Tag: TECHNICAL

The 5G Core network is a Service Based Architecture. It evolves the traditional appliance based 4G Core Network to support services. It offers more agility and flexibility. The major building blocks of this architecture include Service-Based Interface: The Service Based Interfaces rely on HTTP/2 The 5G Network Functions: As explained by Ericsson “is built using IT network principles and cloud native technology. In this new architecture each Network Function (NF) offers one or more services to other NFs via Application Programming Interfaces (API). Each Network Function (NF) is formed by a combination of small pieces of software code called as...

It's been a year of contradictions for the telecommunications industry. Like most sectors, it has been heavily impacted by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a slowdown in global 5G roll-outs being a notable result. Geopolitical conflicts have continued to muddy the market, with governments playing a more active role than ever in setting telecoms-centred policy. At the same time, however, the air is thick with promise and opportunity. Over the last nine months, entire organizations have transitioned to remote working and high-bandwidth video communication. Corporations have accelerated digital transformation initiatives. Online shopping has soared. The appetite for autonomous manufacturing...

Neil Harbisson calls himself a cyborg. Without the antenna implanted in his skull, he would not be able to see colour of any kind. Born with achromatopsia, a condition of total colourblindness that affects 1 in every 30 000 people, Harbisson's physical faculties are augmented by cyber technology to grant him access to a life of greater meaning and satisfaction. As technological evolution leads to concomitant advances in medical science, we are seeing more and more examples of humans who are integrating devices and sensors into their biological makeup. For some, like those part of the growing "transhumanist" movement, this...

In a recent session on smart building cybersecurity, a student cheekily asked me "How did we ever connect anything before 5G?" At that moment I realized I might have been overdoing my 5G cheerleading recently. To atone, here are the key performance and cybersecurity attributes of the most commonly used connectivity technologies in smart home / smart building use cases... And 5G. If you thought that the "traditional" home life is under heavy attack from digitization of media and constant communication, wait until you learn about the Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Homes. Our most personal spaces - our homes...

IoT Wireless Protocols data rate and range comparison in a spreadsheet format. Includes downloadable Excel spreadsheet.

IoT Wireless Protocols in a spreadsheet format. Includes downloadable Excel spreadsheet.

Recently, in the science journal Nature, Google claimed ‘quantum supremacy’ saying that its quantum computer is the first to perform a calculation that would be practically impossible for a classical machine. This quantum computing breakthrough brings us closer to the arrival of functional quantum systems which will have a profound effect on today's security infrastructure. How will quantum computing affect the security of 5G technologies currently being developed and deployed? Last spring we suggested that the emergence of quantum internet connectivity and computation, expected sometime in the next decade, poses numerous new cryptography and cybersecurity challenges for 5G security. MIT offers...

NFC is a short range two-way wireless communication technology that enables simple and secure communication between electronic devices embedded with NFC microchip. NFC technology operates in 13.56 megahertz and supports 106, 212, or 424 Kbps throughput. There are three available modes of NFC communication: Read/write (e.g. for reading tags in NFC posters) Card emulation (e.g. for making payments) Peer-to-peer (e.g. for file transfers) There is no need for pairing code between devices, because once in range they instantly start communication and prompt the user. NFC technology is power efficient - much more than other wireless technologies. The communication range of NFC is approximately...

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology commonly used for identification, status administration and management of different objects. It is important for people identification, as it is commonly deployed in the latest biometric passports.  It operates in several frequency bands like Low frequency band from 125 kHz to 134 kHz, High frequency band with 13.56MHz working frequency, Ultra-high frequency band with 433 MHz working frequency and 860 - 960 MHz sub-band. In Ultra-high frequency bands there are two types of RFID systems—Active and Passive. Active RFID system operates on 433 MHz radio frequency and on 2.4GHz from Extremely High- Frequency Range. It supports...

The Wi-Fi represents wireless technology that includes the IEEE 802.11 family of standards (IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, etc.). Within 50m range, it operates in 2.4 GHz and 5GHz frequency bands,. This technology was developed for wireless networking of computer devices and is commonly called WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), where the communication is realized between wireless routers typically connected to the Internet and other wireless nodes within its range. In correlation with performances of specific IEEE 802.11 standards, different data rates are enabled and their theoretical throughput is 11 Mbps (IEEE 802.11b), 54 Mbps (IEEE...

Bluetooth is short-range wireless communications technology based on the IEEE 802.15.1 protocol. It works in a crowded license free 2.4 GHz frequency band and shares this resource with many other technologies. Bluetooth is the optimal solution for establishing small wireless networks called Piconets, by connecting two Bluetooth devices. One of these nodes is Master that can be connected via Bluetooth link to 7 other Bluetooth devices—Slave nodes in Personal Area Network (PAN). Typical data rates are 1-3 Mbps. The newest versions of Bluetooth is known as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Bluetooth smart. It is important to note that Bluetooth and BLE...

Zigbee technology introduction Zigbee is wireless PAN (Personal Area Network) technology developed to support automation, machine-to-machine communication, remote control and monitoring of IoT devices. It evolved from IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standard and supported by the ZigBee Alliance. IEEE 802.15.4 standard determines specifications for the physical and data link layer and Zigbee Alliance provides standards from network layer to application layer. While Zigbee determines the contents of the transmitted message, the 802.15.4 standard provides details about the robust radio communication and medium access control. The Zigbee Alliance, as a non-profit association, develops open global Zigbee standard for use in the Internet of Things...

I get accused of focusing too much on 5G as the only future IoT connectivity option. I do write a lot about how 5G will revolutionize our society, become the most critical of critical infrastructures and about security threats with 5G. I see 5G, with its low latency, high bandwidth, network slicing and ubiquitous coverage becoming the foundational capability for mission critical industrial, agricultural, financial, medical, education, energy and transportation, even military and emergency services IoT communication needs. That’s not to say that 5G is the only IoT connectivity option. There are plenty of others. IoT applications have some common requirements...

Hyped as the technology that will transform the world, 5G is moving past the buzzword stage with first implementations coming to life in 2019. Nations are racing to 5G with such fervor that it now became one of the hottest hot-button geopolitical issues. With latency as low as 1 ms and speeds of up to 4 Gbps, as well as a wider range of frequency bands and enhanced capacity, 5G will be able to accommodate innovative use cases and much greater numbers of connected devices, driving overall growth for Internet of Things (IoT). In addition to the speed and capacity improvements,...

Don’t let the “5G” in the title confuse you. This post is not only about the telcos’ core networks, but about the 5G security and privacy issues in our (very) near, and very different future that 5G will enable. In the 5G-enabled massive Internet of Things (mIoT) world we’re about to find ourselves in, we are expected to have 1000 devices connected for every person… These devices will be the components of the ‘5G operating system’ for our smart cities, our industry 4.0, our smart homes, smart transportation, smart healthcare, and much more. To enable this future, we will...