Connect with us

5G

5G Needs Fiber, Anchorage Wireless Project and Budgeting for Broadband in Fort Collins

Published

on

Just because 5G is “around the corner” doesn’t mean fiber optic broadband development is unnecessary, said Ben Lewis-Ramirez of Lit Communities.

Ramirez is not the only one with a cynical outlook on 5G’s nationwide rollout.

“Deep deployment of fiber optics is a national imperative. The success of 5G wireless will hinge on deep fiber. The next transformation in infrastructure is 5G but the US is not well prepared to take full advantage of the potential, lacking needed fiber infrastructure close to the end customer (deep fiber),” Deloitte stated in its 2017 report titled “Communications Infrastructure Upgrade – The Need For Dark Fiber.”

Ramirez highlights several points demonstrating the necessity for fiber optics investment. First, the antennas on cell towers that carry wireless network traffic are all backhauled by fiber optic cables, resulting in the fact that 90% of mobile data traffic travels via wireline networks. Second, current 4G antennas cover roughly 10 square miles, whereas 5G antennas will cover only 500-750 square feet. Also, short ranged 5G signals will not pass through buildings or even dense trees.

This means that for a community to have a 5G network, it would require high capacity fiber cables on every street and access points with antennas every 200-300 feet, depending on physical obstructions. An estimated $150 billion in infrastructure is needed to meet future broadband needs, according to Deloitte’s report.

Some believe that mobile network operators are knowingly suppressing fiber projects by downplaying the need for fiber to the premises networks while hyping 5G, but Ramirez believes that MNOs are simply acting in a logical fashion. It makes sense for these companies to focus their expenditures in densely populated areas rather than sparse rural territories, where the return on investment is significantly lower.

Anchorage, Alaska, proposes 5G network

GCI announced a partnership with Ericsson to build a 5G network in Anchorage, Alaska.

This summer, Ericsson will begin deploying 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio hardware and software to 82 macro cell sites across the city. GCI’s metro fiber network will provide backhaul services to these sites. The project is estimated for completion in 2020, with initial 5G service coming online in the first half of that year.

GCI has a history of leading in technology to provide telecommunications services to Alaskans. CEO Ron Duncan anticipates that GCI will roll out 5G to “all the fiber-served areas of the state in the next few years,” including Juneau and Fairbanks.

Ericsson President and CEO Börje Ekholm believes that 5G will be “the fastest scaling mobile technology ever.” Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report predicts there will be 1.9 billion mobile 5G subscriptions globally by the end of 2024.

The budgeting system that helps Fort Collins, Colorado, achieve its goals

The publication Route Fifty writes about the biennial spending plan known as the “budgeting for outcomes” system allows the citizens of Fort Collins, Colorado, to weigh in on the city’s municipal budget and encourage the allocation of funds based on “measurable results,” Including a significant fiber network.

“Budgeting for outcomes has been transformational and has been an excellent system that helps us become more results-driven versus just funding local government,” said City Manager Darin Atteberry.

According to city officials, the practice was adopted in 2005 after Fort Collins lost a hefty share of sales tax revenue, resulting in a series of difficult budget cuts. Budgeting for outcomes has allowed citizens to understand what their tax money was paying for, adding transparency to the process.

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

5G

Innovation Fund’s Global Approach May Improve O-RAN Deployment: Commenters

The $1.5 billion Innovation Fund should be used to promote global adoption, say commenters.

Published

on

Illustration about intelligent edge computing from Deloitte Insights

WASHINGTON, February 2, 2023 – A global approach to funding open radio access networks will improve its success in the United States, say commenters to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The NTIA is seeking comment on how to implement the $1.5 billion appropriated to the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund as directed by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The grant program is primarily responsible for supporting the promotion and deployment of open, interoperable, and standards-based radio access networks. 

Radio access networks provide critical technology to connect users to the mobile network over radio waves. O-RAN would create a more open ecosystem of network equipment that would otherwise be reliant on proprietary technology from a handful of companies.  

Global RAN

Commenters to the NTIA argue that in order for O-RAN to be successful, it must be global. The Administration must take a “global approach” when funding projects by awarding money to those companies that are non-U.S.-based, said mobile provider Verizon in its comments.  

To date, new entrants into the RAN market have been the center for O-RAN development, claimed wireless service provider, US Cellular. The company encouraged the NTIA to “invest in proven RAN vendors from allied nations, rather than focusing its efforts on new entrants and smaller players that lack operational expertise and experience.” 

Korean-based Samsung Electrontics added that by allowing trusted entities with a significant U.S. presence to compete for project funding and partner on those projects, the NTIA will support standardizing interoperability “evolution by advancing a diverse global market of trusted suppliers in the U.S.” 

