UK: Slow progress on 5G adoption on the ground as infrastructure fails to keep up

he UK's 5G deployment is reportedly slowly gaining momentum, with 383 towns now covered. This next-generation network is expected to transform the telecommunications industry and generate a host of smart applications, paving the way for a truly futuristic world. However, with much of the focus over the last two years around wireless access networks, the real value creation opportunities will come with the rollout of 5G core networks. Although the Internet of Things has been in development for some time long before the 5G phenomenon began, it is expected to be driven by 5G networks as the new coronary pneumonia pandemic has received a major boost. However, due to the lack of supporting infrastructure, this new network will not have an impact on mobile communications at the user level in the near future. EE, for example, does not expect to cover the entire UK until 2028. As a result, 5G networks will coexist with existing networks for at least another decade, and 4G will remain the primary operator of all voice and data traffic, as well as the primary enabler of computing and the Internet of Things for the foreseeable future. Infrastructure dilemma The UK government has already introduced various initiatives to accelerate the rollout of 5G. For example, the rules relating to the construction of telecommunications infrastructure have been overhauled so that building permits no longer need to be sought. The result of this fundamental change is the emergence of a huge signal bar. While they are being built in part to improve rural connectivity as part of a shared communications network initiative, these infrastructures are also being built because they are "capable" of supporting large numbers of 5G handsets, as they believe their height will eliminate line of sight challenges. Theoretically, a 5G network should be able to support more than 1 million devices per square kilometer at the same time, compared to the 60,000+ devices currently supported on 4G networks. The reality, however, is a little different. The frequency bands assigned to 5G (< 6 GHz or 28+ GHz) have a shorter transmission range and giant masts have little impact in densely populated areas where deployments are concentrated. Therefore, matching small cellular devices at the roadside are needed not only to overcome the challenges of line-of-sight propagation caused by buildings, trees, vehicles, etc., but also to realize the aspirations of the required autonomous technologies to realize smart cities. Deployment of the underlying infrastructure and fiber optic cabling has been delayed for a variety of reasons; ownership, operational business models, funding, etc. The situation is further complicated by the pandemic and discussions around unproven security issues for some 5G frequencies. Huge investments are needed at the operator level Infrastructure overhauls at the operator level will be required before the aspirations can be realized. Not only that, but mobile network operators will need to change their existing business models and integrate the associated cloud infrastructure into the base stations and cell towers they have already built. The speed at which this happens is influenced by the upfront capital expenditure required. There is also some scientism about the "cloud operator" concept, as their 3G and 4G spectrum investments have not yielded the expected economic returns. The 5G phones already in circulation are constantly switching between 4G and 5G networks, reducing their overall performance, and this "flip-flop" is not going to end anytime soon. All of these obstacles beg the question of what 5G is really for. Dedicated mobile networks are the driving force behind 5G today Until now, all mobile networks have been designed to meet the needs of people. 5G, on the other hand, is designed with machines in mind. The average latency rate of 4G is about 50 milliseconds, while 5G will probably drop to 1 millisecond. However, the average latency of existing 5G networks is about 10 milliseconds. The networks also promise transmission speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. These differentiating factors have little impact on commercial services, but they allow machines to communicate nearly seamlessly. These high performance/low latency capabilities are driving the IoT revolution and the growing demand for private mobile networks. However, the ability to acquire spectrum to run said networks is limited to large enterprises and does not take into account the requirements of mid-sized enterprises. The Mid-Size Enterprise Landscape At the same time, the most logical strategy for mid-sized businesses looking to take advantage of the Internet of Things is to provide dedicated coverage for existing 3G and 4G services. 3G has been in use for over 20 years and 4G for about 10 years, but many facilities still do not have sufficient indoor coverage for these services, let alone 5G. For accessibility reasons, there is also a need to consider the public safety communications aspect, which will also shift to 4G-based communications. For the foreseeable future, 4G will remain the dominant service for commercial cellular and M2M communications due to the cloud infrastructure and data backhaul challenges at the base station/tower level. Therefore, it is necessary for facility managers to continue to ensure ubiquitous coverage of existing services and augment them with 5G as 5G deployments accelerate and real-world use cases emerge beyond the private mobile network.