In the past two years or so, China has built the world's leading 5G network, 5G users have developed, and traffic has increased rapidly. Under the guidance of the "5G Sail Plan", 5G is rapidly accelerating its integration into thousands of industries and industries. Compete for the flow, thousands of sails compete for the launch.

However, unlike the "in full swing" of 5G applications in the to B field, the 5G personal applications in the to C field have not been well developed, and the category is obviously lacking, resulting in a serious lack of public awareness of 5G applications: many consumers are not interested in 5G applications. The impression still remains in "5G means that the network speed is faster, and the download speed of movies is very fast"; "5G advantages are not obvious, and the current demand for 4G can be satisfied"...

In the 5G to C field, it is urgent to create "killer" applications.

In 2020, the three major telecom operators jointly released the "5G Message White Paper".  The industry expects that 5G news can break the deadlock and promote the development of 5G to C.  However, after several years of hard work, the 5G news of "difficult labor" did not break through the shackles of terminals and business models, causing big market waves.

Following the 5G news, operators have carried out major reforms to traditional voice services. On April 12, China Mobile released a series of 5G New Call (VoNR) products, which will be commercialized on May 1. In addition, China Telecom and China Unicom are also actively promoting the pilot and commercial use of 5G VoNR. Compared with the "difficulty" of 5G news, 5G new calls have been supported by many terminal manufacturers. Huawei, OPPO, Xiaomi, Honor, vivo, Realme, Samsung, NZONE and other mainstream 5G mobile phones in the market have begun to gradually launch new versions to support VoNR services. The industry is looking forward to, and is also waiting to see, whether China's new 5G call, which is the first in the world to achieve commercial trial, will be successful in its business model and whether it will become a "killer" application in the to C field.

What is 5G New Call?

What is VoNR? VoNR refers to end-to-end voice services carried by 5G NR, 5G Core and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), that is, voice services independently carried by 5G networks. Literally, VoNR solves the problem of Voice, which is the most traditional and basic carrier-class service—voice. In the early stage of 5G commercial use, the industry mainly provides voice services through VoLTE technology. VoNR is the ultimate 5G voice solution. It can directly establish a voice bearer on the 5G network without relying on 4G to make calls, and achieve "zero fallback" for 5G calls, and users can enjoy the smooth 5G network speed while using the voice service. The 5G experience has been greatly improved.

VoNR is similar to VoLTE, using IMS 5G voice service. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is the basic protocol of IMS and is used for connection establishment between different users. The combination of the new enhanced voice service (EVS) codec and ultra-wideband (SWB), full-band (FB) audio bandwidth enables high-quality audio (HD) and voice applications. EVS codecs are also critical to 5G systems, helping operators provide an excellent user experience.

Compared with the 4G voice service VoLTE, the EVS coding adopted by the VoNR voice service has stronger anti-frame loss, anti-delay, anti-jitter and high-fidelity capabilities. Especially in terms of sound, the VoNR sound transmission bandwidth has been extended from 50Hz~7000Hz to 20Hz~14000Hz, which has reached the level of high-fidelity headphones. In the weak field environment, VoNR uses the uplink voice enhancement technology to ensure the user's voice perception, whether it is playing mobile games or watching videos, it is not affected, and high-quality voice calls and high-speed Internet access are both correct.

In this case, why should VoLTE be used to provide voice services in the early stage of 5G? Because, when 3GPP designed the 5G system, it did not provide an independent solution for voice services, but continued to provide voice services based on IMS. In the early days of 5G commercial use, there are two networking methods: NSA (non-independent networking) and SA (independent networking), which correspond to three voice service implementation solutions—VoLTE, EPS Fallback, and VoNR.

VoLTE is mainly for NSA networking. NSA only introduces 5G NR RAN, but the core network still uses 4G EPC, and voice services are still provided by 4G IMS/VoLTE network; EPS Fallback is mainly for SA networking, which is similar to CSFB in the LTE era. Similar in effect, voice services will fall back to 4G networks where 5G SA networks cannot cover; VoNR is oriented towards 5G SA networks, and voice services are all carried by 5G, which can provide a better user experience, but the premise is a good 5G SA network cover. By the end of 2021, my country has built the world's largest and most technologically advanced 5G SA network. Therefore, good network coverage has laid a solid foundation for the large-scale commercialization of VoNR in my country.

