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Some Underlying Physics of 5G Network

[personal notes]

    1. Friis Transmission Law
      {\displaystyle {\frac {P_{r}}{P_{t}}}=D_{t}D_{r}\left({\frac {\lambda }{4\pi d}}\right)^{2}}
    2. frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength
      \displaystyle v=f\lambda
    3. in the case of electromagnetic radiation, v is approximate 3×108 m/s

In ITU standards,

Extremely high frequency (EHF)  = 30 to 300 GHz in frequency = 10 to 1 mm in wavelength, so called millimeter-wave (mmW)

Ultra high frequency (UHF) = 300 MHz to 3 GHz in frequency =  1 to 0.1 m in wavelength

UHF is where our current mobile networks live on, with 4G mostly on 700 MHz, 1700-2100 MHz, 1900MHz and 2500-2700 MHz across the globe.

Under the Friis Transmission Law, higher frequency has much higher loss (attenuation) in free-space. For mmW, additional transmission losses occur when traveling through the atmosphere are absorbed by molecules of oxygen, water vapor and other gaseous atmospheric constituents.

Important absorption peaks occur at 24 GHz (for water vapor) and 60 GHz (for oxygen).

mmW attenuation | Source: T.S. Rappaport, NYU Wireless

As range of 5G signals are limited, small cells deployment, collaboration and integration will be essential. Current experiments found a 200-meter range doable.

Signal Outage (200 m Cell) in NYC using Adaptive Single Beam Antennas | Source: T.S. Rappaport, NYC Wireless

Appendix – Frequency Allocation

AT&T frequency table | Source: Wiki
Verizon frequency table | Source: Wiki
Frequency allocation in China | Source: spectrummonitoring.com

Read more on…

Global Warming of 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C

On Oct 8, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. And a summary version for policymakers.

1.5°C was the target to strive for, agreed in 2015 Paris Agreement. (countries agreed to limit warming to below 2°C above preindustrial levels by 2100)

However, we are nowhere close.

Source: Climate Action Tracker

Limiting warming to 1.5°C is possible within the laws of chemistry and physics but doing so would require unprecedented changes.

– Jim Skea of Imperial College London and an IPCC co-author

By “unprecedented changes,” Skea means essentially two things. First, the world needs to start cutting emissions. Instead in 2017, the world’s emissions a new record high. Second, we need to reduce those emissions very quickly. (Quartz)

Many researches have been done to analyze the impacts of a warming of 1.5°C and above.

Nasdaq Composite and Value Creation

[This blog post is mainly focused on NASDAQ]

1. How big is today’s loss & Are we really panicking?

The market rout on 10/24 (NASDAQ Composite dropped 329.14 points to 7,108.40) made it the largest retreat so far this year, surpassing the previous 316-points loss merely 2 weeks ago (10/10).

US stock index 10/24 tumble | Source: WSJ, Dow Jones Market Data

While the 4.43% retreat is widely “touted” as the biggest one-day loss since August 2011, it’s also the 3rd largest daily point loss in NASDAQ history (the other two happened in 2000 during the dot-com bubble).

Top 10 NASDAQ Largest Point Decrease as of 10/24/2018
Date Point Change
04/14/2000 -355.49
04/03/2000 -349.15
10/24/2018 -329.13
10/10/2018 -315.96
04/12/2000 -286.27
02/08/2018 -274.82
02/05/2018 -273.42
04/10/2000 -258.25
01/04/2000 -229.46
03/27/2018 -211.73
Reference: NASDAQ Largest Point and Percentage Decreases in the NASDAQ Composite Index

However, in percentage wise, we could see NASDAQ’s 10 biggest single day decrease ranging from -11.35% to -7.23% (3 of which related to the 2008 financial crisis, 3 related to the dot-com crash, another 3 related to the 1987 crash).

“-4.43%” is not a big deal & that’s not how investors react if they are really panicking.

2. All about inflation?

It’s crucial to incorporate inflation into analysis.

NASDAQ climbed above 5,000 in Mar. 2015, and it took another 7 weeks before it reached the dot-com bubble peak of 5048.61 (intra-day record was 5,132.52).

