Beyond 5G is the next generation mobile communication system expected to be used from around 2030. Services in the 2030s will be composed of multiple systems provided by not only the conventional networking industry but also a wide range of industries. However, the current mobile communication system architecture is designed with a focus on networking performance and not oriented to accommodate and optimize potential systems including service management and applications, though total resource optimizations and service level performance enhancement among the systems are required. In this paper, a new concept of the Beyond 5G cross-industry service platform (B5G-XISP) is presented on which multiple systems from different industries are appropriately organized and optimized for service providers. Then, an architecture of the B5G-XISP is proposed based on requirements revealed from issues of current mobile communication systems. The proposed architecture is compared with other architectures along with use cases of an assumed future supply chain business.

In sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, it is expected that extreme high data rate communication with a peak data rate over 100Gbps should be provided by exploiting higher frequency bands in addition to millimeter-wave bands such as 28GHz. The higher frequency bands are assumed to be millimeter wave and terahertz wave where the extreme wider bandwidth is available compared with 5G, and hence 6G needs to promote research and development to exploit so-called terahertz wave targeting the frequency from 100GHz to 300GHz. In the terahertz wave, there are fundamental issues that rectilinearity and pathloss are higher than those in the 28GHz band. In order to solve these issues, it is very important to clarify channel characteristics of the terahertz wave and establish a channel model, to advance 6G radio access technologies suitable for the terahertz wave based on the channel model, and to develop radio-frequency device technologies for such higher frequency bands. This paper introduces a direction of studies on 6G radio access technologies to explore the higher frequency bands and technical issues on the device technologies, and then basic computer simulations in 100Gbps transmission using 100GHz band clarify a potential of extreme high data rate over 100Gbps.

Recently, new optimization machines based on non-silicon physical systems, such as quantum annealing machines, have been developed, and their commercialization has been started. These machines solve the problems by searching the state of the Ising spins, which minimizes the Ising Hamiltonian. Such a property of minimization of the Ising Hamiltonian can be applied to various combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, we introduce the coherent Ising machine (CIM), which can solve the problems in a milli-second order, and has higher performance than the quantum annealing machines especially on the problems with dense mutual connections in the corresponding Ising model. We explain how a target problem can be implemented on the CIM, based on the optimization scheme using the mutually connected neural networks. We apply the CIM to traveling salesman problems as an example benchmark, and show experimental results of the real machine of the CIM. We also apply the CIM to several combinatorial optimization problems in wireless communication systems, such as channel assignment problems. The CIM's ultra-fast optimization may enable a real-time optimization of various communication systems even in a dynamic communication environment.

The performance of packet processing applications is dependent on the memory access speed of network systems. Table lookup requires fast memory access and is one of the most common processes in various packet processing applications, which can be a dominant performance bottleneck. Therefore, in Network Function Virtualization (NFV)-aware environments, on-chip fast cache memories of a CPU of general-purpose hardware become critical to achieve high performance packet processing speeds of over tens of Gbps. Also, multiple types of applications and complex applications are executed in the same system simultaneously in carrier network systems, which require adequate cache memory capacities as well. In this paper, we propose a packet processing architecture that utilizes interleaved 3 Dimensional (3D)-stacked Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) devices as off-chip Last Level Cache (LLC) in addition to several levels of dedicated cache memories of each CPU core. Entries of a lookup table are distributed in every bank and vault to utilize both bank interleaving and vault-level memory parallelism. Frequently accessed entries in 3D-stacked DRAM are also cached in on-chip dedicated cache memories of each CPU core. The evaluation results show that the proposed architecture reduces the memory access latency by 57%, and increases the throughput by 100% while reducing the blocking probability but about 10% compared to the architecture with shared on-chip LLC. These results indicate that 3D-stacked DRAM can be practical as off-chip LLC in parallel packet processing systems.

In order to cope with recent growth of mobile data traffic and emerging various services, world-wide system trials for the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system that dramatically extends capability of the fourth-generation mobile communication system are being performed to launch its commercial service in 2020. In addition, research and development of new radio access technologies for 5G evolution and beyond 5G systems are beginning to be made all over the world. This paper introduces our recent activities on 5G transmission experiments that aim to validate Massive MIMO technologies using higher frequency bands such as SHF/EHF bands, that is, 5G experimental trials. Recent results of 5G system trials to create new services and applications in 5G era in cooperation with partners in vertical industries are also introduced.

The next generation mobile system “5G” are under research, development and standardization for a service start of around year 2020. It is likely to use frequency bands higher than existing bands to have wider bandwidth for high throughput services. This paper reviews technical issues on higher frequency bands applying mobile systems including system trials and use case trials. It identifies expectations for antennas & propagation studies toward 5G era.

