https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Coverage/Interference


News

Projected 5G device-to-device range falls short of LMR performance, simulator says

Projected 5G device-to-device range falls short of LMR performance, simulator says

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 15th June 2022

Device-to-device communications in 5G—known as sidelink—promise to provide new flexibility and functionality, but its potential range is expected to pale in comparison to the land-mobile-radio (LMR) direct-mode offerings used by public-safety responders today, according to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) research.

Chunmei Liu, a researcher in the Wireless Networks Division of the Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL) at NIST, said that 5G New Radio (NR) sidelink is projected to support device-to-device communications at a maximum distance of 981.8 meters—slightly less than 5/8ths of a mile—in an “idealistic” scenario outdoors with line of sight, based on simulation research (graph pictured above). More realistic scenarios in the research indicate a device-to-device range of 644.9 meters (705.3 yards) for a pedestrian user and 582.0 meters (636.5 yards) for a user inside a vehicle.

These baseline projected figures indicate that 5G NR sidelink would provide similar range to the proximity services (ProSe) functionality in LTE. ProSe largely has been abandoned as a technology, with Samsung developing the only commercially available ProSe device that supported a range of “maybe half a mile,” according to a Samsung official.

Liu noted that 5G NR sidelink provides several options that can be used to extend the device-to-device range, such as increasing the number of transmissions to ensure that the signal is received. This technique can increase the range by as much as 70%, but it also results in increased latency and decreased data throughput to levels that can make many applications unusable for a first responder, she said.

“Our preliminary results show that 5G sidelink has the potential to increase range significantly … and there are some major factors that impact ranges, such as deployment environment, device power class, numerology, and HARQ configurations,” Liu said during a recorded presentation for the recent PSCR 2022 Broadband Stakeholders Meeting.

“Our results also show that increasing range comes with cost, and a careful design is required to balance range and other service requirements.”

Liu said that one way to increase the device-to-device communications range without degrading performance is to leverage high-power user equipment (HPUE), which can transmit signal at 1.25 watts—more than six times the normal 0.2 watts of a normal handheld cellular device. With HPUE operating on the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority, the device-to-device range is increased by more than 50%, resulting in the “idealistic” scenario delivering a range of 1,554.4 meters, or almost one mile.

But even this HPUE range represents a significant decrease in range when compared to the device-to-device communications supported by LMR devices, which can utilizes 3 watts to 5 watts of power to send signals. In addition to the extra power, LMR often operates on spectrum that provides much better signal propagation, and an LMR device often has an external antenna, as opposed to the internal antennas found in most LTE handsets.

Meanwhile, the projected 5G sidelink range is significantly decreased in scenarios in which the devices are not outdoors with a clear line of sight between them, according to the unique simulation research, Liu said.

“To our knowledge, our simulator is the first 5G sidelink link-level simulator developed,” Liu said. “We’re in the process of documenting it and plan to release it for public usage.”

In non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios outdoors, the device-to-device range is expected to be 389.0 meters (425.4 yards) for pedestrian users, while the same scenario will yield a device-to-device range of 354.1 meters (387.2 yards) for users inside of vehicles, according to the simulator research.

Indoors, the maximum projected range is 304.4 meters (332.9 yards), but this assumes a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario  Liu said. Impediments like walls will decrease the indoor device-to-device performance, but exactly how much will depend on a number of factors, including the materials used in the structure.

The most difficult scenario modeled by the simulator was device-to-device communications in which one user is outdoors and the other is indoors. In this outdoor-to-indoor (O2I) scenario, the range is projected to be 139.0 meters (152.0 yards) between pedestrian users and 126.6 meters (138.5 yards) between users in vehicles.

Many industry sources contend that such limitations in device-to-device communications via LTE or 5G is a major factor in major public-safety agencies being reluctant to transition mission-critical voice communications from LMR to broadband-wireless solutions. After all, first responders often need to communicate when commercial cellular services are unavailable, because the system is down or because they are operating outside of the terrestrial network’s coverage footprint.

However, with the availability of coverage-extension technologies like HPUE and “bring the network with you” deployable solutions—from pelican-case form factors to the Compact Rapid Deployable (CRD) asset that agencies can own—some question how often first responders will need device-to-device communications in the future.

Another potential factor that could impact this discussion is the development of companies like Lynk Global and AST SpaceMobile, which plan to deliver connectivity from a LEO-satellite-supported “LTE tower in space” directly to unmodified smart devices outside of a carrier’s terrestrial coverage footprint. Both companies expect to provide global service by 2025.

