Faster and Greener 5G Rollouts: Latest mMIMO Accelerate Expansion While Saving Energy

Demand for mobile data is going to skyrocket in the next few years. In a December 2021 press release, ABI Research, a global technology intelligence firm, predicted increases in mobile data traffic reaching to 1331 exabytes worldwide in 2025, up from 23 exabytes in 2019 – a staggering CAGR of 97%.

Wireless carriers are already heavily invested in 5G and its continued growth. 5G is the only way to deliver the increased system capacity, data throughput and coverage needed to meet future demand. But predictions of explosive growth put more pressure on the market. Today’s network operators need fast, efficient ways to deploy 5G, while also minimizing the impact on current services and protecting future operating expenses.

Importance of mMIMO

One of the 5G techniques that network operators use to support increased traffic is an antenna format called Massive MIMO (mMIMO). This is a hardware configuration that uses an array of multiple antenna elements to transmit multiple data streams in a desired direction. Deploying mMIMO increases spectrum efficiency—particularly when mMIMO is used in combination with beamforming, a software technique that helps direct energy and reduce interference. The result is faster connections and better end-user experiences, even as demand for mobile traffic goes up.

“As 5G deployments continue to expand globally, network operators need to extend their coverage while maintaining performance. By offering twice the power in the same package size, NXP enables RF engineers to create base stations that are smaller, lighter and easier to deploy and conceal in urban and suburban areas.”

Jim Norling, Vice President and General Manager, High Power Solutions, Radio Power, NXP

Higher performance from existing sites makes mMIMO a key enabler of 5G, and that means demand for mMIMO solutions will increase in line with demand for mobile traffic. The December press release from ABI Research reflects this by predicting that mMIMO deployments will reach 32 million by 2026, up from less than 2 million in 2020.

Generally speaking, any mMIMO solution that uses an array larger than 8T8R (8 transmission, 8 reception) qualifies as “massive” – solutions range from 16T16R to 32T32R and 64T64R. The 16T16R format offers limited capacity and is primarily used for 5G coverage in rural areas. Since more 5G rollouts have focused on more densely populated areas in today’s environment, the 32T32R and 64T64R are the two most widely used.

64T64R Versus 32T32R mMIMO

In areas where deployments of 5G have focused on very densely populated urban environments, such as high-rise apartment buildings and city centers, the 64T64R mMIMO format is preferred. That’s because 64T64R offers the highest capacity potential and offers the biggest possible gains in coverage and spectral efficiency.

64T64R technology represents the cutting-edge upper limit of what’s possible. These solution improvements come at a high price in terms of energy consumption, size and weight. As technology advances and software improvements are ongoing in energy efficiency and production volumes, prices are likely to come down over time as well.

Once you move beyond the city center, to less densely populated areas with lower rise buildings, 32T32R becomes a compelling solution. It’s cheaper and more compact than that of 64T64R, but offers similar levels of output power.

Network operators will use a mix of mMIMO configurations to meet their goal. With more subscribers using more data, the goal for most network operators is to increase capacity but limit their total investment. In very densely populated areas that require maximum capacity and coverage, 64T64R will remain the best option. But in less densely populated urban and suburban areas, where subscribers can make do with lower capacity and coverage, 32T32R will dominate.

Looking for Greener Options

Deploying mMIMO is an attractive option in terms of investment cost. mMIMO reuses existing cell sites, leverages the multi-band capability already built into 4G and is a quick way to expand coverage, deliver faster service and add subscribers.

At the same time, there is always the question of power consumption. With mMIMO, the amount of electricity needed per byte of data transmitted goes down, since you’re sending more data at once, but the base station itself consumes more power. As a whole, the average 5G base station can consume as much as three times the amount of energy as a 4G base station for the same amount of coverage. Increased energy consumption means higher operating costs and has negative implications for climate change.

The search for greener options means mMIMO chipsets need to be smaller, lighter and consume less energy than their predecessors. Semiconductor manufacturers are optimizing hardware and using advanced algorithms to improve mMIMO performance. That includes optimizing beamforming techniques, to make better use of weight factors and adjustments in horizontal and vertical spread of transmitted signals. This is so there’s less interference, higher spectral efficiency and it’s easier to support large groups of users in a given area.

Artificial intelligence has a role to play as well. AI algorithms can be used to switch off various elements in the network when traffic is light, and then re-engage them when traffic increases. Given to the different levels of traffic, AI can also be used to monitor the consumer experience, and find the best balance between energy consumption and network performance. Also, as AI continues to gather data, algorithms will be able to predict data traffic more accurately for even greater energy efficiency.

The NXP Approach

At NXP, we understand that delivering mMIMO is about more than just increasing the number of antennas. It takes the highest levels of design expertise, process know-how and deployment experience. As a longtime leader in cellular technology, we leverage decades of R&D and real-world operating experience to our mMIMO product portfolio.

Having recently introduced our new series of RF power discrete 32T32R solutions, we now offer a portfolio that supports 32T32R and 64T64R operations. Housed in the same size package as our 64T64R solutions, our 32T32R solutions offer twice the power and expands coverage beyond ultra-dense urban areas. Moving 5G into less dense urban and suburban areas, 32T32R solutions offers a wider coverage area compared to 64T64R solutions. The result is a smaller, lighter weight 5G radio that is easy to deploy in urban and suburban areas.

NXP increases efficiency of 5G mMIMO systems by producing them in our own, highly linearizable, Gallium nitride (GaN) manufacturing facility. Our optimized GaN process increases integration for a more compact design. In most cases, our GaN delivers twice the power in the same package, which enables smaller, lighter 5G radios that are easier to deploy.

NXP mMIMO solutions, along with our fully integrated modules, offer maximum design flexibility and meet fastest time-to-market requirements.

NXP’s 5G Access Edge Portfolio

From antenna to processor, NXP offers a robust portfolio of technologies for accelerating deployments. We deliver optimized performance and security for infrastructure, industrial and automotive applications. Our portfolio includes our Airfast family of RF power solutions, and our Layerscape family of multicore processors for wireless data links, fixed wireless access and small-cell devices.

Take the Next Step

Learn more about DMS and explore our latest mMIMO discrete products, along with evaluation boards.

Portfolio Details

Furthermore, you can learn more about how NXP improves mMIMO and ehances the next generation of cellular by visiting our dedicated 5G site.