The deployment of 5G millimeter waves will provide great advantages in broadcast environments

The latest study of Analysys Mason, commissioned by Qualcomm y Ericsson, points out the economic and operational benefits of deploying millimeter waves for 5G.

This analysis on the situation, costs and benefits of deployment of technology 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) in Europe, notes that the millimeter wave spectrum in Europe could provide connectivity to mobile broadband users on public mobile networks, 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services in homes and offices, and a wide range of other uses for consumers, businesses and industries.

Specifically, regarding the section broadcast, the study concludes that the millimeter wave spectrum could be especially useful in places where Data traffic volumes from mobile devices are especially high. Relying on its technology, outdoor events such as stadiums, large events, festivals y tourist places, as well as inside concert halls u workshops.

Economic profitability

Based on previous studies, Analysys Mason believes that the deployment of millimeter wave 5G, mainly along with the frequency of 3,5 GHz and “other mobile spectrum existing in Europe”, but also independently, represents a economic benefit important in a wide range of outdoor or indoor coverage scenarios. For each of the modeled use cases, the estimated benefit is between 5 and 20 times higher than the estimated cost, assuming that the millimeter wave is built on a enhanced mobile broadband network deployment (eMBB) “base case”.

Adding all the modeled use cases that will use mmWave, Analysys Mason estimate a total profit for GDP (until 2040) more than 140,000 million euros (accumulated), for some 20,000 million euros cost, in thirty European markets (EU27 plus Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).

Operators, in favor

Analysys Mason He has also spoken with several fixed and mobile telephone operators, both from the European market and from other regions, to gather opinions on How the millimeter wave spectrum could be deployed and so validate model hypotheses.

The interviews indicated that operators intend to use the deployment of mmWave in multiple outdoor and indoor environments (depending on network load and local market demand). Likewise, they pointed out a wide variety of use cases: Mobile broadband in high capacity locations, 5G based FWA, smart industry, connected vehicles y specific enclosure coverage.

The operators also highlighted that millimeter waves can be used to maximize the capacity of mobile networks (as frequencies can be reused more intensively without co-channel interference occurring), as well as to allow greater flexibility when addressing different uplink and downlink capacity requirements.

A proven technology

The interviews, on the other hand, highlighted that 5G mmWave (millimeter wave) technology has already demonstrated its ability to provide “great capacity” in the evidence and in the deployed business systems to date. Today, multiple millimeter wave networks have been deployed around the world on a commercial basis. Nevertheless, European markets are still in the process of catching up with these deployments.

The study concludes that a further progress in licensing of millimeter waves in the European markets, in line with the objectives set in the European Union 5G Action Plan (5GAP), will contribute to increase security and acceptance of the millimeter wave ecosystem. About this, Janette Stewart, partner at Analysys Mason, comments: “This study demonstrates the importance of European regulators completing 5G licensing in all bands identified at EU level.”

Qualcomm and Ericsson weigh in

For its part, Wassim Chourbaji, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs EMEA, Qualcomm Communications S.A.R.L., values ​​the advantages of the deployment in European territory: "It is clear from the report that the deployment of 5G mmWave together with the deployments of 5G sub-6 will bring with it a significant positive economic impact for Europe. We are encouraged to see the positive progress made so far in Europe to allocate the 26 GHz mmWave spectrum. However, it is clear that there is a lot of work to do to catch up with other regions of the world that are seeing the benefits of commercializing 5G mmWave services.”

Finally, Ulf Pehrsson, vicepresidente y director de relaciones gubernamentales e industriales de Ericsson, concluye: “Con cerca de 90 redes 5G de Ericsson en vivo en los 5 continentes y más en preparación, nuestra experiencia muestra que los mercados líderes ofrecen disponibilidad de espectro 5G en todos los rangos de frecuencia (baja, media y alta). De hecho, Europa ha armonizado el espectro en los tres rangos e instamos a las naciones a liberar el espectro para acelerar el mercado. En particular, la onda milimétrica es clave para ofrecer una capacidad muy alta en zonas densas y una amplia gama de casos de uso industrial. Su despliegue, basado en los despliegues existentes de banda ancha móvil mejorada, es clave para levantar la economía después de la covida19, como se muestra en este informe”.