[opendtv] Re: TV Technology: Verizon Aims to Deploy 5G Pilot Programs in 11 Markets by Mid-2017
- From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2017 09:22:22 -0500
On Feb 24, 2017, at 9:30 PM, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
One big hole in your argument Bert. Wireless broadband requires
spectrum; that costs billions too.
To which I replied:
"True, but now with 5G, with spectrum way up in the 10s of GHz, the spectrum
crunch could be greatly alleviated. I'm not sure how it will be priced, way
up in bands that are not even licensed yet."
Yes this spectrum has the potential to create new cellular services that will
help deal with congestion in dense urban areas; but this is not free. These
tiny cells will require "real estate" and hardware - tons of it. You can't just
put a 5G cell on a power or telephone pole - you must contract with the owner
and get a fiber or other wireless connection to that cell.
Perhaps more important than using these higher frequencies for traditional
cellular service, the technology allows for short distance point-to-point
broadband to compete with hybrid fiber/coax and FTTH services. And it may be
very useful for networks operating inside buildings augmenting what is being
done now with WiFi.
And then you went and read an article about some 5G spectrum at IEEE, which
is laudable, but you didn't understand the much higher capacity possible when
you create the very wide channels possible at these higher frequencies. You
became preoccupied with effects like rain fade, which limit the useful range
of these systems.
Not me! The authors identified the issues they were investigating. Rain fade is
a very real issue in these frequency bands. And the useful range is absolutely
critical to this discussion - 5G will be useless in lower population density
areas for traditional cellular service; fortunately that is not a problem, as
we have a 3G and 4G infrastructure in these areas that works just fine.
The important aspect is that it's far easier to create wide channels, e.g.
160 MHz, at 10+ GHz than it is at 600 MHz, Craig.
Your preoccupation with wide channels is yet another indication of your
engineering blinders, and total lack of understanding of market and business
issues. Wide channels are optimal for these higher frequencies - long distance
are NOT.
And one requires wide channels not just to avoid wasting capacity in
guardbands, but because there's something called Shannon's equation. You need
channel bandwidth to create high capacity at reasonable power levels.
Again, this is a characteristic of these higher frequency bands. Good
engineering practice dictates optimization for the frequency band being used.
What applied to that Google Fiber 2.0 thread applies to this thread about
Verizon's equivalent system.
The take-away here seems to be quite interesting. The first implementations
of 5G are not about mobile, it looks like. They are about offering COST
COMPETITIVE fixed broadband to homes. And they can do so without cabling into
homes, which is a really, really nice feature.
FINALLY, Bert GET's IT!
Regards
Craig
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