Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Spotlight On Wireless Communications: From Iot Connectivity To Content Delivery Networks
Spotlight On Wireless Communications: From Iot Connectivity To Content Delivery Networks
there’s
a bridge.
There from the beginning
to where we stand today.
And to where we will go from here.
One company. One promise.
EDITORIAL 03
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
04 EDITORIAL
The final paper in the themed set is by Adrian Sharples who addresses the issue of VOLUME 14 PART 4 2020
meeting capacity and service challenges as mobile connectivity evolves from human-to-
human to machine-to-machine. To date, the choices made have been a compromise
LPWANs and 5g technologies – parts of a fragmented IoT connectivity ecosystem
between technical, commercial, practical and regulatory influences with customers Terahertz communication – could this be the answer to demand for higher data rates?
Mobile Radio Access Networks – how do we meet the challenges for 5g evolution and beyond?
expecting enhanced services to be delivered for the same price or less. Hence, operators
are constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency to control costs and identifying
applications that will deliver new revenue streams. Could Open-RAN and cell-less
systems be the way forward for meeting future diverse capacity and service
requirements?
Content Delivery Networks (CDN) are critical to enabling the Internet to function yet their
existence is unknown by most users. Our fifth paper is from James Krethmar and
reveals all. Slow downloads are often the result of traffic bottlenecks arising from Telecoms Professional magazine
thousands of users trying to access the same web content from a single host. However, a – ITP Awards - and the winners are?
– Why apprenticeships are key to telecoms
CDN distributes content across several servers thereby avoiding the traffic bottleneck as
Spotlight on wireless communications
users retrieve content from a local source. The architecture of the CDN is critical to its From IoT connectivity to Content Delivery Networks
performance and with huge increases in video streaming and improvements in access
networks, the paper reflects on how CDNs must evolve.
Returning to the theme of wireless communication, our opinion piece is from Peter
Cochrane who questions whether the ‘G’ technologies should dominate. With rising
demands from machine-to-machine and IoT systems, increased optical fibre roll-out, and
with the number of WiFi hotspots massively exceeding mobile cell sites, he asks what is
the future of the energy hungry, cellular network?
As per normal, The Journal is rounded off with Back in the Day that looks at key events
from telecommunication’s recent and more distant past which in this issue includes the
introduction of the GPO’s radiophone service, the launch of the world’s first fully-
integrated camera phone and the important public service role played by the Police Box.
As always, you’ll find the entertaining Telecoms Professional on the flip side of this issue,
with all the latest news, views and career-progression advice from ITP.
Nigel Linge
Chair of the Editorial Board, FITP
Others know
how to make
buildings work.
We know
how to make
buildings buzz.
BRICKS. M O RTA R . C O N N E C T I V I T Y.
THE JOURNAL TJ
06 CONTENTS
VNCs for smart cities – small-cell connectivity and street-level data Fibre Optic Submarine Cables – increased demand and new eras LPWANs and 5g technologies – parts of a fragmented IoT connectivity ecosystem
Fibre rollout – examining deployment costs for smart city network infrastructures Trans-Polynesian super-highway – fibre lands on one of the world’s remotest countries Terahertz communication – could this be the answer to demand for higher data rates?
Strategic directions for telecoms – the new dilemmas for UK policymakers Guiding light with nothing at all – novel fibres and light guiding properties Mobile Radio Access Networks – how do we meet the challenges for 5g evolution and beyond?
Spotlight on Smart Cities Optical Fibre and Submarine Cables Spotlight on wireless communications
– Costs, collaborations and overcoming conundrums Communications – past, present and future From IoT connectivity to Content Delivery Networks
THE JOURNAL
THIS MONTH
From radio
technologies and
CONTENTS INFORM NETWORK DEVELOP THE JOURNAL TJ
JOSÉ DÁVILA LPWANs AND 5G TECHNOLOGIES: PARTS OF A FRAGMENTED IOT CONNECTIVITY ECOSYSTEM 09 18 ED SMITH
IoT connectivity to
Terahertz LPWANs AND 5G
TECHNOLOGIES:
communication, PARTS OF A FRAGMENTED IOT
CONNECTIVITY ECOSYSTEM
This article considers the role and prospects of alternative connectivity technologies in delivering the
Internet of Things (IoT). It presents an overview of the factors driving critical investment decision and
draws heavily on the author’s research for his recent M.Sc. dissertation.
WIRELESS BEYOND
MOBILE AND WI-FI
Much of the published work on radio transmission covers the main technologies of mobile (especially 5G)
and 802.11 Wi-Fi1. Radio technologies are key to making the Internet of Things (IoT) a reality; there are
many options and only a few are likely to succeed commercially. From an understanding of operational
content delivery
requirements, technology evolution and spectrum utilisation, this article identifies why some technologies
The Internet of Things (IoT) is fundamentally
about connecting things to the Internet to
The perceived value, or potential value, of IoT
is supported by different forecasts that JOSÉ DÁVILA fail and others succeed.
gather data from the physical world and estimate the IoT spend or the number of IoT
Delivering the
acting upon the insights gained. IoT has the
potential to disrupt and benefit both the way
connections in the coming years. For
example, IDC predicts that the global IoT
Internet of Things ED SMITH Radio technologies fall both inside and
outside of those available under the banner
An understanding of low powered networks
and the competitive scenario for radio
we live and the way we do business. spend will reach US$ 1.05 trillion by 2022 of 3GPP (the Third Generation Partnership services is key to understanding meaningful
According to the interviewees that [1], while Ericsson estimates that by 2024 Deciding factors Project) that is defining the standards for 5G. deployment in IoT solutions. It is important to
contributed to this research project, the four
industries that will have the highest IoT
there will be 22.2 billion IoT connections [2]. interact with the real world (edge), the
communications equipment and
and keys to In addressing critical success factors, it is
first necessary to consider the role of
realise that the network is but one
component of the “IoT” solution and that
adoption rates in the near future are:
Automotive and Transport, Manufacturing
In order to implement the systems that will
deliver these benefits, IoT system integrators
technologies that connect those devices to
the Internet (connectivity), and the
success spectrum and its relevant properties as well
as examining the fate of some previously
integrating sensors, network, applications
and systems into a coherent solution will
and Industrial, Agriculture, Logistics and usually follow a three-layer architecture that processing and storage of the collected data well publicised radio technologies such as require considerable systems’ integration
Operations. comprises the sensors or actuators that (cloud). WiMAX and White Space. skills
networks and
1
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines a wide range of standards, those
pertaining to radio begin with the prefixes “802.11” and "802.15".
THE JOURNAL TJ Volume 14 | Part 4 - 2020
IoT has the potential to disrupt and benefit in Radio technologies are key to making
capacity and service equal measures. And that means opportunities IoT a reality. But why do some
abound for practitioners and participants. technologies fail and others succeed?
challenges.