In the 5G era, real-time communication is still an indispensable basic business capability. As the 5G network gradually achieves continuous coverage and the 3GPP 5G VoNR standard gradually matures, the all-media value-added services based on the 5G VoNR ultra-high-definition multimedia communication capabilities will further enhance the voice service experience and enrich the service connotation.

Where is the "new" for 5G new calls?

5G new calls have greatly expanded the connotation of traditional real-time audio and video communications. In terms of business capabilities, it has broken the limitations of traditional audio and video media streams and upgraded to a veritable multimedia communication; in terms of user experience, it has broken the one-dimensional and two-dimensional limitations of hearing and vision, and added interactive and three-dimensional immersive new technologies such as touch. Experience; in the scope of communication, it breaks the original limitation of people and people, and expands to the communication between people and things, things and things.

In addition to high-definition audio and video, 5G new calls will also provide users with richer real-time interactive services. Centered on a multimedia real-time communication platform, based on a unified and open network architecture, the agile development and rapid deployment of innovative services will be realized.

For C-end smartphone users, 5G new calls can enhance the multimedia interactive call experience. For example, in addition to the basic call functions, it will also provide rich experiences such as caller business cards, content sharing, screen sharing, AR fun calling, and voice-to-text.

Specifically, in terms of screen sharing and remote collaboration, both parties on the call can watch videos together and shop in the cloud together. In the process, AR marking can also be performed to achieve efficient communication. 5G video customer service can communicate face-to-face with users after user authorization, and upgrade the customer service experience. During the communication process, users can obtain the information they want to consult through the mobile phone screen, such as an intuitive display of package allowances.

5G new call technology helps the elderly communicate without barriers. Based on 5G VoNR network, combined with speech recognition technology, real-time subtitles and large font display are realized in video calls. For middle-aged and elderly people, it can solve the problem of amblyopia and low hearing in the elderly group, as well as the "digital divide" problem caused by the inability to install and use mobile phone applications; to achieve smooth communication between hearing-impaired and hearing-impaired people.

5G new calls help achieve barrier-free communication across languages. Also based on the 5G VoNR network, combined with machine translation technology and semantic understanding technology, real-time mutual translation between Chinese and English is realized during video calls, providing users with barrier-free communication services in situations where the two languages ​​are inconsistent.

For enterprise users on the B side, 5G new calls further subdivide enterprise scenarios, and high-quality voice is a key function embedded in new 5G-based services, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, remote robot control, and telepresence applications. And various IoT-enabled services. Based on the needs of the scene, it can provide business calling cards, intelligent customer service, and digitization of government information.

In addition, the 5G new call framework can also use the 5G network real-time audio and video communication technology, combined with augmented reality and mixed reality technology, to provide remote maintenance, after-sales service, facility inspection, medical care, demonstration teaching, supervision and inspection, and auditing. Inspection and other innovative business extension.

How about the ecological construction of 5G new calls?

It is reported that 5G VoNR can bring many benefits to users and operators. From the user side, VoNR will bring users a better call experience. From the operator's point of view, VoNR can accelerate the transfer of traditional and inefficient 2G/3G CS voice to 4G and 5G, thereby improving network efficiency and reducing network operation and maintenance costs, thereby re-cultivating high-quality low-frequency resources; VoNR is conducive to supporting new 5G applications - AR/VR, holography and other 5G applications are inseparable from real-time, high-definition audio and video calls, and with VoNR, an enhanced media plane can be provided to better support these new applications; VoNR can give operators Bringing new sources of income, facing the era of digital transformation and the Internet of Everything, voice and video services are extending from the connection between people to a broader connection between people and things.

At present, the industry is generally optimistic about the development of 5G new calls, and its ecological model is also improving day by day. First, operators are actively trying. In foreign countries, Korean operator KT has made some optimization attempts in video calling, and released eight major services including communication, games and media while releasing 5G packages in 2019. Among them, the communication service APP Includes Narle and Real 360. Narle is a video calling app, which is called "new concept video calling service" by KT. It supports AR real-time graffiti and superimposed emoticon stickers to create your own 3D image during video calls; it also supports 8-party HD video at the same time. calls, and supports real-time conversion of voice to text subtitles, as well as sharing pictures and files during the call. On June 2, 2021, Deutsche Telekom announced a successful 5G VoNR call with several partners including Xiaomi in Warsaw, Poland.

