Bert loves to complain about the lack of competition in wired broadband ISP
service, claiming that the cable guys are a monopoly.
Truth is that cable was in the right place at the right time to monetize its
massive investment in a hybrid fiber/coax infrastructure, while the telcos were
left holding the bag with an aging twisted pair infrastructure. The telcos did
roll out FTTH in some large markets, but the cost was prohibitive, given the
market potential and huge advantage enjoyed by the cable industry.
So the telcos turned their attention to wireless, building out today’s wireless
infrastructure - SHARED - by four major competitors and dozens of contract
resellers of wireless service.
Now comes 5G, another “hybrid” technology. In this case the future is FTTA’s -
fiber to the antennas. Who is in the best position to capitalize on the
potential of 5G to become the elusive “last mile” infrastructure that will
deliver affordable broadband to anyone, anywhere, all the time?
Turns out that both cable AND the legacy telcos are well positioned to deploy
5G last mile services. The cable companies have been deploying fiber deeper
into their networks to reduce the number of homes per node. Meanwhile the
telcos have been deploying fiber to neighborhood risers to offer DSL, and fiber
to a forrest of cellular towers that will be able to use MIMO technologies to
achieve much higher service densities in both existing and new higher frequency
5G spectrum bands. And then there are municipal electric utilities, like ours
here in Gainesville, that have been deploying fiber in their service areas.
So now the question is who is going to bid in upcoming spectrum auctions for
new 5G bands? And what bands will be offered unlicensed for use by everyone?
Regards
Craig
https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/5g-wireless-spectrum-expected-to-roll-out-in-2019-and-2020
5G wireless spectrum expected to roll out in 2019 and 2020T
Henry FernandezPublished January 09, 2019
The next technological wave of the future is promising to provide ultra-high
speed connectivity for hundreds of millions mobile phone users in the U.S.
5G is the fifth generation of cellular mobile broadband that will ultimately
replace 4G LTE to provide faster and more reliable service with lower latency.
MORE FROM FOXBUSINESS.COM
Cox Communications is one of the major cable companies looking into the Federal
Communications Commission’s (FCC) first auction of the new 5G wireless spectrum
race.
“A wireless network is only as valuable as the wireline network that connects
it,” Cox Communications President Pat Esser said during an exclusive interview
with FOX Business’ Liz Claman Tuesday.
The FCC announced in November 2018 the agency’s first high-band 5G spectrum
auction to sell off licenses that allows wireless networks to start building
out their networks.
“We are obviously looking into what spectrum is available and does it make
sense us,” Esser said.
AT&T, Dish, T-Mobile and Verizon are among the wireless carriers bidding for
the millimeter-wave spectrum bands.
5G technology will provide users with the capabilities to browse the internet,
upload or download videos and use apps at faster speeds. For example, a six
minute movie download on 4G technology will only take 17 seconds on 5G.
Esser said mobile carriers may face economic challenges in order to boost
wireless signals expected to be at least 100 times faster than current 4G
networks.
“They will have to deploy eight to ten times the number of cell towers to be
able to deploy a more of mass market product,” he said from the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Esser, who celebrates 40 years at Cox Communications, said the company is
laying out a roadmap to upgrade cable TV broadband networks with
10-gigabit-per-second chips.
“This year we began to delivering 1 gig residential broadband services to our
customers’ homes and we are committed to deliver 10 gig residential broadband
services to our customers’ homes,” he said. “It’ll bring lower latency, more
capacity, higher speeds, better security.”
Many companies are expected to roll out 5G technology in 2019 and 2020 with the
capability of reaching customers that do not currently have access to 4G.
