As more people worked remotely during the early stages of the pandemic, operators shifted investment to fixed infrastructure underpinning home broadband connections. Looking to 2022, we’ll see renewed focus on the growth of 4G and time spent on evaluating the most pragmatic ways to add capacity and capability into 5G deployment plans. We see three major trends in the market for the coming year.
Trend 1: Determining a Strategy to Simplify 5G Rollouts
Operators across the globe are seeking ways to monetize their networks. We will see the first layer of 5G gain traction mainly in cities with 5G expected tocontribute US$5 trillion to the global economy by 2025.
According to the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research, the benefits of 5G to Australia’s GDP will reach approximately $50 billion by 2030.
Australia consistently ranks among the top-tier best-performing countries for mobile connectivity. For the sixth year running, Australia was recognised as the number one nation in the world by the GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index - a recognition for Australia’s advanced mobile sector and continuous innovation and investment in network infrastructure by Australian mobile network operators.
Australia’s largest telco, Telstra now covers 75% of the Australian population with its 5G network reaching more than 3,200 suburbs and over 200 cities and towns across Australia and aims to reach 95% coverage by 2025
Pandemic trends spurred by faster mobile speeds will continue to grow. For example, we will see 5G take mobile gaming to a whole new level in Australia.
In a recent gaming demonstration, Ericsson partnered with Intel and Telstra to show esports as a natural application for ultrafast 5G networks. With much faster speeds than fourth-generation technology, 5G can make a critical difference in the realism of game scenes and the action.
Fast networks are needed to transfer the huge amounts of data that allow players to respond to one another’s actions and keep simulated environments realistic-looking.
As remote workstyles go mainstream, it will also drive more 5G applications to support new digital experiences in work and education. The spectrum used for such widespread applications and services will require densification and operators will seek technology that enables local coverage.
We may also see business model innovation coming from industries like healthcare or logistics, for example. This is no surprise given AWS recently launched a new managed service that helps enterprises set up and scale private 5G mobile networks in their facilities in days instead of months.
This trend may continue as vertical application specialists decide to purchase a slice of the 5G network to be rebranded and sold as a niche industry solution for their customers.
Trend 2: Uncovering Ways to Maximize Existing Infrastructure
The race to 5G has become as much about civil engineering as it is about technology. In fact, we are hearing from customers that the telecommunications industry perceives 5G to be a major civil engineering program.
With 5G there are new frequencies, meaning new equipment will have to be deployed on top of already crowded towers. Operators face significant challenges as this combination of heavier 4G and 5G equipment which places existing infrastructure under additional pressure.
To address these issues, CommScope foresee significant Infrastructure consolidation via the deployment of multi frequencies combiners and combined LTE/ 4G and 5G antennas.
The transition to 5G will lower the cost of delivering data for mobile operators and will also provide Australian mobile consumers with a higher quality of service which will allow operators to meet the demands for new and emerging data-driven services.
However, reaching this point will require significant investment from mobile operators, such as building more mobile towers, cells and acquiring additional spectrum and / or the repurposing of the existing spectrum to ensure that they can support the delivery of 5G and maximise its capabilities.
Looking ahead, operators will also continue to ramp up investments in greener technologies, such as investigating how much power is used to manufacture 5G components. This might include additional green commitments based on concerns around energy storage, new energy usage and heat dissipation.
Energy efficient equipment, renewable electricity, and new ways to power the network will continue to be measured as operators aim to reduce their carbon footprints.
Being green has never been more important and in an increasingly 5G world, especially as network operators could face significant growth in their energy bills. As operators turn to multiple input, multiple-output (MIMO) techniques for 5G readiness, they could potentially consume 2.5-3 times more energy than previous systems.
This means that in the foreseeable future, the millions of cell sites at the heart of the 5G network will require more power than their Long Term Evolution (LTE) predecessors.
Although passive antenna solutions draw very little power and use less energy to manufacture, operators will become more concerned about power consumption in 2022 as they deploy more massive MIMO antennas for urban and suburban areas.
In the future, we may see cloud-native network management software using analytics to collect data from devices in the field. This could help to identify looming network performance problems before they occur.
Trend 3: Can 5G and O-Ran help bridge Australia’s digital divide?
Fast, reliable internet is as essential as electricity and water. Residents in many Australian communities, however, have inadequate or no connectivity.
The digital divide is greatest in rural and economically disadvantaged areas, where high-speed broadband typically isn’t available and in many such locations, these services are currently being provide via Satellite services only, limiting their capabilities for an enriched and connected lifestyle.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently released its Mobile Infrastructure Report, which found the rollout of 5G networks from the largest three telco’s was occurring in the major metro cities first, while the focus in regional Australia remains more about updating 3G to 4G. Telstra, our largest operator has public stated that its 3G coverage will be closed down within 2 years and the other operators are expected to follow shortly their after.
However, the challenge is more than just mobile phone coverage and connecting to Netflix. Essential services such as education, healthcare and agriculture are all impacted, and limited, by the inadequacies of connecting our regional and rural communities.
With the rapid growth of 5G intensifying demands on network capacity and equipment, mobile network operators (MNO’s) are increasingly looking to new types of solutions to connect Australia and help bridge the digital divide. In particular, many MNOs are now exploring non proprietary wireless networks to more open, standards-based, software-centric virtual platforms such as Open-RAN (O-RAN).
In particular, many MNOs are shifting away from their existing proprietary wireless networks to more open, standards-based, software-centric virtual platforms such as Open Ran
Open RAN, or open radio access networks, refers to a new paradigm where cellular radio networks are comprised of hardware and software components from multiple vendors operating over network interfaces that are truly “open and interoperable.”
Open RAN promises to lower capital and operating costs and drive greater innovation, making technology deployments in underserved rural areas more economically feasible.
Before O-RAN becomes a core 5G technology, there is still plenty of work to be done around interoperability between vendors. We expect to see further commitments in promoting network architecture and industry standards in 2022.
Preparing Outdoor Wireless Networks for the Future
This will be a year of building experience in planning and deploying 5G networks. Vendors who can help simplify 5G rollouts and maximize previous investments will be crucial to driving 5G growth for network operators in Australia.
For example, active/passive hybrid antennas can reduce tower loading and operational costs. Simplified base station and radio connections, combined with new cluster cabling will improve the speed and efficiency of site upgrades which can deliver labour saving to the operators .
Power conditioning equipment can cut power consumption. In addition, telecom equipment vendors will be expected to deliver network-agnostic solutions, so their customers have more flexibility on deployment options.
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CommScope Category: Telecommunications Carriers Solutions Manufacturers Profile: At CommScope we push the boundaries of communications technology to create the world’s most advanced networks. Across the globe, our people and solutions are redefining connectivity, solving today’s challenges and driving the innovation that will meet the needs of what’s next. In 2019, CommScope acquired ARRIS and RUCKUS. The combined companies provide greater technology, solutions and employee talent, with broader access to new and growing markets. This combination created a communicatio ...
