Mobile Experts claims enhanced channel coding could save a “typical” US operator $193m on O-RAN compliant infrastructure.
AccelerComm, a spectral efficiency specialist, announced the findings of a report,The dollars are in the details, it commissioned from Mobile Experts.
Lack of resources
Joe Madden of Mobile Experts explains, “The major OEM vendors in the 5G market have invested a lot of resources into optimising their LDPC [low density parity coding] decoder implementations, but emerging O-RAN vendors just don’t have the resources to optimise each step in the processing chain.
“Many are using general-purpose LDPC coders and decoders, with generic architectures and algorithms derived from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or 3GPP networks and therefore are not optimised for 5G environments.
“As this research shows, replacing these with dedicated tailored solutions, such as those offered by AccelerComm, can deliver significant performance and cost enhancements.”
The analyst firm modelled nationwide US deployments based on O-RAN technology using standard LDPC decoder implementations and AccelerComm’s Advanced LDPC IP to identify the impact on the spectral efficiency of 5G mmWave O-RAN networks.
It concldued enhanced channel coding could reduce the number of gNodeBs required by 2,550, saving $193 million (€159.77).
Correction scheme
LDPC is a linear error correction scheme helps overcome noise and interference in 5G data transmissions. AccelerComm’s solution can provide a 3dB improvement in uplink signal to interference plus noise (SINR) ration.
It does this by adopting a holistic approach to the design of the physical uplinke shared channel resource (PUSCH) decoder chain, including LDPC, channel estimation, and MIMO equalisation functions.
Rob Barnes, VP Sales and Marketing of AccelerComm, said, “While there are significant benefits to O-RAN technology, there are still areas where it lags behind the major vendors, in particular in the area of 5G NR uplink sensitivity.”