PRESS RELEASE: At China International Information and Communications Expo 2024, Jiang Xudong, Vice President of Huawei’s 5G<E TDD Product Line, at the 5G-A Enabled High Quality Development Forum. Jiang Xudong said, “5G-A is at the right time to enable low-altitude economy. To meet diversified applications, we need to build a low-altitude economic network with continuous coverage, an intelligent low-altitude management platform, and a “1+1+N” architecture with new N-dimensional network capabilities. To enable the development of low-altitude economy and open up new space for qualitative productive forces.
The first year of 5G-A collides with the first year of low-altitude economy
At the forum, Jiang Xudong reviewed the successful experience of 5G technologies in driving the digital transformation of industries. Based on the gigabit 5G capability, 5G-A enters the first year of development. 5G-A not only improves the original core capabilities of 5G, but also introduces the innovation ability of air-ground integration, laying a solid foundation for low-altitude economic development. With the clearer policy support, low-altitude economy has moved from exploration to practical application, and is widely used in logistics distribution, emergency rescue and urban management. For example, the 5G-A network has supported the distribution of 300 Drones by the Meituan Express every day, and the distribution of air Medicines in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, has been shortened from 1 hour to 9 minutes, significantly optimizing the service experience. In the wave of continuous 5G-A innovation, the low-altitude economy has become a pioneer in the field of 5G-A innovation.
Cost-effective low-altitude network with One-Skyline technology
In the wave of rapid development of low-altitude economy driven by 5G-A, operators’ four innate advantages include equipment sharing, infrastructure sharing, controllable networking, and O&M sharing, giving them the first-mover advantage. First of all, operators’ base stations have moved towards “air-ground integration”, in the case of no additional site, the existing communication sites to achieve air-ground coverage, truly “one network dual-purpose”. In addition, low-altitude routes are fixed, and the basic coverage cost of low-altitude routes is only a few dozen of that of traditional ground sites. This makes the network of operators more controllable. In terms of O&M, operators have mature operation mechanisms and maintenance expert teams to quickly cope with low-altitude network development requirements.
To support operators in low-altitude network construction, Huawei One-Skyline technology uses three technological innovations: long coverage, wide coverage, and accurate coverage to help operators build a high-quality low-altitude network with continuous coverage. First, Huawei incorporates the ELAA technology into the integrated air-to-ground module, improving the horizontal coverage capability of low-altitude bands by 3–5 dB. At the same time, Huawei introduced the wide-angle technology to expand the vertical plane coverage and achieve full air-to-ground coverage. In addition, Huawei introduced new Meta materials to solve the industry’s problem of grid lobe interference. Huawei uses innovative technologies to comprehensively improve the performance of the air-to-ground integrated network.
Network Industry Collaboration to Build an Intelligent Low-altitude Management Platform
To meet the requirements of more industries and scenarios in the future, operators need to build an intelligent low-altitude management platform oriented to applications and management. The service management platform monitors and operates services. The data processing platform uploads, clears, and forwards data. The signal processing unit on the site side detects and processes original signals. In this way, the simplified architecture provides stable and reliable E2E connections, supporting the rapid development of low-altitude economy.
Incubate the poem and distance of low-altitude economy with N applications
According to the Implementation Plan for Innovative Application of General Aviation Equipment released in 2024, it is estimated that by 2027, unmanned, electric and intelligent technologies will promote commercial applications in multiple fields of low-altitude economy, especially in urban air transport, logistics distribution and emergency rescue. By 2030, a new model for the development of the general aviation industry, featuring high-end, intelligent, and green, will be basically established. To support and ensure the safe and efficient operation of the passenger transport network of “short-distance transportation + electric vertical take-off and landing”, the “dry-support-end” unmanned aerial vehicle distribution network, and the low-altitude production network that meets the needs of workers and peasants. In the future, general aviation equipment will be fully integrated into all fields of people’s production and life, become a powerful driving force for low-altitude economic growth, and form a trillion-level market scale.