O-RAN must be globally standardized and globally interoperable, Verizon said. Funding from the Public Wireless Innovation Fund will help the RAN ecosystem mature as it desperately needs, it added.  

Research and development

O-RAN continues to lack the maturity that is needed for commercial deployment, agreed US Cellular in its comments. The company indicated that the complexity and costliness of system integration results from there being multiple vendors that would need to integrate but are not ready for full integration. 

Additionally, interoperability with existing RAN infrastructure requires bi-lateral agreements, customized integration, and significant testing prior to deployment, the comment read. The complicated process would result in O-RAN increasing the cost of vendor and infrastructure deployment, claimed US Cellular, directly contrary to the goals of O-RAN. 

Several commenters urged the NTIA to focus funding projects on research and development rather than subsidizing commercial deployments.  

The NTIA is already fully engaged in broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas through its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, said Verizon. The Innovation Fund will better advance its goals by funding projects that accelerate the solving of remaining O-RAN technical challenges that continue to delay its deployment, it continued. 

US Cellular argued that the NTIA should “spur deployment of additional independent testing and certification lab facilities… where an independent third party can perform end to end testing, conformance, and certification.” 

The Innovation Fund should be used to focus on technology development and solving practical challenges, added wireless trade association, CTIA. Research can focus on interoperability, promotion of equipment that meets O-RAN specifications, and projects that support hardware design and energy efficiency, it said. 

Furthermore, CTIA recommended that the Administration avoid interfering in how providers design their networks to encourage providers to adopt O-RAN in an appropriate manner for their company. Allowing a flexible, risk-based approach to O-RAN deployments will “help ensure network security and stability,” it wrote. 

Continue Reading

5G

CES 2023: Commissioner Starks Highlights Environmental Benefits of 5G Connectivity

Starks also said federal housing support should be linked to the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Published

on

Photo of FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (left) and CTA’s J. David Grossman

LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2023 – Commissioner Geoffrey Starks of the Federal Communications Commission spoke at the Consumer Electronics Show Saturday, touting connectivity assistance for individuals who benefit from housing assistance as well as the potential environmental benefits of 5G.

The FCC-administered Affordable Connectivity Program subsidizes monthly internet bills and one-time devices purchases for low-income Americans. Although many groups are eligible – e.g., Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollees – Starks said his attention is primarily on those who rely on housing support.

“If you are having trouble putting food on your table, you should not have to worry about connectivity as well,” Starks said. “If we are helping you to get housed, we should be able to connect that house,” he added.

Environmental benefits of 5G

In addition to economic benefits, 5G-enabled technologies will offer many environmental benefits, Starks argued. He said the FCC should consider how to “ensure folks do more while using less,” particularly in the spheres of spectral and energy efficiency.

“This is going to take a whole-of-nation (approach),” Starks said. “When you talk to your local folks – mayors – state and other federal partners, making sure that they know smart cities (and) smart grid technology…making sure that we’re all unified on thinking about this is exactly where we need to go to in order to drive down the carbon emissions.”

Continue Reading

5G

CES 2023: 5G Will Drive Safer Transportation

More comprehensive data-sharing is made possible by the reduced latency of 5G, CES hears.

Published

on

Photo of Aruna Anand, Durga Malladi, and Derek Peterson (left to right)

LAS VEGAS, January 5, 2023 – Panelists at the Consumer Electronics Show 2023 on Thursday touted the potential for 5G to make transportation safer by enabling information sharing between vehicles and with infrastructure.

5G is expected to expand connectivity by attaching small cell connectivity equipment on various city infrastructure, including traffic lights and bus shelters. 

More comprehensive data-sharing is made possible by the reduced latency of 5G, said Aruna Anand, president and CEO of Continental Automotive Systems Inc., referring to connectivity communications times. Anand argued that making relevant information available to multiple vehicles is key to improving safety.

“We give more information about the surroundings of the vehicle to the car to enable [it] to make better decisions,” Anand said.

Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager for cellular modems and infrastructure at chip maker Qualcomm, described a 5G-enabled “true ubiquitous data space solution” in which vehicles and smart infrastructure – e.g., traffic lights and stop signs – communicate with one another.

Asked for predictions, Malladi forecasted an increased “blend” of communications and artificial intelligence technologies. Anand said 6G is expected to emerge by 2028 and make its way to vehicle technology by 2031.

Both realized and predicted innovations in 5G-enabled technologies have driven calls for expanded spectrum access, from private and public sectors alike. The Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the respective overseers of non-federally and federally-used spectrum, in August agreed to an updated memorandum of understanding on spectrum management

Although relatively new, this agreement has already been touted by officials.

The FCC, whose spectrum auction authority Congress extended in December, made several moves last year to expand spectrum access.

Continue Reading

Signup for Broadband Breakfast News



Broadband Breakfast Research Partner

Trending