INNOVATION IN THE AI ERA
ADAPTING TO UPCOMING TRENDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST TELCO SPACE
At GITEX 2024 , Zoran Lazarevic , Chief Technology Officer , Ericsson Middle East and Africa , discussed the organisation ’ s annual Microwave Outlook Report and some of the key findings , enabling the GCC region to adapt and prepare for what ’ s to come in the telco space .
Zoran Lazarevic , Chief Technology Officer , Ericsson Middle East and Africa a
A key focal point for Ericsson at this year ’ s GITEX was its annual Microwave Outlook Report . Can you tell us more about this year ’ s report and some of the key insights ?
The report addresses a couple of topics . First , it highlights the need for backhauling capacity , which will grow . There ’ s going to be an increased need for backhauling capacity with the deployment of 5G in the mid-band and high-band . The report highlights that microarray is more than capable of serving those needs .
How will the projections highlighted in the report shape the telecommunications landscape in the Middle East for 2025 ?
Microwave backhauling is very important in the Middle East . In our previous report , it was highlighted that 70 – 80 % of backhauling capacity will be conducted over microwave in the region .
Here in the GCC , we have a lot of fibre , but in Africa , backhauling over microwave is very important . And now , with the increased deployment of 5G , with deployment of 100 megahertz carrier in mid-band , 3.5GHz , 2.6GHz . We need a lot of capacity per site and that needs to be served over microwave which is fully fit to do so .
The report highlights that e-band in 80GHz has a lot of capacity and can reach sufficient distance to serve the increased traffic demands .
How should telco companies adapt to these upcoming trends and how can Ericsson ’ s solutions help to support such transformations ?
E-band technology is something we ’ re seeing more and more to be used to serve increased capacity and here Ericsson can help . We have equipment with market-leading sensitivity , which directly reflects in how much capacity microwave link can provide or the distance it can reach as well as the size and weight of equipment .
The report provides new planning methodology . Last year , the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ( ETSI ) proposed a new planning methodology which is more suited to current needs . The report also predicts how we think capacity will rise and capacity requirements .
Finally , the report highlights key trends and security threats we have in the micro network and how we can address them .
In terms of the future , we can help with planning microwave links following new ETSI planning guidelines , so we can help customers with market-leading equipment as well as with microwave links planning .
The report includes a ground-breaking five-year forecast for backhaul capacity in the 5G era — can you tell us more about it and what this will look like ?
The forecast is something we have been doing since 2014 and it has been quite accurate . This kind of forecast isn ’ t straightforward — we need to consider a lot of inputs such as traffic demand , technology capability and capability of devices .
Then we need to consider different network architecture for each of the operators , different spectrum assets . All these factors need to be considered to come up with a reliable forecast .
The forecast is based on the kind of deployment our customers are having — is it 4G with selective 5G deployment , which is the first category .
Then we have 4G with continuous 5G deployment in the midband . And then finally we have continuous 5G deployment in mid-band with selective high-band deployment . High-band deployment is requiring the highest capacity . And then , we are presenting a five year forecast based on three types of urbanisation : rural , suburban and urban . This forecast is very important input for our customers so they can understand capacity requirements and plan how they ’ re going to serve these growing demands . p
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