Network providers have overestimated the willingness
of local authorities and building owners to provide the
planning permission required to install antennas on
lampposts and buildings. Without antenna density, FWA
isn’t a viable, scalable option for business connectivity; at
best, companies will have to wait three years or more before
5G offers a viable wireless leased line alternative. At the time
of writing, Three UK has just launched their FWA offering in
a few postcode areas in London for home broadband, and
already there are accounts of intermittent signal problems
impacting performance, which lends weight to the argument
for greater antenna density being required to achieve stable,
repeatable service coverage.
At worst, of course, the continuing concerns regarding
the potential health implications of 5G networks could
further delay installation. Local authorities will remain wary
about exposing the public to risk; unless and until the 5G
industry can address in a concerted, focused way that the
persistent claims that running high-frequency networks
in high-density areas isn’t a risk, planners may meet
resistance from schools, hospitals, community and other
building managers.
There are other shortcomings. 5G services today don’t
include any service level agreements, undermining any
business confidence in the quality and repeatability of the
service. There seems to be no network slicing (the technique
to separate traffic types), making it impossible to prioritise
network traffic such as IoT. Indeed, the entire IoT aspect of
5G has been shelved for now, with both EE and Vodafone
confirming that IoT will not be part of the initial service.
There’s no clarity regarding support for IoT devices in the
future; the ability to upgrade or migrate from current to 5G
networks or any commercial information that would help
both managed service providers and businesses build 5G
into their future IoT strategies.
Use what we have already
So, what are the options? 5G is disappointing, but
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companies cannot afford to postpone much-needed
network investments in wireless primary and backup services
indefinitely. The good news is that 4G networks are now
mature – and that means both widely available and reliable.
The arrival of 5G will address the burgeoning capacity
issue for 4G, which is great news; and recent market price
adjustments have taken 4G out of the last resort category
and made it into a viable option for primary and resilience
connectivity.
4G is proven to support VoIP and unified communication
streaming; it can also be used for machine to machine
communication. Software defined networking (SDN)
enables 4G to be blended with other networks to deliver
primary connections that deliver a reliable and affordable
leased line alternative. Furthermore, IoT is deliverable
today using the unlicensed spectrum and other standards,
including Narrowband IoT and LoRaWAN to enable mass
IoT deployments, which will be incorporated later into
the emerging 5G standard, future-proofing investment.
Critically, all these services come with SLAs; networks are
reliable and accessible. Essentially, it’s possible today to
meet business needs for affordable and consistent primary
and secondary connectivity services with the existing 4G
network infrastructure.
Delivering connectivity
5G technology looks good on paper and there have been
significant deployments in the US and other countries.
But there remains a number of significant infrastructure
challenges that continue to undermine 5G value and impact
on our business landscape in the short to medium term.
As the 5G network plans and service offerings stand
today, businesses will struggle to justify investment in the
new technology. However, while waiting for the promise of
5G to be realised, businesses can extract significant value
from 4G today. And with further price disruption expected
within the 4G market, the cost model will become ever more
compelling, for primary, secondary and IoT connectivity.n
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