Plus: Examining the
future of the ever
The Institute of Telecommunications Published by Alchemy Contract Publishing on
energy-hungry, Professionals, Sunbury TE, Green Street, behalf of the ITP, Gainsborough House, 59/60
CONTENTS 07
CORPORATE SPONSORS
THE JOURNAL TJ
The JourNAL TJ
08 execuTive summAry LPWANs ANd 5G TechNoLoGies: PArTs of A frAGmeNTed ioT coNNecTiviTy ecosysTem
JOSé DávILA LPWANs AND 5G TECHNOLOGIES: PARTS OF A FRAGMENTED IOT CONNECTIvITy ECOSySTEM 09
LPWANs AND 5G
TECHNOLOGIES:
PARTS OF A FRAGMENTED IOT
CONNECTIVITY ECOSYSTEM
This article considers the role and prospects of alternative connectivity technologies in delivering the
Internet of Things (IoT). It presents an overview of the factors driving critical investment decision and
draws heavily on the author’s research for his recent M.Sc. dissertation.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is fundamentally
about connecting things to the Internet to
The perceived value, or potential value, of IoT
is supported by different forecasts that JOSÉ DÁVILA
gather data from the physical world and estimate the IoT spend or the number of IoT
acting upon the insights gained. IoT has the connections in the coming years. For Delivering the
potential to disrupt and benefit both the way
we live and the way we do business.
example, IDC predicts that the global IoT
spend will reach US$ 1.05 trillion by 2022
Internet of Things
According to the interviewees that [1], while Ericsson estimates that by 2024
contributed to this research project, the four there will be 22.2 billion IoT connections [2]. interact with the real world (edge), the
industries that will have the highest IoT communications equipment and
adoption rates in the near future are: In order to implement the systems that will technologies that connect those devices to
Automotive and Transport, Manufacturing deliver these benefits, IoT system integrators the Internet (connectivity), and the
and Industrial, Agriculture, Logistics and usually follow a three-layer architecture that processing and storage of the collected data
Operations. comprises the sensors or actuators that (cloud).
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
10 JOSé DávILA
Prioritising one of these features would imply Figure 2: The IoT connectivity decision
Consumer Local-area, low numbers, not power- voice assistant devices, smart Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
constrained, low/medium data volume lighting
Massive Wide-area, massive numbers, low-cost Smart metering, asset NB-IoT, LTE-M,
devices, low energy, low data volumes management LoRaWAN, Sigfox.1
Broadband Wide-area use, High throughput, Low Fleet management, drones/ LTE, 5G NR
latency, Large data volumes, UAv, virtual reality
Critical Wide-area and Local-area use, Autonomous cars, traffic and safety 5G NR
Extremely low latency, Ultra-high reliability control, smart grid automation
Industrial Automation Time-sensitive networks, industrial control, Collaborative robotics, advanced 5G NR2
precise positioning automation and control
network implementations and network On the unlicensed side, LoRaWAN and Sigfox and so are more prone to interference.
interoperability. seem to be the two most prominent players, However, they offer flexibility (to some
while NB-IoT and LTE-M are the two main extent) to build coverage where needed. For
Despite all of this, 5G New Radio (NR) is only technologies for the licensed, cellular-based example, an implementer can buy
suitable for some application segments and, part. commercially available LoRaWAN gateways
in contrast to media reports, cannot be taken to build coverage in their area of interest. On
as the ideal technology for all IoT • LoRaWAN: is based on an open standard, the other hand, the cellular, licensed
deployment. specified by the LoRa Alliance, and LPWANs offer higher capabilities, in general,
communications make use of the LoRa by operating in licensed spectrum.
Massive IoT and Low Power Wide Area (Long Range) radio technology developed Nevertheless, one of their main challenges is
Networks (LPWANs) by Semtech. Semtech owns LoRa and its that coverage is limited to the Telco’s’
For massive IoT applications, LPWANs are radio designs, which are licensed to deployment plans.
key. According to Ericsson’s mobility report, hardware manufacturers, but LoRaWAN is
such connections will account for nearly an open standard and anyone can build its The capabilities of various technologies
20% of the total IoT connections by 2024. own network by buying commercially available for LPWANs are summarised in
Massive IoT applications will usually address available gateways. Table 2.
business needs which are likely to drive
higher adoption rates than the consumer • Sigfox: is a global network owned by a The connectivity choice and market
sector [1]. company that bears the same name. The outlook
radio designs for the end-nodes can be During the last couple of years, 5G has been
LPWANs are commonly used for massive IoT used without a license, but access to the hitting the headlines. Frequently, 5G is
applications because they are designed to network and base station designs is mentioned as the network that will “unleash
optimise systems where the connected proprietary (owned by Sigfox). The the true potential of IoT” but this is far from
devices operate on battery, communicate connection to the Sigfox Cloud is offered the whole story and to understand this, it is
over long distances with base stations, and by exclusive Sigfox operators, designated pertinent to address the impact alternative
periodically send small amounts of data. by Sigfox on a per-region basis. connectivity solutions have on 5G’s
Within the LPWAN market, there is an dominance.
interesting competition phenomenon: • NB-IoT and LTE-M: Cellular technologies
between LPWANs operating on licensed that can be offered through LTE base 5G NR is not suitable for every IoT
spectrum (telco-led) and LPWANs operating stations via a software update (in most application and given that deploying 5G
on unlicensed spectrum (non-telco-led). The cases), and are standardised by 3GPP, the networks is a capital-intensive business, it
degree to which one or other of these standards entity for most cellular seems likely that there will be market
alternatives is favoured could affect business technologies. sectors where non-cellular technologies will
models, especially those for 5G prevail. Identifying these sectors, and the
deployments. Unlicensed LPWANs use shared spectrum, factors shaping implementers’ choice of
1
These technologies could replace 2G and 3G in legacy systems
2
Depending on the area coverage and capabilities needed, certain Wi-Fi, Bluetooth specifications
and other short-range technologies could be considered here
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
12 JOSé DávILA
Peak Data Rate3 UL:100 bit/s 180 - 37.5kbit/s DL: 2 Mbit/s DL:234.7kbit/s
DL:600 bit/s UL: 1 Mbit/s UL:204.8kbit/s
Bidirectional Limited / Half-duplex yes / Half-duplex yes / Half or Full-duplex yes / Half-duplex
Max. Messages per day per BTS4 50000 50000 unlimited unlimited
140 (per Device)
Device Peak Transmit Power 25mW 25mW 200mW 200mW
Table 2: Technical comparison between LPWANs. (Source: Dr. Ryan Grammenos, UCL 2019)
technologies, is a primary focus of the The research was conducted by attending Figure 3 and it can be seen that high
analysis outlined in this article. conferences and interviewing key industry message frequency, long range and high
players.5 Six different profiles of potential reliability were the most important factors,
Competition between connectivity solutions interviewees were identified: IoT whereas geolocation capabilities, the size of
is highly likely. Although unlicensed and Implementers, Mobile Network Operators, each message, and a high bandwidth were
licensed LPWANs have technical and Other Connectivity Providers, least important.
