5G
HYPE VERSUS REALITY By Rudolph Muller
is the new buzzword in the telecommunications
5G market , with many stakeholders promoting the technology as the next big thing which will revolutionise broadband . With promised speeds of 10Gbps and extremely low latency , 5G is punted as the enabler of the new Internet of Things world , where everyone and everything is connected .
Reality , however , does not match the hype which is created around 5G . A global research report by UBS found that 5G today is little more than a vision and will look an awful lot like 4G LTE , using similar or identical techniques to send and receive data .
The report highlighted that 5G is facing major challenges , which include the scarcity of optimal low-band spectrum which is forcing 5G into the unchartered waters of millimetre wave frequencies . As spectral efficiency remains constrained by the laws of RF physics , the search for capacity with 5G turns to the new frontier of extremely-high millimetre wave ( mmW ) frequencies higher than 24GHz .
While there is a lot of spectrum available in the extremely-high millimetre wave bands , it comes with drawbacks . The relatively weak propagation of high frequencies would require a superdense network of 5G small cells , which is a particularly big challenge in a large country like South Africa . High absorption also turns buildings , hills , and even raindrops into 5G ’ s mortal enemies .
For mobile operators , which are under severe financial pressure with falling voice revenues and lower margins , the costperformance analysis of 5G versus 4G does not look rosy for the new technology . Although new developments like softwaredefined networking and sophisticated antenna technology may help contain 5G ’ s proportionate cost , it will not be enough . The greater cell density associated with high-frequencies without a massive spectral efficiency does not make for good 5G economics .
Despite these challenges , South Africa ’ s largest mobile operator Vodacom remains upbeat about rolling out 5G in the future . Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub said through their significant investments in 4G , they have established a foundation that will enable them to offer their customers 5G services sometime after 2020 when this new mobile standard will be introduced internationally . Joosub is confident that 5G will have significant new capabilities in terms of speed , network capacity , and latency .
Joosub , however , highlighted that the path towards 5G , and the speed at which it is implemented in South Africa , will be determined by availability of spectrum . Vodacom is determined to be at the forefront of the new technology , but this will only be possible if local operators have sufficient spectrum . ■
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