Most 5G expansion is being done in the mid-band segment
The report says, and this is no surprise really, that most of the expansion is being done in the mid-band segment which is where most of the wireless firms’ customers can be found. These firms are trying to close the gaps in their coverage by using small cells in urban areas to make sure that every inch is covered with their firm’s mid-band 5G signals. American Tower CFO Rod Smith says, “We’re at the end of the beginning of the 5G cycle. But operators will continue to invest in capacity. We saw it in 4G, and we saw it in 3G, and we expect to see it with 5G.”
T-Mobile’s 5G layer cake stresses the use of mid-band 5G spectrum
Smith added that wireless firms are spending more on 5G than they did on 4G and added that mid-band is the “workhorse” of 5G which means that more cell sites and antennas in the mid-band spectrum will need to be employed. And we all know about the cons of mmWave high-band airwaves. Because these signals don’t travel far, customers of wireless firms have a hard time finding mmWave service.
5G has yet to find its “killer app”
Crown Castle expects to deploy over 10,000 small cells this year which will be needed if certain industrial applications for 5G take off, such as retailers using drones to deliver purchases. Brown, the firm’s CEO, said, “Macro towers can’t solve all of the need. When there are targeted uses, where there are capacity constraints, small cells excel at handling that.”