business differences, they cater for Researchers/Industry Experts, vendors, and
applications with very similar requirements. Regulators. In some cases, hybrid connectivity was
needed. Also, specific hardware
NB-IoT and LTE-M are considered 5G Results and findings functionalities could lead an implementer to
technologies so a focus on the LPWAN Though timescales and resources did not “stick” to built-in connectivity, others use
market was chosen to illustrate how non- permit a statistically significant survey “powerless” solutions (e.g. RFID), and
cellular technologies might be preferred, or representing the whole range of players sometimes bidirectionality of
not, over 5G technologies. active in this sector, the research project did communications was required. These were
provide qualitative insights into the other factors that should be considered.
The research explored the following topics: developing perspectives and attitudes of key
practitioners and participants. Researchers and industry experts were also
• How do implementers choose their asked to recommend an optimal network
connectivity solution? The IoT implementers who responded were technology when prioritising a single
• What considerations would they make working on different applications in a range technical factor above all. Where Wi-Fi was
before switching to a cellular LPWAN of industry sectors. Nevertheless, it was still not a possibility, they mainly favoured cellular
network (if they are not using one considered valuable to ask them which connectivity, and LoRaWAN was only
already)? technical factors were more critical to their mentioned when flexibility or power
• What do people expect from 5G as a connectivity solution. They were asked to consumption were seen as the main priority.
contribution to IoT? give a score ranging from “Critical “(5) to
• Which industries are more prone to adopt “Not important” (1) to each technical factor. After grouping all respondents
IoT solutions in the coming years? Results of this online survey are shown in (implementers, experts and researchers) into
3
Uplink (UL); Downlink (DL)
4
Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
Volume 14 | Part 4 - 2020 5
During the research period, 14 interviews were carried out and 22 responses to online questionnaires were received.
INFORM NETWORK DEVELOP
6
Chosen for 2 solutions
7
Chosen for 1 solution
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
14 JOSé DávILA
Automotive and Transport 15% High mobility, low latency, high reliability 5G NR / 4G LTE
Manufacturing/IIoT 12% High message frequency, high bandwidth, stationary Wi-Fi (or alternative)
Healthcare 11% High mobility, low power, wearables Cellular LPWANs (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
Logistics and Operations 11% High bandwidth, low latency, high mobility 5G NR / 4G LTE
Smart Cities 8% Long-range, stationary, low power, high density Cellular LPWANs (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
Asset Tracking 6% Precision, low latency, geolocation Cellular LPWANs (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
Utilities 5% Long-range, stationary, low power, high density Cellular LPWANs (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
Safety 3% High mobility, low power, wearables Cellular LPWANs (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
Telecommunications 2% Long-range, stationary, low power, high density Cellular LPWANs (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
Smart Meters 2% Long-range, stationary, low power, high density Cellular LPWANs (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
Table 4: Optimal connectivity method per IoT industry sector and indicative market opportunity
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
16 JOSé DávILA LPWANs AND 5G TECHNOLOGIES: PARTS OF A FRAGMENTED IOT CONNECTIvITy ECOSySTEM
conclusions that can be drawn from the • Regulators: Foster the deployment of REFERENCES
interviews and questionnaires: cellular LPWANs, e.g. by freeing spectrum
for NB-IoT, or by allowing operators to 1. IDC (International Data Corporation).
• Since the IoT connectivity market is lease spectrum to third parties if they are IDC Forecasts Worldwide Spending on
complex and fragmented, implementers not using it. the Internet of Things to Reach $745
follow an also complex process to choose Billion in 2019. IDC. January 2019.
their preferred connectivity method. They • Implementers: Make sure to have a Available:
take both technical and business factors compelling business case for the IoT https://www.businesswire.com/news
into account. solution being implemented. There are /home/20190103005070/en/IDC
many choices available for connectivity (Accessed 11 Sept 2020.
• Even though each case should be solutions. Be clear about the specific
analysed individually, there are certain requirements of the industry sector being 2. Ericsson. Ericsson Mobility Report -
factors in common between applications addressed in exercising the connectivity June 2019. Available:
within the same industry sector, thus choice. Take account of power, range, https://www.ericsson.com/en/mobilit
favouring a particular connectivity latency, mobility as well as hardware and y-report/reports (Accessed 11 Sept
technology, or set of technologies. maintenance costs. 2020)
3. Sierra Wireless. 5G for IoT. 2019.
• Nationwide, or even global, Cellular As discussed, the connectivity market for IoT Available:
LPWAN coverage would foster IoT is highly fragmented. Rather than being seen https://www.sierrawireless.com/reso
adoption and would enable the as a complexity, this can be seen as an urces/white-paper/5g-for-iot/
implementation of a large number of opportunity to offer IoT applications that are (Accessed 11 Sept 2020)
applications. However, deploying such highly customisable and adaptable to
4. C. MacGillivray, M. Kalal, N. Wallis, M.
networks has not been a priority for most different customer needs, resulting in plenty
Torchia, J. Leung, y. Torisu, A. Bisht, R.
Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s) in of room for competition and differentiation
Membrila, S. Crook and A. Siviero.
many countries. Also, the awareness of IoT for the different practitioners and participants
Worldwide Internet of Things Forecast
Implementers towards Cellular LPWANs, in of the IoT value chain.
Update, 2018–2022. January 2019.
countries where they have been deployed,
Available:
is not high. Acknowledgements
https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?cont
The author would like to express special
ainerId=US45862020. (Accessed 11
Finally, brief recommendations are offered thanks to Peter McCarthy-Ward, his M.Sc.