In China, the reporter learned that mobile subsidiaries represented by Jiangsu Mobile, Zhejiang Mobile, and Beijing Mobile are carrying out province-wide commercialization of VoNR one after another. China Unicom pointed out in the "2021 Annual Terminal Evaluation Report" previously released that with the continuous maturity of VoNR technology and the continuous optimization of terminal network collaboration, China Unicom's network VoNR is ready for commercial use. According to China Telecom's plan for 5G terminals in 2022, China Telecom will conduct VoNR laboratory tests in the first quarter and live network verification in the second quarter. Shenzhen Telecom has successfully established the first VoNR boutique demonstration area, and formed a joint project team with the Huawei boutique network team. After several rounds of iterative optimization, the VoNR boutique demonstration area network has fully met the preset goals, achieving connectivity anytime, anywhere, and no disconnection. Voice, ultra-high-definition VoNR network target.

The second is the active participation of equipment manufacturers. For example, Huawei proposed a 5-in-1 unified solution to help operators upgrade calls and simplify the network architecture. It also jointly released a new 5G call solution with China Mobile to jointly promote relevant standards. ZTE and China Mobile jointly released a new architecture for 5G voice network. In March 2021, Guangdong Mobile and ZTE took the lead in implementing the 5G new call service pilot based on the IMS DC architecture, and completed the first call verification of the 5G new call service in the 5G network environment.

The third is the strong support of terminal manufacturers. 5G has become one of the important directions for the technical reserves and R&D investment of various mobile phone manufacturers. Huawei, OPPO, Xiaomi, Honor, vivo, Realme, Samsung, NZONE and other mainstream 5G mobile phones in the market have begun to gradually push new versions to support VoNR services. . It is worth mentioning that from July this year, all new products launched by China Mobile will support 5G new calls.

Business still has a long way to go

Previously, with the release and pilot commercial use of 5G new calls, some consumers suggested that "the 5G new call data is included in the voice call package and still charged"; "How to ensure the quality of calls across operators"; "Since it is mainly indoors , Indoors is the main battlefield of Wi-Fi. The speed and delay of Wi-Fi6 are also good, and it is free. What is the reason for choosing VoNR? WeChat video calling is still the first choice”…

There are also doubts in the industry: Can "New Call" become a 5G explosive application?

All kinds of questions show that the industry needs to make more efforts.

Business innovation without commercial monetization capability is lifeless. At present, it is still difficult to see the commercialization of 5G new calls. Similar to the previous 5G news, there is no "killer" application scenario so far, and more related concepts can be seen. 5G new calls face a similar situation. The application scenarios of subversive experience are still to be discovered, and the industry needs to continue to promote business innovation, launch richer interactive content, more interactive forms, and more immersive terminal presentation.

In addition, the business model needs to be further clarified. For example, the issue of tariffs is still a major challenge. Although China Mobile proposed that during the trial commercial use of 5G new calls, it will not occupy traffic, and only use voice calls for minutes. However, in the near future, it is still necessary to carefully design tariff packages, which are simple and transparent, so that consumers can easily choose and recognize them. Secondly, VoNR puts forward high requirements for the coverage and performance of 5G networks, and puts forward higher requirements on operators for new services, new technologies, and new architectures brought by real-time calls and all-media fields.

In addition, except that China Mobile has clarified the time node for the terminal to support 5G new calls, the landing time of other operators' products is not clear. To avoid falling into the embarrassing situation of "three monks have no water to eat", each family does not pay attention to interconnection and always wants to start anew, so that the ecological closed loop of 5G new calls cannot be opened.

5G converged applications are in a critical period of large-scale development. Tech giants, including operators and Internet manufacturers, are entering a new competitive arena. However, from the perspective of historical development, operators have no obvious advantages in Internet business.

Industry experts said that in terms of technical implementation, although some technologies in operators' 5G new calls are better than those of Internet manufacturers, the number of terminals that support 5G new calls in the future, the effect of technical implementation, and the quality of calls are not test data. As far as operators are concerned, the key is to implement the technology on a large scale. Operators still need to join hands with the industry chain, make full use of network advantages, find the integration point of network and service, and form differentiated products and services.