 

Tags: homepage-featured-4 5G Applications Broadband Push-to-X Coverage/Interference Critical Infrastructure Deployables Enterprise Federal Government/Military In-Building Incident Command/Situational Awareness Interoperability Land Mobile Radio Long Term Evolution (LTE) News NIST/PSCR NTIA/FirstNet Project 25 Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet Standards State & Local Government Subscriber Devices System Operation Test & Measurement Tower & Site Tracking, Monitoring & Control Wireless Networks News

Most Recent


  • AT&T claims LTE coverage edge, FirstNet build more than 99% done
    AT&T claims a 250,000-square-mile coverage advantage and that the planned five-year deployment of the FirstNet public-safety broadband network operating on the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority is more than 99% complete as a contractual deadline approaches this week. AT&T—the contractor responsible for building and maintaining the FirstNet public-safety broadband system—made […]
  • Verizon
    Verizon Frontline supports U.S. Forest Service efforts against wildfires
    Verizon Frontline increased its support of entities responding to wildland fires during 2022, particularly the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), which accounted for more than half of this activity by the carrier’s Crisis Response Team, according to the carrier. Cory Davis, Verizon’s assistant vice president for public safety, said that Verizon Frontline provided communications support to […]
  • Autonomous-vehicle consequences could include more traffic
    Most discussions about driverless, autonomous cars, have led to claims that they will help reduce congestion. Not so, says the RAC Foundation. It cites a UK government report which believes the opposite is true. Claiming that driverless cars could increase congestion by 85% by 2060. Presently, it’s thought that drivers lose more than 80 hours […]
  • Tesla Model 3 hacked in less than 2 minutes at Pwn2Own contest
    Researchers from France-based pen-testing firm Synacktiv demonstrated two separate exploits against the Tesla Model 3 this week at the Pwn2Own hacking contest in Vancouver. The attacks gave them deep access into subsystems controlling the vehicle’s safety and other components. One of the exploits involved executing what is known as a time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTTOU) attack on Tesla’s Gateway energy […]

4 comments

  1. Avatar Joe Blaschka Jr 15th June 2022 @ 8:38 pm
    Reply

    My experience is the “real world” results will be worse than what is indicated by the simulators. When body position, terrain, trees, etc. are factored in the actual range is almost always less. This is also a factor with traditional LMR.

    I believe the only real solution to the blend of network based and simplex communications is a combination of a cellular and LMR device in a single device. There are several manufacturers of these devices now. For example, having a radio with both LTE and VHF allows the radio user to use the LTE network where there is coverage but they can switch off the LTE network to a VHF network for wildland fires, larger area operations outside the LTE network coverage, and mutual aid with agencies who are not using LTE for their voice operations.

    The LMR side of the system could be VHF, UHF, or 700/800 MHz. This allows for the different technologies and frequency bands to be used where they are optimum

  2. Avatar Jon T Adams 15th June 2022 @ 9:40 pm
    Reply

    It’s a bit crazy to be stating RF propagation distances to 4 significant digits. The numbers quoted are from a model and thus theoretical; I suppose there are some who insist on reading a bunch of non-significant digits from the calculator. Antenna proximity to the body, orientation, proximity to other absorbers, the actual NLOS and LOS paths, and the moment to moment temporal variation of those factors make for tremendous differences in path loss.

  3. Avatar James Mayer 20th June 2022 @ 1:38 am
    Reply

    “Many industry sources contend that such limitations in device-to-device communications via LTE or 5G is a major factor in major public-safety agencies being reluctant to transition mission-critical voice communications from LMR to broadband-wireless solutions.”

    This is absolutely the case for fire service users! We have to be able to communicate from the basement of a heavily constructed building to other users both inside and outside the hazard zone. Although we can operate “on network” the ability to manually switch to a reliable simplex channel is a major necessity to maintain constant communication. I can’t believe anyone involved was surprised by the results, given the frequency bands being used and the “flea power” being transmitted by these devices with no external antennas. I agree with the previous post, in that a hybrid LMR/LTE device will be needed.

  4. Avatar Tom hays 18th July 2022 @ 8:02 pm
    Reply

    Did anyone thought about a multi-hop sidelink communication method to increase range dramatically?

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • FirstNet Authority CTO highlights coverage-extension efforts as initial Band 14 buildout nears completion
  • AST SpaceMobile gets OK from FCC to test sat-to-phone tech with AT&T in U.S.
  • Lynk Global inks deals with eight carriers, plans for global broadband coverage by 2025
  • Bittium official: Public-safety LTE devices ready, but can't 'wait for ProSe any longer’

Commentary


Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Gallery: IWCE 2023 kicks off in Las Vegas dlvr.it/SlZlk4

28th March 2023
UrgentComm

AT&T claims LTE coverage edge, FirstNet build more than 99% done dlvr.it/SlXZfr

27th March 2023
UrgentComm

Verizon Frontline supports U.S. Forest Service efforts against wildfires dlvr.it/SlX1g3

27th March 2023
UrgentComm

Autonomous-vehicle consequences could include more traffic dlvr.it/SlWr67

27th March 2023
UrgentComm

Tesla Model 3 hacked in less than 2 minutes at Pwn2Own contest dlvr.it/SlVJg9

26th March 2023
UrgentComm

SES: JP Hemingway on satellites’ role in the digital divide, D2D and disasters dlvr.it/SlTL4h

25th March 2023
UrgentComm

House members introduce $15 billion NG911 funding bill dlvr.it/SlS0Lr

25th March 2023
UrgentComm

ADRF: Sun Kim discusses company’s new hybrid in-building wireless solution dlvr.it/SlRtSQ

25th March 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.