Sept 2020).
for some of the players in the different IoT dissertation supervisor and sponsor for this
value chains, based on the experience article.
gained in this research project. ABBREVIATIONS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Mobile Network Operators: break barriers IoT Internet of Things
of adoption by deploying cellular LPWAN LPWAN Low-Power Wide-Area
networks. They will help leverage existing Network
infrastructure. Provide end-to-end LTE Long-Term Evolution (4th
solutions to customers, via partnerships, Generation Mobile Networks)
acquisitions, or in-house research and BLE Bluetooth Low Energy
development. NB-IoT Narrowband IoT
LTE-M LTE for Machine-Type
• LoRa Alliance: Simplify the Communications
implementation process by fostering José Dávila is a Telecommunications 5G NR 5th Generation Mobile
partnerships between manufacturers Engineer from Honduras (UNITEC, Honduras Networks New Radio
and network server providers. Incentivise and UNAB, Chile). In 2018 he was awarded 3GPP 3G Partnership Project
deployment of new LoRaWAN networks, an MSc. in Telecommunications with RFID Radio Frequency Identification
by offering benefits to those who Business degree from University College UHF Ultra High Frequency
assume the task of doing so. London after being awarded a Chevening
Scholarship by the FCO (Foreign and
• Sigfox: Make the access station micro Commonwealth Office). Huawei (Chile) and ITS Infocom (Honduras).
widely available (i.e. easy to find, Two years ago, he co-founded Internet of
purchase, and deploy) in order to increase He has over four years of experience in Trees, an IoT start-up that has developed an
the flexibility for new Sigfox deployments. project management, having worked for early warning system for wildfire detection.
WIRELESS BEYOND
MOBILE AND WI-FI
There is a substantial need for resulted from radio spectrum in the uHF protocols including NB-IOt. All three are
low power and low bandwidth band being released in the process of the actively competing in the market and
transition to digital television led to the enjoying a measure of success.
wireless technology to support introduction of well publicised radio
the rapidly emerging Internet of technologies such as WiMAx and White LoRaWAN is an open protocol offered by the
Things (IoT). Whilst there is Space. White Space was heralded as a LoRa alliance that uses unlicensed
general awareness of the main potential solution for rural broadband spectrum, allowing almost anyone to set up
deployments and despite a level of their own networks at a low cost. typical
technologies of mobile (especially technical success, cost and regulatory applications include the monitoring of traffic
5G) and IEEE 802.11, uncertainty led to loss of momentum and flows, pothole detection, cycle safety,
consideration must also be given failure. WiMAx came in two flavours: IEEE pedestrian crossings, personal well-being
to radio technologies that fall 802.16d (fixed radio services) and IEEE and fire safety. In the licensed space, Sigfox
802.16e (mobile services). Despite early has set up as an alternative network
outside the mainstream, including hope, the fixed solution could not compete operator, with base stations deployed in 70
the 5G massive Machine Type against unregulated home broadband with countries using proprietary standards and a
Communications (mMTC) the unbundling of the local loop whilst the cloud infrastructure.
mobile solution was overtaken by LtE. As is
proposition. This article looks at
so often the case with disruptive 3GPP LtE specifications addressing the Iot
how such technologies have technologies, success is often space have two variations: Long term
evolved, identifying those that unpredictable and changes in economics Evolution for Machines (LtE-M) for services
have fallen by the wayside those and unpredictable development of up to 1M bit/s and the NB-Iot for low
mainstream technologies can easily erode bandwidth and low power services. these
which are likely to succeed. early promise. are aligned with the evolutionary path
Radio spectrum is a scarce resource for leading to the corresponding 5G services
which there is accelerating demand and it is Low powered networks are critical to and the major mobile providers in the uK
tightly controlled by Government. Although deployment of Iot solutions but neither have already launched or plan to launch NB-
some areas are unlicensed, for example the WiMAx or White Space met the key Iot based services.
Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands requirements for Iot based solutions,
at 868 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz which are namely the need to cover large scale It is important to realise that the network is
used for a wide range of familiar applications deployment over a wide area with long but one component of an “Iot” solution and
such as radio microphones, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi battery life and low cost. Whilst Iot solutions that integrating sensors, network,
and Microwave ovens, frequency bands can be broadly defined, this article focusses applications and systems into a coherent
attractive to mass applications such as on the lower power requirements of sensor- solution will require considerable systems
mobile invariably attract high licensing costs. based networks typical of telemetry and integration skills and investment.
For a particular application, the choice of Smart city low data rate applications. For
frequency band is driven by the relationship such applications there is frequently a
between transmitter power and range, the trade-off between range and data rate and
rate of information transfer required, how in many cases, there is an advantage in
information transfer between different users using unlicensed spectrum. Turn the page for the full article.
is managed and for cellular mobile networks,
mobility considerations including cell hand the three biggest players in this low power ANY COMMENTS?
over. WAN space are the LoRa Alliance, the Sigfox Write in with your news, views and
French global network operator and 3GPP comments at the usual address (see p3)
In the uK, the so-called digital dividend that with its specification of machine to machine or email us on letters@theitp.org.
tHE JOuRNAL TJ
ThE JOURNAL TJ
18 Ed SMITh
WIRELESS BEYOND
MOBILE AND WI-FI
Much of the published work on radio transmission covers the main technologies of mobile (especially 5G)
and 802.11 Wi-Fi1. Radio technologies are key to making the Internet of Things (IoT) a reality; there are
many options and only a few are likely to succeed commercially. From an understanding of operational
requirements, technology evolution and spectrum utilisation, this article identifies why some technologies
fail and others succeed.
1
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines a wide range of standards, those
pertaining to radio begin with the prefixes “802.11” and "802.15".
Volume 14 | Part 4 - 2020
INFORM NETWORK DEVELOP
ThE JOURNAL TJ
ThE JOURNAL TJ
20 Ed SMITh
felt that the number of customers needing nodes per km for IoT style applications. Z-Wave is an alternative proprietary protocol
this had reduced and those remaining could however, there is some ambiguity over what and offers tightly controlled device
be served by other means. It is likely that this an IoT style application is. Some applications interoperability from a limited number of chip
is a case of a niche solution losing traction need high bandwidth, with several suppliers. Both ZigBee and Z-Wave are low
through multiple factors, rather than one commentators identifying outdoor power and low bandwidth and often need a
single reason. Nonetheless there are still a surveillance cameras as the largest market bridging device to connect to an IP network.
number of smaller companies in the UK for 5G M2M solutions worldwide, whilst the It’s likely that the industry will move towards
offering these services in rural locations and connected car is seen as a rapidly growing cheap to implement IP based connectivity,
others including Microsoft offering services use case. Critically, much focus is on low which is likely to attract significant
overseas [2], in areas where terrestrial power devices, which do not make sustained marketing effort.
