Huawei preps 4.5G for 2016 launch

Huawei has outlined its roadmap for 4.5G cellular connectivity, which it claims will boost connection speeds, increase network capacity and reduce latency.

Speaking at a strategy event in London, Bob Cai, VP of marketing wireless network products at Huawei, confirmed the networking vendor is testing the next-gen, high-speed connectivity together with networks, chip firms and device manufacturers. The technology is on-course to be deployed next year.

He outlined three benefits 4.5G will provide compared to existing 4G technology.

- 4.5G can provide speeds of up to 1Gbps, 3x the speed of 4G in the UK (300Mbps)

- 4.5G will enable 100 times the connections per cell compared to 4G

- Latency will be reduced to 10ms

Huawei believes that 4.5G will help networks to deal with the pressure that is expected to increase with the prominence of virtual reality and cellular IoT devices over the nexy five years.

Meanwhile, reducing network latency from 50ms (4G) to 10ms (4.5G) will enable more reliable deployment of drones, smart meters and factory automation - which require real-time interaction.

"Machine-to-machine [communication] is not a new concept but it's mainly limited to short distance communications through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Cellular will allow long-distance communications [and] will mainly be used in the industrial areas [for] robots and automation," he said.