This paper proposes a radio propagation prediction method that uses point cloud data based on a hybrid of the ray-tracing (RT) method and an effective roughness (ER) model in urban environments for the fifth generation mobile communications system using high frequency bands. The proposed prediction method incorporates propagation characteristics that consider diffuse scattering from surface irregularities. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed by comparisons of measurement and prediction results gained from the proposed method and a conventional RT method based on power delay and angular profiles. From predictions based on the power delay and angular profiles, we find that the proposed method, assuming the roughness of σh=1mm, accurately predicts the propagation characteristics in the 20GHz band for urban line-of-sight environments. The prediction error for the delay spread is 2.1ns to 9.7ns in an urban environment.

In this paper, we propose a secure near-field communication (NFC) for smartphones by combining acoustic and vibrational communication. In our hybrid system, a transmitter transmits an encrypted message and encryption key from a loudspeaker and vibration motor, respectively. While the sound emitted from the loudspeaker propagates through the air, the vibration emitted by the vibration motor propagates through the body of smartphones. Hence, only receivers touching the transmitter can receive both the encrypted message and the key, resulting in secure communication. We designed a software modulator and demodulator suitable for the vibrational communication by using return-to-zero (RZ) code. Then we established a hybrid communication system by combining acoustic and vibrational communication modems, and evaluated its performance in experiments. The results indicate that our hybrid system achieved a secure (among physically contacted devices) and fast (800kbps) NFC for smartphones.

Communications satellites have been the primary mission from the early period of Japanese space development and their on-board communication equipment are the core devices to realize satellite communications systems. The technologies for this equipment have been developed to meet the requirements of high capacity and high functionality under the severe satellite-imposed constraints. This paper summarizes progress in on-board communication equipment technologies developed and verified by using Engineering Test Satellites and commercial satellites in Japan and describes their prospects.

It is necessary to estimate channel state information coherently to equalize the received signal in wireless communication systems. The pilot symbol, known at the receiver, aided channel estimator degrades the transmission efficiency because it requires the signal spaces and the energy for the transmission. In this paper, we assume a fixed wireless communication system in line of sight slowly varying channel and propose a new blind channel estimation method without help from the pilot symbol for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing systems. The proposed estimator makes use of the Expectation-Maximization algorithm and the correlation property among the channel frequency responses by considering the assumed channel environment. By computer simulations, we show that the proposed estimator can asymptotically achieve bit error rate performance by using the ideal channel estimation.

In satellite/terrestrial integrated mobile communication systems (STICSs), a user terminal directly connects both terrestrial and satellite base stations. STICS enables expansion of service areas and provides a robust communication service for large disasters. However, the cell radius of the satellite system is large (approximately 100km), and thus a capacity enhancement of the satellite subsystem for accommodating many users is needed. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an application of two methods — multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission using multi-satellites and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) for STICS — to realize the performance improvement in terms of system capacity and user fairness. Through numerical simulations, we show that system capacity and user fairness are increased by the proposed scheme that applies the two methods.

As the demand for higher transmission rates and spectral efficiency is steadily increasing, the research and development of novel mobile communication systems has gained momentum. This paper focuses on providing a comprehensive survey of research and development activities on fifth generation mobile communication systems in Japan. We try to survey a vast area of wireless communication systems and the developments that led to future 5G systems.

The Satellite/Terrestrial Integrated mobile Communication System (STICS), which allows terrestrial mobile phones to communicate directly through a satellite, has been studied [1]. Satellites are unaffected by the seismic activity that causes terrestrial damage, and therefore, the STICS can be expected to be a measure that ensures emergency call connection. This paper first describes the basic characteristics of call blocking rates of terrestrial mobile phone systems in areas where non-functional base stations are geographically clustered, as investigated through computer simulations that showed an increased call blocking rate as the number of non-functional base stations increased. Further simulations showed that restricting the use of the satellite system for emergency calls only ensures the STICS's capacity to transmit emergency communications; however, these simulations also revealed a weakness in the low channel utilization rate of the satellite system [2]. Therefore, in this paper, we propose increasing the channel utilization rate with a priority channel framework that divides the satellite channels between priority channels for emergency calls and non-priority channels that can be available for emergency or general use. Simulations of this priority channel framework showed that it increased the satellite system's channel utilization rate, while continuing to ensure emergency call connection [3]. These simulations showed that the STICS with a priority channel framework can provide efficient channel utilization and still be expected to provide a valuable secondary measure to ensure emergency communications in areas with clustered non-functional base stations during large-scale disasters.