services are more difficult to supply. and continuous use of the communications
medium. Such devices use a different Narrowband Contenders
WiMAX approach based on a set of networking
WiMAX provided both fixed and mobile radio capabilities known as Low Power Wide Area Unlicensed Spectrum
services, the former being covered by the (LPWA). A distinction can be made between two
802.16d standard and the latter by 802.16e. types of application: connected cars and
data rates of up to 75 Mbit/s could be LPWA addresses M2M applications requiring autonomous vehicles that need high
achieved using spectrum in the range 2 to 60 low bandwidth, wide geographic coverage, bandwidth, secure, low latency networks;
Ghz The modern specification utilises low power consumption, low module, and and less intensive applications, which will
spectrum in the 2 to 11 Ghz region, but connectivity cost with usage cases that send less data, infrequently and will tolerate
offers no protection from interference, cellular networks alone can’t address. LPWA a lower service quality and throughput. An
requiring the operator to have exclusive use is predicted to grow from 2.5% of M2M ideal Low Power Wide Area network
of spectrum. connections in 2018 to 14% by 2023 (from (LPWAN) would have: long range (15-20 km),
223 million to 1.9 billion connections) [5]. support for millions of nodes, long battery life
Initially, Long Term Evolution (LTE) was Ambiguities in definition of what is meant by in excess of 10 years, very low cost and
considered a late starter, since WiMAX had IoT and the variety of ways an LPWA can be globally available radio frequencies in a
the capability for delivering relatively high- provided, make it difficult to identify the narrow band. For higher bandwidth devices,
speed data already. WiMAX networks were precise impact this will have on mobile without these requirements LTE is
launched in Milton Keynes and Stratford operator revenues. Suffice to say, it looks considered to be the best solution.
upon Avon, well before LTE was available. very significant and as will be shown, there
however, the competitive position for the is considerable competition for this revenue. The 3 biggest contenders in the LPWAN
fixed proposition was undermined, when space are LoRaWAN, Sigfox and Narrowband
unregulated home broadband became The development of LPWA networks is Internet of Things (NB-IoT), with telecoms
available following local loop unbundling. The derived from the concepts of Bluetooth and suppliers focussing on the last of these.
mobile WIMAX services also suffered the work of the IEEE 802.15 committee. The Whilst LoRaWAN and Sigfox use the same
because the 802.16e standard was standard for low rate LANs using radio frequency range, they use different types of
immature and delayed, allowing LTE to seize systems demanding low power and long spread spectrum transmission techniques to
its market [3]. battery life is specified in 802.15.4. The limit the impact of radio interference. They
Zigbee implementation uses unlicensed 868 also differ in that Sigfox is controlled by a
The significance and evolution of low and 985 Mhz, spectrum and is based on this single company, whereas LoRaWAN is
power networks standard, providing either 1 channel at 20 consortium driven, with over 100 network
IoT technologies are estimated by McKinsey kbit/s at 868 Mhz or 10 channels with a operators already involved together with
to have a potential global economic value of throughput of 40 kbit/s at 985 Mhz, which in Cisco and IBM. NB-IoT has been specified
$US4tr to $US11tr pa in 2025 [4]. Cisco Europe is in the bandwidth region allocated by 3GPP and uses a subset of the LTE
predicts that global mobile machine to to GSM and therefore cannot be used. There standards. All three seek to meet the low
machine (M2M) and IoT connections will rise is also a variant that provides 250 kbit/s power WAN objectives of low cost, low
from 33% of connections in 2018 to 50% by using spectrum at 2.4 Ghz. The standard has power consumption and hence low battery
2023; a total of 14.7 billion [5]. a power rating of 1 mW and a physical range life, whilst supporting a high connection
of 250m for the 2.4 Ghz version and several density.
Such predictions need to be considered km for the 868 Mhz version. The rate of fall
carefully given the specification within 5G of off of signal with distance is directly The principal radio technologies likely to be
massive Machine Type Communications proportional to the product of the frequency deployed in IoT Solutions are summarised in
(mMTC) which target of providing a and the distance between the transmitter Table 2. Whilst these technologies offer the
connectivity density of the order of 1,000,000 and receiver. kind of low data rate and low-cost
100bit/s (up)
Skyfox 868 Mhz 10-50km Star
600 bit/s (down)
LoRaWAN 868 Mhz 250 bit/s -50 kbit/s 5-15km Star Figure 3: LoRaWAN protocol stack
Figure 2: LoRaWAN deployment A recent study has examined two use cases,
ThE JOURNAL TJ
ThE JOURNAL TJ
22 Ed SMITh
ThE JOURNAL TJ
the JouRnal TJ
24 executive summaRy Recent developments in teRaheRtz communication and application to Beyond-5G netwoRks
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN
TERAHERTZ COMMUNICATION
AND APPLICATION TO BEYOND-5G NETWORKS
Moore’s Law states that with transmission rates, significant improvements developed to detect air pollution, changes in
in thz devices such as thz transmitters, thz temperature, and physical movement from a
technological advance, the
receivers and local oscillators, thz tunnel distance of several metres. unlike x-rays,
processing power of a computing diodes, schottky barrier diodes, will be thz waves are thought to be harmless to
device doubles every 2 years. required. one such research area is focused humans as they do not produce any ionising
As a consequence of upgrades on ultra-massive multiple-input multiple- radiation. they can therefore be used to
output antenna arrays (um-mimo) based on create compact, user friendly portable
in digital technology, an ever- nano-antenna arrays. as minute deviation in products in the area of sensing, short range
increasing volume of data is the dimensions and material properties of security screening at airport checkpoints,
being processed. With ever devices during fabrication leads to changes in mail and parcel screening and many more.
increasing demand for higher operating band, 3d-printing technology has
become mandatory for the fabrication of such the application of terahertz communication
data rates, it is necessary to sensitive devices. in the near future, it is technology to ultra-high Bandwidth wireless
develop enhanced technologies believed that optimized antennae and related access networks is another area of
to exploit additional spectral thz devices designed using 3d-printing will significant interest. presently, data centre
bandwidth. make it possible to cover a distance from a systems are connected by a huge number
few tens of metres to 1km, with data rates of cables. even though this connectivity
whilst fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks ranging from 400Gbit/s to several tbit/s. provides high data performance, this
have the potential to support a maximum of method is not optimal for cooling, scalability,
10 Gbit/s, increasing needs for high terahertz bands can also be employed in and replacing these cables with ultra-high
bandwidth communication have created close-in communications, including wiring Bandwidth wireless access networks could
demands for technologies that support even harnesses in circuit boards and vehicles, provide considerable opportunity for power
higher carrier frequencies; one potential nano-sensors, and wireless personal area optimization.
solution under study across the globe is thz networks. Recent enhancement in
communication, using frequencies that nanotechnology have paved the way for the the race for 5G networks, the establishment
range from 300Ghz to 10thz. if terahertz invention of nanodevices and the need for of 5G standards and the proliferation of
communication is to be the new frontier, nano-networks. communication among mmwave deployment is opening the
practical deployment will however require nanodevices was a bottle neck until the floodgates in terms of demand for ever
innovative technology solutions to overcome development of graphene-based nano- increasing wireless bandwidth. thz
propagation loss caused by a tremendous antennae. Research has proven that carbon communication is an emerging technology
amount of signal attenuation due to molecule nanotubes, a resultant product from that can be implemented in Beyond-5G
absorption of electromagnetic waves. graphene, can be modified to form nano networks to meet such demand in a number
dipole antennae that can act as transceivers of areas. the technology has been in
in 2015, the French institute of electronics to communicate electro-magnetic waves at development for more than a decade and
developed a thz transmission system model a frequency range within the thz band. greatly accelerated research in recent years
that could transmit at a data rate of 32Gbit/s into thz bands will inevitably lead to
across a distance of 25m at a frequency of in addition to research into very high data practical deployment.