NASDAQ Composite climbed above 5,000 in Mar. 2015 | Source: Quartz, FactSet

However, when we adjust for inflation, things are different.

Doing a simple math – U.S. CPI (urban, all items ex. food & energy) is 181.3 in 2000 (annual average) and 256.5 in 2018 (H1 average); so a 8,109.69 peak in August should be around 5,732 in 2000-price-level.

So NASDAQ Composite spent more than 18 years to grow 13.5% (from peak to peak), while fundamentally technology has gone through tremendous evolutions.

CPI – urban consumers, ex. food & energy (Jan. 1999 – Sep. 2018) | Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Similarly, WSJ reported in January this year that “Nasdaq Tops Inflation-Adjusted High [7269.89] from Dot-Com Boom”; and the chart below shows the inflation-adjusted path.

Inflation-adjusted Nasdaq Composite | Source: MacroTrends
Why did we wait for 18 years just for a come-back? So value creation has little to do with the price? Is this all about inflation in the end?
3. Sit back and relax – It’s NOT all in vain

It’s a sure thing that companies can be over- or undervalued over time. But the benefits and growths are also real.

We have (unprecedented) iPhone in 2007 and (finally) massively produced Tesla Model 3 in 2018; we have 1 TB cloud storage for $9.99/month on Dropbox/Google Drive and unlimited storage of business account for $15/month on Box or $10/month on OneDrive.

Development in biotech is equally impressive. Sequencing cost dropped from ~$100 million per genome in early 2000s to ~$1,000 in 2016; and we are curing/curbing more types of cancer with unprecedented success rate and less harmful methods. Other advancements, for example those in neuroscience or surgical robots, are no less exciting.

And we can see their reflections in stock price (e.g. AAPL TSLA ILMN ISRG).

While the NASDAQ Composite in 2000s may be overvalued, comparatively in 2018 it is more supported by concrete revenue and earnings. Promises and expectations are still built in the price, but things are a lot better.

From a similar discussion in Mar. 2015 when NASDAQ reached 5,000 again after 15 years – P/E is not even close to insane levels.

Nasdaq historical LTM P/E | Source: CNN, Nasdaq, Bloomberg

When we call it a bubble (e.g. dot-com bubble), it is usually characterized by an increasing [absurdly large] difference between price and actual value created.

Revenue or earnings can rarely be doubled consecutively between regular quarters but prices can. That’s what happened in 1999 when Nasdaq Composite rose 85.59% (vs. 28.24% in 2017) and 13 large-cap stocks rose over 1000% (vs. Amazon +56%, Netflix +55%, Facebook +53%, Apple +46%, Alphabet +33% in 2017).

While a 10-fold rise in stock price is tough to catch up by revenues and earnings, I see a 50% rise doable and reasonable (e.g. could be a combination of 80% EPS growth + 20% P/E decrease, 50% EPS growth + P/E unchanged, or 25% EPS growth + 20% P/E increase), as long as the new P/E is justified by the future prospect.

I am not saying we shouldn’t anticipate a correction; but NASDAQ Composite hasn’t been super crazy neither.

I would like to conclude this post here by saying that – I believe in the future and the real benefits of tech [if correctly used]. Some areas might seem to be more over-promised than others, and some risks are looming on the horizon [to negatively impact global economy in a nontrivial manner], but true value creation should and will always be valued.


Appendix – what does S&P look like

S&P forward P/E as of Sep. 2018 | Source: JP Morgan Asset Management

「新栏目」5G 股权组合 One Share of 5G Future

[NOT for recommendation purposes; more for tracking purposes]

这件事已经想了有一阵子。昨天具体构思后,简单地做一个 5G 股权指数 (index),并按着指数做这么一个组合,以 $1000/股为起始面值,以 10 月 22 日作为开始日期。