Wireless body area networks (BANs) are attracting great attention as a future technology of wireless networks for healthcare and medical applications. Wireless BANs can generally be divided into two categories, i.e., wearable BANs and implant BANs. However, the performance requirements and channel propagation characteristics of these two kinds of BANs are quite different from each other, that is, wireless signals are approximately transmitted along the human body as a surface wave in wearable BANs, on the other hand, the signals are transmitted through the human tissues in implant BANs. As an effective solution for this problem, this paper first introduces a dual-mode communication system, which is composed of transmitters for in-body and on-body communications and a receiver for both communications. Then, we evaluate the bit error rate (BER) performance of the dual-mode communication system via computer simulations based on realistic channel models, which can reasonably represent the propagation characteristics of on-body and in-body communications. Finally, we conduct a link budget analysis based on the derived BER performances and discuss the link parameters including system margin, maximum link distance, data rate and required transmit power. Our computer simulation results and analysis results demonstrate the feasibility of the dual-mode communication system in wireless BANs.

In this paper, we propose efficient sequential AES CCM architecture for the IEEE 802.16e. In the proposed architecture, only one AES encryption core is used and the operation of the CTR and the CBC-MAC is processed concurrently within one round. With this design approach, we can design sequential AES CCM architecture having 570 Mbps@102.4 MHz throughput and 1,397 slices at a Spartan3 3s5000 device.

This paper presents a novel electrical polarization forming antenna for mobile satellite communication systems using linear polarization. To electrically form the desired polarization, it is necessary to excite the two orthogonal polarization antenna planes with appropriate weights. The proposed antenna uses digitally-based polarization and calibration functions to characterize the two RF paths. The calibration techniques used are critical to accurately forming the desired polarization. Proposed calibration techniques are very simple; the feedback signal consists of just amplitude levels. The proposals are validated by polarization forming measurements conducted on a fabricated antenna.

In this paper, we analyze the impact of channel estimation errors for both decode-and-forward (DF) and amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative communication systems over Nakagami-m fading channels. Firstly, we derive the exact one-integral and the approximate expressions of the symbol error rate (SER) for DF and AF relay systems with different modulations. We also present expressions showing the limitations of SER under channel estimation errors. Secondly, in order to quantify the impact of channel estimation errors, the average signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) gap ratio is investigated for the two types of cooperative communication systems. Numerical results confirm that our theoretical analysis for SER is very efficient and accurate. Comparison of the average SNR gap ratio shows that DF model is less susceptible to channel estimation errors than AF model.

Recently there has been a surge of interest in construction of low correlation zone sequences. The purpose of this paper is to survey the known results in the area and to present an interleaved construction of binary low correlation zone sequences. The interleaved construction unifies many constructions currently available in the literature. These sequences are useful in quasi-synchronous code-division multiple access (QS-CDMA) communication systems.

Two-dimensional (2D) communication is a novel physical communication form that utilizes the surface as a communication medium to provide both data and power transmission service to the sensor devices placed on the surface's top. In previous works, we developed 2D communication systems that utilize separated channels for data and power transmission. Though this assignment of different channels can achieve strong network performance, the sensor devices must be equipped with two or more interfaces to simultaneously receive the power and data signals, which significantly complicates and enlarges those devices. Moreover, when a channel is used for the power supply, it not only continually monopolizes the wireless frequency resource, it is also likely to cause interference with the other signal source in the case of the input power continually being sent out above a certain level. In this paper, we develop a novel 2D communication sensor system by using a single-carrier frequency for both power and data transmission, equipped with the wireless module for the two together in a compact body. To enable a sensor node that concurrently receives energy and data communication, we propose an enhancement scheme based on the IEEE802.15.4 MAC protocol standard. Through both computer simulation and actual measurement of the output power, we evaluate the performance of power supply and data transmission over the developed 2D communication sensor system.

Design of high gain and high efficiency antennas is one of the key challenges in antenna engineering and especially in millimeter wave communication systems. Various types of planar waveguide arrays with series-fed traveling wave operation have been developed in Tokyo Tech with the special focus upon efficiency enhancement as well as reduction of fabrication cost. In this review, four kinds of single layer waveguide arrays characterized with the series fed travelling wave operation are surveyed first. To cope with the bandwidth narrowing effects due to long line effects associated with the series fed operation, authors have introduced partially corporate feed embedded in the single layer waveguide. They further extended the study to cover fully corporate feed arrays with multiple layer waveguide as well; a new fabrication technique of diffusion bonding of laminated thin plates has the potential to realize the low cost mass production of multi-layer structures for the millimeter wave application. Secondly, the novel methods for loss evaluation of copper plate substrate are established for the design of post-wall waveguide arrays where dielectric loss and conductor loss is determined in wide range of millimeter wave band, by using the Whispering gallery mode resonator. This enables us to design the planar arrays with the loss taken into account. Finally, the planar arrays are now applied to two kinds of systems in the Tokyo Tech millimeter wave project; the indoor short range file-transfer systems and the outdoor communication systems for the medium range backhaul links. The latter has been field-tested in the model network built in Tokyo Tech Ookayama campus. Early stage progress of the project including unique propagation data is also reported.