400Ghz. in recent years, a number of transfer rates, the application of thz
research projects have demonstrated the communication to the field of sensing and
viability of transmission of 4k video content imaging has attracted great interest See opposite for the full article.
in short-distance communication and because of its two promising properties, ANY COMMENTS?
consistent transmission rates of 100Gbit/s namely the ability to penetrate various types write in with your news, views and
have been achieved. of materials and absorption due to the comments at the usual address (see p3)
spectral characteristics of certain molecules. or email us on letters@theitp.org.
For practical propagation at such huge data such devices can be used in devices
A. VIJAy, K. UMAdEVI REcENT dEVELOpMENTS IN TERAHERTz cOMMUNIcATION ANd AppLIcATION TO BEyONd-5G NETWORKS 25
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN
TERAHERTZ COMMUNICATION
AND APPLICATION TO BEYOND-5G NETWORKS
Terahertz (THz) Communication1 can support far greater bandwidths than millimetre-wave
(mmWave)2 technology and is seen as attractive for implementations of “Beyond-5G networks”. This
article provides an overview of current research to increase range and enhance data rates in THz
communication networks, improvements in antenna array design through the use of Ultra-Massive
Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (UM-MIMO) technology and potential major applications.
1
The wavelength of signals ranging from 1μm to 1mm are referred to as THz bands, on which frequencies greater than proposed 5G networks can be transmitted.
2
Signals whose wavelength ranges from 1 mm to 10 mm are called mmWave, and on these, higher frequencies can be transmitted than on current 4G networks.
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
26 A. VIJAy, K. UMAdEVI
3
Semiconductor devices whose dimensions are in nanometres are generally termed as bitty semiconductor devices.
4
Antennae designed for data transfer at a dimension of approximately 800nm.
5
An array of reflecting elements that can be easily fixed in the walls of buildings so to reflect the signals to the users via UM-MIMO antennae.
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
28 A. VIJAy, K. UMAdEVI
band. Next, we present the current research is not optimal for cooling, scalability, and
Industrial approach towards
on THz component design towards ultra-high higher-dynamic workloads. Replacing these
sensing and imaging
band wireless access networks. Finally, we cables with wireless THz connections will
explain how LIS will enhance the UM-MIMO provide considerable improvement in
Several industries are developing
THz communication networks. aspects of power optimization.
products and pursuing research in the
field of sensing and imaging based on
Remote Sensing and Imaging Since terahertz communication has attracted
the THz band. One such company is
In addition to research into data transfer in huge attention for its promising high data
TeraSense [6], which has developed
Tbit/s, THz communication in sensing and rates, its reduced coverage distance, which
products for use in the security
imaging has attracted numerous studies and is due to the fact that its signals are rapidly
screening of small pack-ages, as
development effort because of its two absorbed by air, becomes a bottleneck. To
shown in Figure 3.
promising properties, namely, penetrating overcome this issue, improvements in
materials of various types and absorbing the existing THz components or new, extremely
spectral characteristics of molecules. Hence unique designs for THz devices are
UM-MIMO can be used to detect air necessary. One such project, funded by the
pollution, changes in temperature, and European Union, is Terapod which focuses
physical movements in remote locations of on designing THz devices such as THz
several metres apart with respect to the transmitters, THz receivers, local oscillators
subject [5]. that supports THz frequencies, THz Tunnel
diodes, Schottky barrier diodes, and many
Figure 3: Security screening of small
packages (courtesy TeraSense)
THz waves are thought to be harmless to more to enhance ultra-high bandwidth
humans as, unlike X-rays, they do not Wireless Access Networks which use the
The company has also developed a produce any ionising radiation. They can also THz band.
short-range security screening system be used to create a compact and portable
that can scan a farer subject at a product which is thus user friendly. THz Initially, the Terapod program focused on
maximum distance of 6 metres, as devices are easy to customize, and the cost combining several THz transmitters with
shown in Figure 4. Notably, several of manufacturing is very low. These antennae to increase their power and create
researches are ongoing with the aim of properties have led to the development of steerable beams. Furthermore, the project
increasing the sensing and imaging many products based on the THz band in the team brings the specialist skills needed to
distance. area of sensing, supporting short range (3 – robustly package these components.
6m) applications such as security screening Additionally, the team focuses on how to
(e.g., airports, checkpoints, public places, evaluate the behaviour of these new devices
customs checkpoints, train stations, and model real-world scenarios based on
subways, VIp locations, border-crossings), simulations. Above all, the team is working to
THz imaging for mail and parcel screening design protocols to enhance the connectivity
(e.g. mail screening for drug detection), of THz components, in particular those that
pharmaceutical applications (e.g. quality have physical and datalink layers. Finally,
control in pill production), and many more. they will demonstrate the use of ultra-high
bandwidth THz wireless networks in a data-
Figure 4: Short-range security screening Utilization distance can be increased by centre network model.
system (courtesy TeraSense) means of UM-MIMO nano-antenna
communications as a result of recent Large Integrated Surfaces (LIS)
research into improving distance for Beyond-5G networks are also considered
ensuring secured communication in military communication devices. In addition to viable in the creation of cost-effective smart
and defence, 5G+ cellular networks, high- sensing and imaging, such nano-antenna infrastructure to support continuous,
speed wireless local area networks, Large UM-MIMO arrays can also be used for consistent high-speed data transmission
Integrated Surfaces (LIS)5, and many more. transmission. rates. Large Integrated Surfaces (LIS) provide
an optimised technique to achieve these
Applications in THz Band Ultra-High Bandwidth Wireless Access requirements. This allows the base station
The discussion of THz communication and Networks (BS) to establish a connection to users in
antenna design now leads to a focus on presently, data centre systems such as blind-spot regions, which increases the
three major applications of this technology. servers are connected by a huge number of antennae gain of UM-MIMO antennae, as
First, we begin with the possibilities of cables. Even though this connectivity less power is required to transmit and
remote sensing and imaging using the THz provides high data performance, this method interference is largely reduced. It is best
REFERENCES
THE JOURNAL TJ
tHe JouRNal TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
32 ADRIAN SHARPLES
34 ADRIAN SHARPLES
5
3GPP - 3rd Generation Project Partnership
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ
REFERENCES
AN OVERVIEW OF CONTENT
DELIVERY NETWORKS
When individuals visit the globe, content can be delivered with better improves the delivery performance of
world’s most popular web sites, performance, while simultaneously this kind of traffic. it is possible to
reducing the load on the providers’ sometimes find a faster path by
they are typically connecting to peering. moreover, the centralised site intentionally sending traffic through hops
some form of Content Delivery hosting the content no longer needs to of CDn nodes that take a different path
Network (CDN) to retrieve the scale to serve every end-user individually. than would otherwise be found by
following the internet’s BGP (Border
data. A CDN overcomes the same principle protects sites from Gateway Protocol).
