The mystery of 5G for network operators. A regular column on the information industries
| Published date | 13 March 2017 |
| Date | 13 March 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/DPRG-11-2016-0053 |
| Pages | 186-188 |
| Author | Peter Curwen |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information policy |
Rearview
The mystery of 5G for network operators
A regular column on the information industries
Peter Curwen
Peter Curwen is Professor at the
Newcastle Business School,
Northumbria University, Newcastle
Upon Tyne, UK.
Everyone knows that 5G is coming,
but no one knows precisely what it
is. This is a very different scenario
from that envisaged when 4G was
first floated because the main
objective at that time was to speed
up data transfers either by using the
existing licensed spectrum
re-farmed for the new, more efficient
technology long-term evolution (LTE)
or by opening up new bands such
as 700 and 800 MHz for licensed
mobile services using LTE.
It is still the case that speed matters
and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) – which,
unlike LTE, meets the technical
specifications for 4G – is getting
progressively faster through
technical improvements in carrier
aggregation (CA), multiple-input
multiple-output and the like. But, the
reality is that once, say, a downlink
of 30 Mbps or more is accessible –
which is generally true of fixed-wire
networks and patchily true for
mobile networks, at least in
advanced economies – then
customers will welcome more
speed, but the great majority will
refuse to pay for it. Not surprisingly,
therefore, network operators are not
rushing to speed up their live
networks unless competitive
pressures make this expedient, and
it must be borne in mind that CA
requires LTE networks to be
progressively rolled out across
spectrum in multiple bands some of
which, such as spectrum in the 800
MHz band, can only be obtained via
expensive auctions.
But, it must be noted that the
proponents of 5G see it as less to
do with human-to-human
connectivity than with
human-to-machine and
machine-to-machine connectivity.
Accordingly, the first key thing to
note about 5G is that it is not really
about speed and not much to do
with licensed spectrum below 3
GHz. Furthermore, it is not
altogether clear whether
lightning-fast connectivity (minimal
latency) is needed in the majority of
cases. Rather, 5G has to do with
linking up in some as yet
unspecified manner some slices of
licensed mobile in the bands below
30 GHz, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) and
the internet of things (IoT). The latter
operates in unlicensed spectrum in
bands above 5 MHz which is why
so much research and effort is
being expended in determining
which spectrum bands are best
suited to unlicensed use and how
unlicensed spectrum can best be
allocated among competing users.
These are the sort of issues that the
World Radiocommunication
Conference in 2015 (WRC-15)
largely failed to address.
Harmonising licensed spectrum has
PAGE 186 DIGITAL POLICY, REGULATION AND GOVERNANCE VOL. 19 NO. 2, 2017, pp. 186-188, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2398-5038 DOI 10.1108/DPRG-11-2016-0053
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