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Redcap: The Iot Technology For 5G Networks

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Vijju Jat
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124 views3 pages

Redcap: The Iot Technology For 5G Networks

Uploaded by

Vijju Jat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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White Paper

RedCap: The IoT Technology


for 5G Networks
Introduction
This paper explains RedCap and why RedCap is needed for 5G networks. We also present what RedCap benefits are provided for
end users through new devices and services. As a new technology we compare RedCap’s capabilities over legacy technologies to
provide a view of its benefits. The technical aspects of RedCap, including network acquisition, power saving, and mobility are
discussed in addition to important features in 5G that are not included in RedCap and why. Finally, we describe the industry
schedules for RedCap and what is next in 5G for RedCap.

What is RedCap?
RedCap stands for Reduced Capability. RedCap is the 3GPP IoT wireless specification designed to address several generic and
specific use cases for 5G NR. The current state of RedCap can be traced back to several requirements in industry that culminated
due to multiple and overlapping requirements from use cases and IoT verticals.
5G NR Release 15 (Rel-15) was primarily designed to address use case areas requiring lower latency, higher peak data rates, and
ultra-reliability beyond legacy 4G wireless networks. 5G NR Rel-16 added Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) IEEE standards of time
synchronization, and further enhancements of 3GPP reliability and latency specifications. These two 3GPP Rel-15 and 16 were very
beneficial for IoT use cases, but they still did not come close enough to already existing 4G 3GPP Rel-13 and 14 specifications that
addressed energy efficiency, coverage, and lower device cost.
The industry needed to address these areas of capability which were underserved in the current 3GPP Rel-16 5G specifications. Time
sensitive communications (TSC) which took advantage of 4G efficiency and cost as well as 5G reliability and latency. At the 3GPP
meetings in June 2019, industry presented several proposals to address the IoT use case requirements for study in 5G and it was
called NR-Lite. Over the last few years of study and work, NR-Lite became known as RedCap and was officially adopted into 3GPP
specifications in June of 2022.

Why is RedCap Needed?


While we explained the need for RedCap from high requirements view, there are several reasons why RedCap is needed from an
infrastructure and operator’s point of view.
It is important to note that while 5G networks are being deployed globally as shown in Figure 1, they are not all the same 5G
network types. There are two distinct 5G network types: Stand Alone (SA) and Non-Stand Alone (NSA). The SA networks rely
completely on 3GPP 5G specifications for all device and infrastructure equipment. NSA networks rely on both 3GPP 4G and 5G
specifications. This means that “SA only” devices are specifically designed for 5G networks, and do not support 4G technologies
such as LTE-M and NB-IoT. This can be a problem for operators of pure green-field 5G networks (no legacy 4G installations) and
regional mandates for devices to support SA if they want to satisfy IoT requirements.

Source: GSA (the Global mobile Suppliers Association), ”5G Stand-Alone January-2023 Summary Report

Figure 1 Number of Operators Investing in 5G SA for Public Networks and Number Investing in any 3GPP 5G Network

2
For a device to be compliant with 5G specifications it must meet minimum requirements. The minimum 5G device requirements
include 100 MHz of bandwidth and 4 RX antennas. This is much more capability than needed for many IoT use cases, for enabling
lower costs and too much power is required for battery efficiency. These requirements are not suitable for low power wide area (LPWA)
networks. It’s also important to note that these 5G device minimum requirements are in place for both SA and NSA networks.

RedCap offers a migration path from 4G to 5G as spectrum is migrated to new bands. The number of 5G NR bands is expected to
grow just as they did between legacy technologies 2G → 3G and 3G-4G. In fact, Redcap is capable of operating in the FR2 bands
offering entirely new spectrum that would otherwise not be available for 4G devices.

Another interesting aspect to point out is that NB-IoT can operate in guard bands, as we will see further into this white paper,
providing an even easier migration path from 4G to 5G. However, keep in mind that NB-IoT is only allocated for use in 4G bands
which may not be available in newer 5G bands.

RedCap bridges the gap between 4G IoT and 5G NR technologies. From the spider graph in Figure 2, we can see how 5G Rel-15 in
Orange which satisfies eMBB peak data rates and Rel-16 in Blue which addresses low latency and reliability requirements URLLC of
TSN. On the far lower left we see in Green and Pink how Rel-14 LTE-M and NB-IoT requirements of good battery life, low cost, and
better coverage. Using these four graphs, we can see how the requirements on the right and left are quite separated. The Purple
plot in the middle shows how RedCap overcomes the requirements gap.

RedCap NB-IoT
Low Latency
LTE-M (eMTC) URLLC

eMBB 10
8
Battery Life 6 Reliability
4
2
0

Low Cost Peak Data Rate

Coverage
Figure 2 5G Spider Diagram

Finally, IoT service providers will eventually need to sunset legacy technologies and need a migration path forward. Many 2G/3G
devices and services are nearing end of life as it makes economic sense to move to more efficient technologies. RedCap will offer the
most longevity of them all as 5G technologies are expected to be around even further than 4G by taking us into the next 1-2 decades.

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