ANALYSIS & OPINION: FIBRE & 5G THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
Anticipating the road to 5G and its full-fibre pavement in cities
MIKAEL SANDBERG A
ccording to Tech Advocates London, 31 out of 33 London boroughs ‘have no strategy’ for facilitating the rollout of 5G networks. In addition, not a
single borough has dedicated any budget at all to its implementation. Despite the wide publication of the vast
benefits of 5G, it’s clear that many people are starting to raise the alarm; certainly, when it comes to the UK capital’s readiness – or lack thereof – for the successful deployment of 5G. Te performance goals of 5G are
unprecedented for wireless networks. 5G technology can unlock unrivalled potential to input creativity into the very fabric of society by producing an integrated infrastructure that will connect buildings, transport and utilities. It provides a substantial opportunity to develop and improve the way our energy, transport, healthcare and retail sectors operate in ways we had never thought possible. However, what seems to be lacking across
the board is an actual understanding – from an infrastructure perspective – of the current situation and what the rollout of 5G will entail. More specifically, that 5G alone is not enough to truly enable a new era of connectivity; its roll-out must go hand-in-hand with full-fibre. Without 5G, fibre would lack mobility, without fibre, the revolutionary goals of 5G would simply be impossible.
Te workhorses of the future According to Nielsen’s Law of Internet Bandwidth, mobile traffic is set to quadruple before 2021, with a user’s bandwidth expected to grow nearly 50 per cent every year. Without 5G, it will be impossible to keep up with the UK’s extraordinary appetite for data. To facilitate this nation’s hunger, the current infrastructure needs to change. Earlier generations of wireless networks have
relied heavily on macro towers using radio frequency spectrums as they were able to travel long distances. However, macro cells will not be able to withstand the growing speed, latency and bandwidth to future-proof 5G and beyond. 5G operates in a high-frequency band of
the wireless spectrum. Because high-frequency waves have a harder time travelling over distance and through objects, the 5G network will be built on small cell site technology with antennas as close as 150m apart. As a result, 5G will force telecoms companies to switch from large cell towers to lower cost and lower power radio small cell sites. Tese small cell sites are expected to be the workhorses of the future – they require less space and increase data capacity by proliferation or densification of the network. But small cells will not be doing all the work.
If 5G aims to give consumers the bandwidth that they require for 3600 8K video streaming and immersive video gaming, small cell traffic needs to be backhauled. It’s important to note that the future success of 5G relies on the availability of a deep fibre backhaul.
28 FiBRE SYSTEMS n Issue 26 n Winter 2020
www.fibre-systems.com @fibresystemsmag
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
