ANALYSIS & OPINION: FIBRE & 5G NETWORKS


IN PERFECT HARMONY


Why wireless and fibre should be considered as complementary, rather than in competition


RAY O’CONNOR T 28 FiBRE SYSTEMS n Issue 25 n Autumn 2019


here has been a lot of talk around 5G recently and when Imagine announced plans back in February to roll out 150Mb/s 5G broadband


to a million premises in rural Ireland, it reignited the debate about the National Broadband Plan (NBP) and the part that network technologies play in connecting remote parts of the country. Te announcement was a wake-up call


to the pundits and politicians I’ve seen on TV proclaiming that fibre is the only way to bridge the digital divide and connect folks in rural Ireland to the internet. As someone who’s worked with wireless for over decade, I know first-hand how risible this argument is, but it’s been useful in highlighting a fundamental misunderstanding. Wireless and fibre are not in competition –


they are complementary. We design networks for both and take this for granted, but for the wider world it seems that work still needs to be done in educating people. Where one wins over the other as the primary means


www.fibre-systems.com @fibresystemsmag


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