ordinary and emergency circumstances. More specifically, the two companies plan to install two models of NEC's "Smart Street Lighting" equipped with functions such as digital signage and pedestrian traffic flow analysis cameras; one model will be outfitted with a 5G shared antenna system for joint use by multiple telecommunications carriers, while the other, a site-sharing model, will be equipped with 5G base stations for multiple telecommunications carriers. With the aim of bringing 5G shared antenna systems into full-scale use by March 2021, efforts will be made to extend these systems across the entire metropolis and to help develop services for Tokyo residents/visitors through the construction of efficient infrastructure by accumulating knowledge on the installation and operation of smart poles.

 Sumitomo Corporation is engaged in a variety of information and telecommunications endeavors, being involved with the cable television business in Japan and investing in telecommunications and telecommunication tower businesses overseas. In the 5G sector, it has taken part in 5G base station sharing verification projects alongside Tokyu Corporation, Osaka Metro Co., Ltd., and Tokyo's Minato Ward. In addition to advancing the "TOKYO Data Highway Basic Strategy" through this latest agreement, Sumitomo Corporation will in the future be collaborating with companies, local governments and others to create 5G-related businesses.

 NEC has positioned the public safety business as an engine for its global growth, and this verification project will accelerate and enhance the development of solutions and services to realize "NEC Safer Cities", while helping to create safer and more secure streets.

A concept video explaining how NEC's Smart Street Lighting will be used in future cities as follows:




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Monday, 23 March 2020

Docomo 5G Open Innovation Cloud


Earlier, I wrote about how the Japanese operator NTT Docomo is creating a whole new set of innovative 5G applications and use cases with the help of partners. For that purpose they have created the 5G Open Cloud platform. While NTT Docomo is using it to deliver it's own use cases and innovative applications, partners are encouraged to create their own services on top of that too.

In this post I am embedding a talk and the corresponding presentation looking at the challenge of creating this platform and how this is being solved. This presentation is from last year but still has lots of good information and I doubt things would have changed significantly.






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Friday, 28 February 2020

Rakuten details how Cloud will make Telecommunications Industry Irrelevant


Yesterday we detailed Rakuten's Open RAN and Innovation Journey here. Today, we look at a presentation from the recent 5G Malaysia International Conference 2020 where Tareq Amin, CTO, Rakuten Mobile, presented his vision on how Cloud will eventually make Telecommunications Industry Irrelevant.


Innovation has allowed them to create a site with the smallest footprint. Not only that, the change of design has allowed the operator to save massive amounts of money and at the same time pushing the software in the cloud  allows the site to come up is 8.5 minutes as compared to the traditional time of between half to two days.

Rakuten uses 6 hardware types in their data centers which are COTS servers and this has helped them achieve some amazing results as can be seen here.


Tareq is expecting Opex to reduce even more due to automation. Time will tell. Here is the presentation embedded below.


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Saturday, 14 April 2018

NTT Docomo's Underground LTE Small Cells with possibility to deploy 5G in future


NTT Docomo has announced that they have developed a prototype of manhole type base station for the first time in Japan. They will be used in locations where there is no other infrastructure available in vicinity to host base stations. The antenna is installed at a depth of 10 cm under the ground, with a fiber connection to the radio equipment and the power supply are drawn from the ground by the underground buried piping. The service area is about 90 m radius. 

Based on this, I am not sure if this is a complete small cell or just a remote radio head. I am inclined to think that this is a complete base station as its a standard LTE base station as per the specifications.

Manhole type base station specification (Sapporo verification station)
methodFDD-LTE
frequency1.5 GHz band (BAND 21)
Bandwidth15 MHz
MIMO compatible2 × 2 MIMO
Downlink modulation scheme256 QAM
Maximum ThroughputDL: 150 Mbps / UL: 37.5 Mbps
Size (buried part)70 cm × 70 cm × 70 cm
Device sizeAbout 29 cm × about 17 cm × about 7.5 cm
weightApproximately 15 kg
Specification of manhole cover (Sapporo Verification Bureau)
sizeDiameter 64.8 cm · thickness 5 cm
weightApproximately 27 kg
Load bearing capacity25 tons


The output power is not specified but base stations can easily fit within 15 kgs.

I have written about underground small cell here and here, which was about Swisscom, Ericsson & Kathrein trying it in Switzerland. I have also written about how the Japanese operator KDDI is trying to cover similar locations using lamp posts here. Its good to see Docomo trying something new.

As per the announcement, DoCoMo will work to improve the communication environment to areas where it was difficult to establish a base station, aiming for full-scale operation within the year 2018, and will continue to consider the application of future technologies to 5G in parallel.

From what I have heard, some antenna manufacturers are working on trying to convert the manhole cover in to an antenna. Its going to be a big challenge though.

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