fundamental architectural DDos attacks. the massive amount of • Streaming resiliency and
shortcomings of the Internet traffic generated by many thousands of performance technologies – CDns can
that would otherwise make attacking devices can be easily absorbed employ techniques to specifically
by a highly distributed set of CDn nodes optimise for streaming content. for
these interactions difficult or long before it becomes too centralised and example, if the CDn is attempting to
impossible to deliver at scale concentrated to manage. retrieve a video segment, but detects it
and with good performance. is taking too long, it may launch parallel
While CDn is an effective solution for requests through alternate paths.
By the mid-1990s, the underlying solving the challenges of online content • Edge computing – the edge compute
standards of the internet were in place but delivery, it is also a fundamentally capabilities of a CDn allow complex and
user frustration grew with the slow necessary model. this is due to the orders custom logic to be dynamically deployed
download experience. these were largely of magnitude difference in capacity and on a per site basis, with the edge node
the result of bottlenecks on paths across capabilities at the edge versus at the core, pulling together and operating on
the internet. if content is hosted on internet where services become more centralised. information in real time, with low latency,
provider A and a user is hosted on internet Billions of subscriber connections, even at for delivery to the end-user.
provider f, the data must transit through modest transmission rates, sum to far
networks B, C, D and e and the peering more capacity than can be available in and What of the future? for all the video
points between them. these peering points out of the core of the internet. viewing that is currently on the internet,
become bottlenecked with many the majority is still via traditional broadcast
thousands of users competing for the Although the functionality described above technologies. CDn will need to be
same constrained resource. remains core to the benefits of CDn, more developed to include new dynamic ways to
advanced capabilities have been bring broadcast-like efficiency to the
this imbalance is also the underlying developed to meet new challenges. internet or extending the effectiveness of
reason for the efficacy of Distributed Denial the CDn in non-traditional ways. At the
of service (DDos) attacks. the resources of • Core vs edge – As the threat landscape same time, last mile fixed and mobile
thousands of distributed devices easily on the internet has evolved, mitigating connectivity is improving over time
overwhelm a centralised service and put technologies have been created. exacerbating the imbalance between the
an outsized burden on the servers, However, security technologies cannot edge and the core. in-bound processing
networks and other centralised resources be deployed centrally without and aggregation of this data will be a key
needed to deliver the content. themselves becoming overwhelmed. As challenge for the next generation of CDn.
a result, security technologies have been
A solution is to place a copy of the content moved to the edge and are implemented
directly on the network of a user’s internet as features in the CDn. Turn the page for the full article.
service Provider. the general concept of • Dynamic content routing – there is a
“caching” long predates CDn but CDn puts small but high-value volume of content ANY COMMENTS?
this technique to use in a novel way. By which is dynamic and cannot be cached, Write in with your news, views and
deploying a highly distributed set of for example, an individual’s bank comments at the usual address (see p3)
servers in provider networks around the statement. Dynamic content routing or email us on letters@theitp.org.
tHe JournAl TJ
The JOUrNAL TJ
38 JAmes KreTChmAr
AN OVERVIEW OF CONTENT
DELIVERY NETWORKS
One of the most critical pieces of technology that enables the Internet to function is also one of the least
well known - Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). This article provides a history and overview of
the core functionality of a CDN, as well more advanced technologies they include today, followed by an
examination of some design considerations including deployment strategy and load balancing
techniques. Finally, the future trends of CDN are discussed.
When individuals across the globe visit the Background and history of CDN
JAMES world’s most popular web sites, whether for
e-commerce, banking, streaming video or
The web before CDN
By the mid-1990s, the underlying standards
KRETCHMAR gaming, they are typically connecting to
some form of Content Delivery Network
of the Internet were in place for transmitting
information across the globe. The Internet
Functionality and (CDN) to retrieve the data. A CDN
overcomes fundamental architectural
Protocol (IP) provides the mechanism for
sending raw data to a distant system. The
future trends shortcomings of the Internet that would Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) gets the
otherwise make these interactions difficult data to the intended program running on
or impossible to deliver at scale and with that system, detects and resends lost
good performance. packets and optimises the speed of
The JOUrNAL TJ
The JOUrNAL TJ
40 JAmes KreTChmAr
receive the data it needs on time. The major content providers’ sites, in addition to new physical deployment strategy is also
modern streaming protocols, whether live or standards like edge side Includes (esI). The inextricably tied to the design of the CDN’s
on-demand, divide a video into short edge compute capabilities of a CDN allow load balancing and footprint management
segments, each some small number of complex and custom logic to be dynamically strategy. The result is that today there are
seconds long. As a video plays, the player deployed on a per site basis, with the edge basically two models of CDN deployments
continuously requests upcoming segments node pulling together and operating on on the Internet: moderately distributed
a bit in advance and it maintains a small information in real time, with low latency, for CDNs, deployed into up to perhaps a
buffer of these soon-to-be-needed delivery to the end-user. These edge hundred locations, and highly distributed
segments. This leaves some extra time in computing capabilities for CDNs were CDNs, deployed in thousands of locations.
case there is a problem retrieving a developed in the early 2000s; more recently
segment, but it is not very much extra time. CDNs have added support for additional A moderately distributed CDN is less
The buffer is relatively small, otherwise programming languages and environments, complex to operate, at some cost to
playback would be delayed. If for any to make the functionality more convenient performance and scalability. With fewer
reason a player falls behind in receiving for today’s developers. deployments, the selection of which
segments in a timely manner, it will be deployment should serve a request is
forced to either downgrade the quality of the CDN architectural considerations simplified. fewer choices are available, and
video or interrupt playback to the user. Distributed systems design IP Anycast (a straight-forward BGP-based
As CDNs are distributed systems by their technique for directing end-users to servers)
CDNs, which are used extensively in the very nature, their architecture must may offer sufficient resolution. footprint
delivery of streaming video content, can incorporate distributed systems principals management of content may also be
employ techniques to specifically optimise and algorithms. Thus, the software design of simplified: fewer, larger deployments can
for this delivery context. for example, if the a CDN is equally as important as the hold more of a site’s catalogue of content
CDN is attempting to retrieve a video physical deployment, although the software and knowing statically where to expect most
segment, whether from another CDN node design is generally a more specialised and content to be makes it easier to manage.
