Sony and Mitsui are Testing Dynamic Spectrum Access Technology for Local 5G Deployment in Metropolitan Expressways

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Sony has been working on Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) for a very long time. In an article back in August 2020, they highlight their three major strengths in this field:

  • The first is that we have many important patents. This was a result of us noticing the importance of DSA technologies early on and working through a series of processes from basic technology studies to field verification.
  • The second is our active contributions to the related standardization organization (WInnForum). Discussions are currently underway to improve the CBRS (Release 2), with Sony members serving as vice-chair and technical editor in the Spectrum Sharing Committee (SSC)'s Working Group 3, which is tasked with selecting board members and developing protocol standards.
  • Third, we have commercial-grade machinery with differentiated functionality. As one of our first steps towards developing CBRS/SAS, we obtained a database certification for digital television broadcasting frequency bands in the UK in 2015. That technical specification is the basis of the SAS development. Therefore, we were able to proceed with the development at an early stage.

A year later, in August 2021, Sony and Mitsui announced that they have succeeded with world's first 'Successful Operation of Standalone 5G Enabling Dynamic Spectrum Access System'. You can read all the details here.

In a recent announcement, Sony and Mitsui have shared that they are working together to test DSA for Local 5G deployment in metropolitan expressways. For anyone unaware, Local 5G is the Japanese name for Private 5G as explained here. The announcement said:

Sony and Mitsui, together with Metropolitan Expressway Co., Ltd., have jointly started system feasibility testing of the DSA technology for wide-area deployment of local 5G network on urban expressways, simulating co-existing local 5G networks on the Metropolitan Expressway and its adjacent premises.

Urban expressways feature stretched land areas, so interference with networks in adjacent areas are expected to be an issue in local 5G deployment. Introduction of the DSA system will automate the allocation of wireless spectrum to avoid harmful radio interference between local 5G networks, enabling smoother operations between the users.

These technical demonstrations will aim to identify technical issues and verify the practicality of the system with the goal of automating spectrum management and radio interference handling between adjacent local 5G networks. The results of the trials are to be leveraged to allow for more efficient use of limited spectrum resources, while accommodating various data traffic and specific use cases, such as transmitting video data of road damages from inspection cars, in a stable communication environment.

Company roles in the research project:

Sony: Oversees overall project management, system deployment and installation of DSA technology systems, algorithm studies for the target problems to be solved, etc.

Mitsui: Oversees local 5G network installation, neighboring network area coordination and liaison affairs, etc.

Schedule:

The research will be conducted from May 2023 through March 2024 and consists of two stages: (1) construction of experiment environment and (2) requirement verification.

I am hoping we would have some updated information by mid-2024. Watch this space.

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