组合很简易,局限于在美股交易的股票。一开始纳入了 7 只,比重有些 arbitrary(更像是根据我现有的持有比例来的)。

这个组合的第一阶段主要是 5G 基础或者说 enabler;等 2-3 年后将调整为侧重因 5G 而爆发的应用。

成分股中分为两类 – 核心 (Core) 和 其它 (Others),将主要跟踪核心成分股,目前 4 只(高通 康宁 Verizon AT&T)。

说一下主要成分股的主要的非 5G 因素。

高通 – 主要收入继续受到智能手机出货量压力和低价压力

康宁 – 主营业务之一的显示屏单价压力,LCD 需求增长放缓,新技术的份额扩大

Verizon 和 AT&T – 传统业务,媒体业务,尤其是 AT&T 的收购和债务

英特尔 – 服务器 data center 领域要接受 AMD 的挑战,再观察一下准备移到 Core

暂时有约 20% 的现金未分配留着添加调整。

 

留一个截图

Glass Age 玻璃时代

玻璃在生活中随处可见,是普通到平时不会去关注的材料。

最近,在 Corning 的启发下,发现玻璃作为一个时代来说真不为过。

从一个外行浅显的角度来看,我觉得玻璃时代最重要的核心就是玻璃对于光的把握。

最明显的一个角度就是作为显示屏,手机电视平板等等。

Corning 在 iPhone 生产之初就提供了屏幕,将防 scratch 的能力提升一个台阶(Jobs 演讲前的 iPhone original 屏幕被钥匙 scratch 了,后来有了 Corning 的合作从第一代到今天)

三星的曲面屏手机也是因为 Corning 的玻璃 – 2015 年发布的 Samsung S6 Edge 开始了两边双曲面 (dual edge) 系列。

Apple Watch / Fitbit 的屏幕,日常使用比手机更容易有屏幕撞击,但 Corning 的玻璃防划一绝。

再到各类 LCD,OLED 等等显示器。未来 5G 时代的信号需要更多的玻璃参与,包括背面;未来的汽车将需要具备更多显示屏式的玻璃…

Image result for automotive corning

另一个角度是对于光更精确的控制。在地球上,更多玻璃自带调节功能,将在能源的转化和节约中发挥重要作用。但更具有想象力的应该是以后的外星球移居,玻璃对于模拟地球太阳光环境至关重要。

Guardant Health’s Liquid Biopsy Outperforming Tissue NGS

上周 Guardant Health 在 JAMA 上的一篇文章,对比了 Guardant 360 (plasma-based NGS) 和 tissue-based NGS 在 NSCLC 中检测突变的能力以指导用药。

Clinical Implications of Plasma-Based Genotyping With the Delivery of Personalized Therapy in Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Guardant 360 检测出 clinical relevant mutations 的患者数接近组织 NGS 的两倍(82 vs 47)。

在多检测出的 35 例样本中,有 8 例是同时进行 plasma- & tissue- NGS 后,液体活检真正比组织多检测出的部分,另外 27 例是由于组织活检无法进行 (insufficient quantity/quality of tissue DNA)。

突出了液体活检真正的好处之一 – 肺癌晚期 (NSCLC stage IV) 的液体活检无法实施的时候 (79/207, ~38%)。

这也是液体活检努力的方向 – 在更多癌种中不要被当作 2nd line 检测。

Facebook’s Home Device with Camera and Microphone

上周 Facebook 发布了新款硬件 Portal – 一个以 FB 好友为电话簿的新型视频座机..

作为科技巨头中最后一个入场的,在 Amazon Echo 和 Google Home 开打很久、Microsoft 去年发布与 Harman Kardon 合作的 Invoke、Apple Homepod 今年早些时候入场后,Facebook 也是挤了进来,成为最后一个加入的美国科技巨头。

先说说各家的优势。

Amazon 是先发优势,提前入场熟悉用户优化 Alexa 拓展平台;还可以跟 Amazon 以后发布的各项智能家居配合(比如那个微波炉)。Amazon 之前也有做硬件和系统的基础。

Google 肯定是要抢这个未来 smart home device 核心位置的,nest 已布局多年,推广 google assistant(智能语音),顺带连接 google 本身各项服务,以及推广 youtube (premium) music。Google 的硬件实力近几年也突飞猛进,系统平台的强势更不用说。

Microsoft 这个略尴尬,也不算它自己做的 device,主要是推广了 Microsoft 的 Cortana 智能语音。

Apple 不用说,音乐和硬件一直是强项,Siri 也是有基础的,iOS 本身也有 Homekit。虽然目前没有带屏幕,但我相信就是日程上的事。已经有 FaceTime 和 FaceID,想象空间绝对够。

