Local 5G base station directly connected to 100Gbps SINET6 at Kanagawa Institute of Technology
enabling low latency video processing experiments in cooperation with off-campus edge devices
On Sep. 11th, 2024, a local 5G base station was established on the second floor of the Advanced Technology Research Laboratory at Kanagawa Institute of Technology, located in Atsugi city, led by Professor Mitsuru Maruyama of the Department of Information Networks and Communication, Director of the Ultra-Broadband Network Research Center and Maruyama Special Laboratory of the Advanced Engineering Research Center.
Long-awaited local 5G base station opened
Local 5G is a network in which the base stations for the 5G cell phones you use every day are built not by a telecommunications carrier but on its own premises, and can be used by replacing the SIM card in the handset. Maruyama Laboratory and Sebayashi Laboratory of the Department of Information Networks and Communications have been cooperating in real-time editing and distribution experiments of various 8K ultra-high definition images using SINET6 provided by the National Institute of Informatics, NII, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, of the Research Organization of Information and Systems. This time, we were allowed to join NII's “Advanced Mobile Driving Research Center” and participated in one of the projects to explore new local 5G usage with various universities, leading to the installation of this base station.
The local 5G base station installed this time was customized for the University by FLARE SYSTEMS Co. The system is in trunk shape and portable expected to be used in times of disaster or at construction sites deep in the mountains to connect to the Internet. We applied for a license to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in July for the installation of this base station, and a license for the experimental test station (identification signal: “かながわこうかだいがくローカル５Gじっけんきち１：KAIT Local 5G Experimental Base 1”) was issued on Aug. 26th, 2024.
Since only nationally certified radio operators are allowed to operate this base station, Prof. Maruyama obtained his first-class land special radio technician certification. In addition, six students from the freshman to senior year of the N course obtained the National Qualification of Second Class Land Special Radio Engineer.
Our University’s Network Environment
The University is connected to SINET6 at a high speed of 100 Gbps. The fiber-optic line used by home users is about 1 Gbps, but this is 100 times faster than that. By directly connecting this local 5G network to SINET6, the images captured by the university's portable 8K high-definition camera is captured with low latency and connected at 400 Gbps line speed in the Sagamihara Data Center of SINET6, then sends the video to a video processing node on the edge equipment. We plan to experiment with a workflow for live program production that combines video material from the cloud, processes the video, and distributes it to various locations. It is expected that high-capacity, low-latency 5G lines will be used in the future to create joint experiments that transcend the boundaries between departments and faculties within KAIT. Professor Maruyama also commented, “I would like to encourage interested KAIT professors to participate in this project. I encourage all high school students interested in practical learning and research using such a networked environment to consider enrolling.”
※Part of this experiment is supported in part by a FY2024 National Institute of Informatics Open Collaborative Research Grant (24S0105).
Student Interview
We interviewed one of the students who obtained national certification for this project, Ishikawa Masataka, a senior student in the Department of Information Networks and Communications.
-National certification and future development
The national certification for the second class land special radio engineer is not difficult in itself. I took the exam by reading reference books and solving past questions diligently. I have received my base station license and my personal license, and will now start actual operation. From now on, we will conduct experiments to see how much range this local 5G can be used in. My thesis is also planned to be an experiment using local 5G.
―How did you become interested in networking?
When I was a high school student, I was wondering what to do about my future career path, and when I talked with a friend about the future, we talked about how the program and information fields would grow even with the development of AI. I did not have a specific goal in mind to go into programming, but when I learned about the Department of Information Network and Communication at an open campus, I thought I could do a lot of things here, and decided to go on to higher education.
―How do you spend your time in the laboratory?
At Maruyama Laboratory, a leader is chosen at the start of each project. This leader takes the lead in creating an environment in which students can work independently and spontaneously. We have many projects every year, including joint research and experiments with universities around Japan, real-time transmission experiments of 8K images at the Sapporo Snow Festival, and exhibiting at the university booth and building demonstration facilities at “Interop Tokyo2024,” an event specializing in cutting-edge Internet technologies that attracted 120,000 visitors over three days. We are very busy with many projects every year, but we also have a lot of fun. Dr. Maruyama also encourages us to make the most of our current student status and take on many challenges without fear of failure, so we have an environment where it is easy to take on new challenges. The word “network” is vague and it is difficult to understand what kind of field it is, but it covers a wide range of topics. I think it is very interesting that each member of the laboratory has his or her own specialty and knows more about it than I do. When I have a question, I can ask them about it, and the conversation spreads from their specialty to mine, broadening my interest.
Using this knowledge, Mr. Ishikawa also served as a leader in the distribution team of the university's e-sports circle. In Apr. 2024, the University established KAIT TOWN, a new regional exchange facility with facilities dedicated to e-sports. The facilities are complex, as there are many things that can be done, such as projecting competitions on a large screen in the hall on the first floor and streaming video of e-sports competitions to video websites. He draws wiring diagrams and explains them to club members so that everyone can use them, and he has used his experience in the lab to maintain wiring for play-by-play and competitor seating at e-competitive sports events for elementary, junior high, and high school students.
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