World first at MWC 2023: Greenerwave unveils the future brick of 5G network through its reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)

5G demos: Greenerwave stand 5B19 Demo of RIS using Anritsu professional equipment: Anritsu Stand 5D41

• Antennas reconfigurable in real time
• Ten-fold reduction in infrastructure costs
• Compatible with 5G standard equipment
• Energy efficient    

It’s a world first! At MWC 2023, Greenerwave, the deeptech startup specializing in shaping the electromagnetic waves, will provide a real-time demonstration of its reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) technology – a brick necessary for the deployment of 5G mmWave networks.

The demo, broadcast live on video, will use OpenAirInterface, the benchmark 5G platform adopted across the world, and an RIS operating at mmWave frequencies. Thanks to this setup, with its simplified hardware, energy efficiency, limited costs and mass market compatibility, Greenerwave is today combining all the ingredients for the large-scale deployment of 5G, even in the most congested environments. MWC, Barcelona, February 27 to March 2, 2023, stand 5B19.  

Greenerwave will also showcase its beamforming antenna solutions which achieve unmatched capital and operating costs for telecom operators, addressing conventional 5G network infrastructure, as well as new 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) utilization cases. The beamforming antennas and RIS technologies developed by Greenerwave are the cornerstones of 5G networks and beyond.               

Millimetric 5G and 6G, with very high bandwidth but limited range

At a time when demand for data speeds is exploding, 5G will soon rely on millimetric waves capable of offering far greater bandwidths. These waves (28GHz), and those expected to reach even higher frequencies in 6G, travel in a straight line and are completely blocked if they run into obstacles. In these circumstances, it is hard for them to reach devices not in the direct sightline of base stations. This creates severe connection problems for users located in interior and urban environments.  

Greenerwave: an intelligent, green and low-cost solution to facilitate the deployment of millimetric 5G

The first solution, both costly and energy intensive, would be to expand the network of base antennae and amplifiers. The second consists in reflecting and redirecting signals, but conventional reflectors can only do this in fixed directions.  

With its intelligent surface capable of controlling microwaves at will, Greenerwave revolutionizes telecommunications in dense areas. This jewel of the French Deeptech sector has developed passive transponders capable of directing waves to a specific device, such as an individual mobile equipment, while adapting in real time to its position with relatively simple electronics. In total, infrastructure costs are reduced ten-fold!  

How does it work?

Greenerwave designs metasurfaces comprising elements that shape electromagnetic waves. These metasurfaces consist in a group of centimetre-sized elements called pixels that operate as a collection of micromirrors. Each pixel can modify the sign of the reflected wave. Interactions between pixels and microwaves are managed by algorithms from the world of physics that direct waves after they are reflected on the surface. Passive and cheap, this technology aims to improve the use of electromagnetic waves to lower energy consumption and infrastructure costs.

A technology validated by major partnerships

In addition to the direct 5G demonstration on its stand, Greenerwave has also joined forces with Anritsu, a Japanese instrumentation company, to make a live presentation of its RIS capacities on the Japanese stand.

The French deeptech’s technology has already been validated by the first 5G demonstration of RIS by NTT and AGC in Japan last year and the first RIS network distributed at the 6G Summit in November 2022.