In November 2024, Fibocom launched a full range of commercial 5G RedCap FWA solutions, covering MiFi, CPE, Dongle, and more, helping global operators and end customers quickly commercialize RedCap.
By reducing transmission bandwidth, trimming the number of transmit and receive antennas, and lowering the maximum modulation order for uplink and downlink, RedCap terminals are less complex compared to eMBB terminals, making them the best choice for mid- and high-speed IoT applications. With continuous product and technology iterations and improvements in RedCap network infrastructure, 5G RedCap modules will continue to achieve a balanced point between performance, cost, and power consumption, enabling terminals to quickly seize the 5G commercial opportunities.
The 5G SA network is the foundational condition for RedCap network construction. Currently, operators around the world are steadily deploying SA networks. According to the latest data from GSA, as of September 2024, 63 out of 343 global operators’ 5G commercial networks have already implemented SA standalone networks.
According to China Mobile’s “5G Lightweight Technology (RedCap) Industry Solution White Paper,” as of the third quarter of 2024, China Mobile has activated over 430,000 5G RedCap base stations, achieving continuous coverage of all county-level areas and above nationwide with n28 (700 MHz) RedCap. It has also launched n41/n79 (2.6 GHz/4.9 GHz) RedCap features as needed. Furthermore, in terms of network performance in continuous coverage areas, RedCap 1T2R terminals on the n28 (700 MHz) network can achieve an uplink average speed of 86 Mbps and a downlink average speed of 105 Mbps. In terms of mobility, RedCap terminals in existing network coverage areas can achieve 5G system interoperability with a latency of 30 ms, and 5G-to-4G system interoperability with a latency of 70 ms.
As seen above, RedCap can meet the requirements of mobile broadband applications like MiFi in terms of mid-to-high speed, continuous network coverage, and smooth 4G/5G handovers, which will accelerate the large-scale adoption of RedCap in MiFi applications.
Fibocom aims at typical FWA application scenarios and provides Fibocom RedCap modules and solutions that offer better cost efficiency than 5G eMBB and lower power consumption than LTE Cat. 4. The RedCap MiFi solution launched this time is equipped with Fibocom FG131 or FG132 series RedCap modules, which can be flexibly paired with various Qualcomm platform Wi-Fi chips, offering Wi-Fi 6E capabilities with up to 3600 Mbps, Wi-Fi 6 with 1800 Mbps, and Wi-Fi 5 with 867 Mbps.
Fibocom’s RedCap modules FG131 & FG132 are based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X35 5G modem and RF system, supporting peak download speeds of up to 223 Mbps and peak upload speeds of up to 123 Mbps. In the absence of 5G SA network coverage, and when falling back to 4G, the FG131 and FG132 series still support 256QAM downlink with a maximum speed of 195 Mbps, a 33% improvement over LTE Cat. 4. The uplink supports 64QAM, with a maximum speed of 75 Mbps, a 50% improvement over LTE Cat. 4.
In addition to superior cellular capabilities compared to standard RedCap, the Fibocom FG132 & FG131 series also feature two major advantages: they support OpenWRT based on the Linux kernel, with powerful network components that allow customers to flexibly install network function software packages, making them particularly suitable for MiFi, CPE, and other FWA terminal development. Additionally, the FG131 and FG132 series integrate a 1.25 Gbps SGMII interface, allowing efficient expansion to RJ45 wired network ports, making them suitable for MiFi, CPE, and other FWA terminals that require network ports.
Thanks to these multiple advantages, Fibocom’s RedCap modules FG131 & FG132 series offer excellent RedCap capabilities, especially suitable for MiFi, CPE, and other FWA terminals, helping customers make the most of RedCap more quickly.