or from the origin hosting the content, but complicated technology to create. however, a moderately distributed CDN is
the CDN detects it is taking too long to much less often on the same provider’s
retrieve the segment, it may launch parallel In particular, the more distributed a CDN is, network as an end-user, which means many
requests through alternate paths in an the more failures will occur that exercise the users will not experience the same
attempt to more aggressively deliver the challenges posed by distributed systems. To performance benefits of a highly distributed
segment to the player on time. The CDN pick one simple example to illustrate the CDN. The use of IP Anycast also makes load
may also dynamically learn which segments point: imagine a CDN node in a network balancing less fine-grained, which may
are likely to be requested next during somewhere in the world stops receiving result in the CDN needing to over-deploy to
playback, and ensure those segments are communications from the rest of the global handle surge traffic.
locally available in advance of the player network. from this one node’s point of view,
requesting them. This technique is referred how does it know if this failure is due to A highly distributed CDN requires more
to as “pre-fetching” content. locally isolated networking problems versus sophisticated software and systems to
a broader CDN communications systems operate. With thousands of locations, IP
Edge computing failure? If the former, it may be best for the Anycast is no longer sufficient for directing
even in the earliest days of CDN, it was clear node to take itself out of service, if the latter, end-users to servers and other techniques
that content providers would need to apply it may be better to continue providing must be employed to direct individual
different rules for a CDN’s behaviour when service even under degraded conditions. requests to the closest deployment (for
delivering different kinds of content. The This problem is one starting point example example, through responding differently to
most basic example being whether a piece in a large set of problems distributed Domain Name server (DNs) requests on a
of content was expected to remain systems must address. Because of the per-request basis). As many of the
unchanged for a long period of time (in complexity in designing high availability thousands of locations in a highly distributed
which case it should be cached for a long distributed systems, it is generally helpful to CDN typically will not have as much storage
period of time) or whether the content would think of this as the hard part of CDN design. as a more centralised model could deploy in
change frequently (in which case it should one place, it becomes necessary to manage
only be cached for a short period of time). Physical deployment and load balancing footprint more carefully to ensure the most
strategies popular content is stored close to end-users.
What began as defining a small, static set of Designing the physical deployment plan for This introduces complexity in the CDN
parameters for controlling the delivery of an Internet-wide CDN depends not just on design. On the other hand, being closer to
individual pieces of content quickly exploded factors of capacity, reach or scaling. end-users brings better performance and
into programmable edge configurations for Although these all remain critical, the off-load of peering links than a moderately
The JOUrNAL TJ
The JOUrNAL TJ
deployed CDN. In addition, per-request load At the same time, last mile connectivity is REFERENCES
balancing offers to two other benefits: first, improving over time. more of the world is
by implementing a load feedback system, becoming connected and technologies like
each node can be driven to near its full 5G are promising faster connections. This 1. sreenivasan, s. The World Wide Wait:
capacity. since any next request can be sent puts additional pressure on the system by Don’t Get mad, Get Off. The New
somewhere else, there is no need to leave exacerbating the imbalance between the york Times, 30 sep 1996
an unnecessarily large buffer of unused edge and the core, and users will demand 2. Napoli, N. Was the victoria’s secret
capacity, which is costly and inefficient. more from it. simultaneously, improvements show a Web failure? hardly. There’s
secondly, if the local demand exceeds the to the last mile, along with other industry no such thing as bad publicity. The
local capacity, users can be directed trends, are likely to drive an increase in New york Times, 8 feb 1999
specifically to a “next-best” node, perhaps Internet of Things traffic. In-bound
3. Trenholm, r. 20 years ago, star
in a neighbouring city. This offers a graceful processing and aggregation of this data will
Wars: The Phantom menace’s trailer
way to handle surges in traffic, with users be another challenge for the next generation
made web history. CNeT, 17 Nov
stage-by-stage being sent to the next-best of CDN.
2018. Available at:
performing CDN node.
https://www.cnet.com/news/star-
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
wars-the-phantom-menace-trailer-m
The future of CDN
ade-web-history-20-years-ago/
While the future is notoriously hard to
predict, there a small number of trends 4. hersher, r. meet mafiaboy, The
which are key to understanding the future of ‘Bratty Kid’ Who Took Down The
CDN. Chief among them are the predicted Internet. NPr, 7 feb 2015. Available
growth in traffic and the continued evolution at:
of the last mile. https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechc
onsidered/2015/02/07/384567322/
While Internet traffic continues to grow in meet-mafiaboy-the-bratty-kid-who-
general, we expect we are at the very took-down-the-internet
early stages of what’s to come. for all the 5. National Inventors hall of fame. Tom
video viewing that is currently on the Leighton – Content Delivery Network.
Internet, it is still the case that the majority Available at:
of viewing is via traditional broadcast James Kretchmar is vice President and https://www.invent.org/inductees/to
technologies. A simple back-of-the- CTO for Akamai’s media and Carrier m-leighton
envelope calculation can help understand Division, driving technical strategy for
what the world may look like in the long delivering the highest quality media at scale 6. Nygren, e., sitaraman, r.K., and sun,
run with more content and more users over the Internet and working with J. The Akamai Network: A Platform
online. Imagine a time in the future when customers and partners whose challenges for high-Performance Internet
some substantial percentage of the require technology that’s beyond the leading Applications. ACm sIGOPs Operating
world’s population is simultaneously edge of the industry today. he also runs systems. Aug 2010
watching high definition streaming video. innovation programs with Akamai’s telco
If we imagine 2.5 billion people each carrier partners to advance next generation
watching a 10 mbit/s stream (typical for technologies for delivering content on the ABBREVIATIONS
high definition) that would be 2.5e9 x Internet.
10e6 = 2.5e16 = 25,000 Tbit/s. To put this BGP Border Gateway Protocol
in context, the peak traffic delivered from Previously he served as Chair of Akamai’s CDN Content Delivery Network
Akamai’s global platform in march 2020 Architecture Board, responsible for review DDos Distributed Denial of service
was 167 Tbit/s. The conclusion is not only and oversight of technical designs for IP Internet Protocol
will CDN play an increasingly important Akamai’s globally distributed intelligent
role in the delivery of online content, but platform, as well as providing company-
we may need to create additional new wide technical guidance. James came to
technologies to accommodate such a Akamai from mIT in 2004 and during his
mind-bogglingly large number. This may tenure has also served as Architect for
include new dynamic ways to bring Akamai’s mapping and Network
broadcast-like efficiency to the Internet or management systems. he is a published
extending the effectiveness of the CDN in author on Network Administration and
non-traditional ways. speaks several languages.
THE JOURNAL TJ
THE JOURNAL TJ