Facebook 强在社交网络 (FB Messenger) 的嫁接,自动生成电话薄。

然而,Facebook Portal 细想一下,在很多方面都很尴尬。

首先,Facebook 没有自己的智能语音,Portal 是直接用的 Amazon Alexa。在这一群科技巨头面前直接弱三分 (Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortana, Siri)。

其次,Facebook 没有平台能力,没有智能家居想象空间。本身社交跟智能家居的契合度(目前)就很小。未来跟 Oculus AR/VR 有多少契合很难说,至少短期没有。

三者,作为音箱用,FB 没有音乐类服务,仅是接入 Spotify/Pandora;有视频类的服务,但才开始,FB Watch/Show。另一方面说,由于 FB 内部 app 的分割,Instagram TV / 直播的想象空间又暂未实现。

第四,从 monetization 的角度,FB 逃不出 ads。在巨头之中,由于上述局限,FB 是最容易/最早会在 Portal 里加 fb ads 的.. Google 也差不离,但由于它更想做成大平台,可能离直接投放 ads 很远。

最后,还有 FB 的隐私和数据问题。今年以来一直是热点。考虑到美国对于家庭隐私的重视,估计 Portal 有点悬。

但从视频通话的角度,FB Portal 是很可以的。但放到大的背景中,突出两个字 – 尴尬。

New Art by Banksy & Sotheby’s Performance

10 月 5 日,在苏富比拍卖的 Banksy 2006 年作品 Girl with balloon 在落锤后被作者本人设计的碎纸画框碎了一半。

整个作品被重新命名 Love is in the bin。

Banksy B. 1974 GIRL WITH BALLOON signed and dedicated on the reverse spray paint and acrylic on canvas, mounted on board, in artist’s frame 101 by 78 by 18 cm. 39 3/4 by 30 3/4 by 7 in. Executed in 2006, this work is unique.
BANKSY, LOVE IS IN THE BIN, 2018

作者 Banksy 在 Instagram 上 po 出了自带碎纸的画框制作小视频,并 quota 毕加索

“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge” – Picasso

原本约 1 百万英镑的拍卖成交价,在一波戏剧性的操作后作品将大幅增值。

虽说 Banksy 说拍卖行并无参与 – 但无论怎样,这已经不单单是一幅画作,整个戏剧性故事都离不开 Sotheby。根据苏富比的 blog,这是首次在拍卖中卖出了行为艺术 (it marked the first time a piece of live performance art had been sold at auction, read more here)。

这是 Banksy,Sotheby,买方,以及现场观众共同完成的艺术。

期待多年以后的 Love is in the bin 的拍卖。

Tesla Has New Chairman, Facebook and More?

美国传统的董事会管理层双层结构在硅谷和科技行业不太流行。

给予创始人(们)极大自由和权力后,now funds are fighting back。

在公司蒸蒸日上的时候,换 board chair 的声音几乎听不见或被忽略;但一旦公司出现非短期问题,换 board chair 也被更多提及,并等待一些 “catalyst”

Tesla 要换 board chair 的声音不是一天两天,直到 Elon Musk 的 Twitter 被 SEC 盯上。 9/29,Musk 和 SEC 和解条款中包括了卸任董事长。

今天,几家基金要 Facebook 换 chairman 的提案再次被关注。过去几年 FB 表现已经很好,在 Zuckerberg 带领下社交巨头进入收入利润高增长。然而今年 Zuckerberg 的日子并不好过。一系列隐私方面的问题和激进的广告策略,让用户国会等各方都找到很多机会来 dis FB。

提案方包括 Trillium Asset Management (53,000 shares),以及纽约市 Comptroller 和三个州的 State Treasurer –  Illinois (190,712 shares) , Rhode Island (168,230 shares) and Pennsylvania (38,737 shares), New York City Pension Funds (4.5 million shares),大约近 500 万股(占 0.2%)。

现在 FB 的双层股权基本保证靠投票很难的;提案更多的为了公开讨论引起关注,为以后的契机做铺垫;如果 FB 或 Zuckerberg 出现一些现象级问题,可能也会有跟 Elon Musk 类似的场外和解。

GL to all