Investing in mobile infrastructure will be key for the 5G future
AEIdeas
On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a new rule that will help speed deployment of fifth generation, or 5G, wireless technology by limiting the fees that local governments can charge for the deployment of 5G small cells. The commission will provide a national guideline for states and municipalities that will eliminate up to $2 billion in regulatory costs for companies building out the next-generation wireless network while also streamlining and modernizing the regulatory process for smarter infrastructure investment. This is a great step toward 5G, but it is also a good reminder that for the 5G future to become a reality, changes to existing mobile infrastructure will be required.
via REUTERS
Accelerating the deployment of 5G wireless will enhance current technologies and enable a multitude of new ones, such as the Internet of Things, connected cars, telemedicine, more-sophisticated wearable devices, 4K video, and applications that leverage big data and artificial intelligence. These technologies stand to experience a major boost from the lower latency and higher capacity of 5G wireless connectivity, as well as from network operators’ investments in automation and cloud-computing capabilities that are making technology easier to deploy at all levels.
As FCC Chairman Ajit Pai noted in an op-ed this week, infrastructure policy will be central to ensuring US leadership in 5G because “All the spectrum in the world won’t make a difference if we don’t have physical infrastructure to carry 5G traffic. That’s going to be a challenge, because the 5G networks of the future will look very different from the 4G networks we know today.”
In addition to bringing new small-cell technology into communities to enable the robust capabilities of 5G, network operators are working to transition away from the original telecommunications infrastructure that was designed for voice traffic and toward systems that can enable faster digital traffic for intelligent connectivity. With internet users expecting fast, instant connectivity — and communications and future technologies sure to demand more — engineers have done a tremendous amount of work to integrate legacy systems with the latest technology to bring speed and efficiency to users.
“Future proofing” is the idea of creating a technology that can anticipate the need for modifications in the future and adapt quickly. With mobile everywhere and cloud-as-a-service architecture changes, information technology (IT) no longer exists purely on mainframe servers that need on-premise access. Managing networks through virtualization and greater use of open-source software enables infrastructure that compliments innovation around 5G technologies as they are deployed.
While the FCC is working diligently to make more spectrum available to the market to facilitate 5G technology, it’s the investment in network redesign and wireless infrastructure that will drive the next generation of wireless technology. Data centers and IT departments are changing to address the need for rapidly evolving technologies and innovations with real-time capabilities. They can’t afford to be stagnant with old legacy hardware and software applications if they are to survive in the market. For network architecture to be redesigned in a future-proof structure, policymakers need to establish continuous economic leadership to ensure the capital market will join in the financing of the next generation of technology.
These newer systems are being created to handle the scalability, security, and maintenance that is needed for the disruptive technologies of tomorrow. Network applications have become more like apps in the mobile world that can deliver new programs and services without the traditional friction that came with deploying programs in the past. They are simpler to manage and easier to update for both IT managers and their customers. Virtual networks and off-the-shelf hardware system designs can be cheaper and more flexible for businesses of all sizes, as data traffic increases because of new 5G systems.
This shift away from hardware toward more specialized software apps enhances what can be accomplished by 5G. Cloud computing combined with mobile technologies is easier to consume and produce than traditional enterprise IT support systems. These newer network designs allow businesses to tailor systems to their specific needs. Businesses can fetch applications from the cloud on an as-needed basis that is a more effective use of their money and time.
Streamlining the regulatory process to enable small-cell deployment, coupled with more spectrum availability, is a first and important step by the government toward 5G deployment. These regulatory changes will encourage more investment in the wireless network backbone that will bring innovation and economic prosperity into communities that have lacked cutting-edge connectivity in the past.
As Commissioner Brendan Carr noted in the FCC meeting this week, “Winning the global race to 5G . . . is about economic leadership for the next decade.” The FCC’s steps to accelerate wireless deployment will enhance broadband deployment and bring better, higher-speed internet to more people. The advent of 4G led to the app economy that helped create the sharing economy, mobile payments, streaming music, and video on mobile. In the same way, the economic benefits from regulatory streamlining to enable 5G technologies will facilitate more infrastructure investment for better connectivity, make way for untold new innovations, and bring next generation technology to people across the US.
