The 5G Myth

When Vision Decoupled from Reality

William Webb

• Publisher: De|G Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781547401208
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Data Transmission Systems
• Index: Computer Science

The 5G Myth explains why the vision of 5G, the next generation in mobile telephony, heralded as a huge advance in global connectivity, is flawed and sets out a better vision for a connected future. It explains why insufficient technological advances and inadequate profitability will be problems in the widespread implementation of 5G. The book advocates a focus on consistent connectivity everywhere rather than fast speeds in city centers.

William Webb looks back at the transitions through previous generations of mobile telephony and shows what simple extrapolations of trends would predict for 5G. He discusses whether the increases in speed and capacity promised by 5G are needed; if the required technology is available; whether a sound business case can be made for the deployment; and asks why, given this, the industry appears so supportive of 5G. He then puts forth the argument in favor of consistent connectivity of around 10Mbits/s everywhere as a more compelling vision and shows how it can be delivered via a mix of 4G and Wi-Fi.

Subscribers to The Economist can access an article featuring this book at

https://www.economist.com/business/2019/08/24/vodafones-search-for-the-g-spot

Chapter 1
Introduction to 5G

The Role of the Mobile Network Operator

Almost all of us have a mobile phone and are used to being able to talk or access the internet wherever we are. To enable this, mobile network operators (MNOs) such as Verizon and Telefonica build mobile phone networks across the country. These consist of thousands of masts or towers (in the United States, an operator such as Verizon might have about 80,000), each of which transmits a radio signal that can be received by the phones. These masts then connect back into the operator’s network, routing the signals to their destination and performing functions such as billing and location tracking.

Most countries have three or four mobile operators who compete with each other to attract subscribers. This competition drives operators to improve their coverage, to provide new features and services, and to keep their prices as low as possible. The rewards for performing well are substantial: in the United States, monthly revenue for basic mobile service is about $40; the larger operators have 150 million subscribers with annual revenue of about $6 billion. But the costs of delivering service are also substantial and include rental fees on towers, costs for upgrading equipment, staff costs, costs for acquiring radio spectrum, repairs, and more.

MNOs are now facing the decision as to whether to upgrade their networks to the latest technology—5G. On one hand, an upgrade is costly; operators would prefer not to spend more on equipment. On the other, if they can deliver a more attractive service to consumers due to the new technological generation, then operators may gain subscribers and hence, extra revenue. This book explores the issues behind that decision.

Mobile, or cellular, is unique in the world of consumer technology. It has evolved in generations. About every 10 years a new generation of mobile technology is announced, whereas in other industries—such as the internet or laptop computers—evolutionary trends appear gradually and incrementally. Mobile is different to some degree because the network is purchased by one entity—the mobile operator—whereas the handset (mobile phone) is purchased by another—the consumer. For them to work together, they need use the same technology; the synchronization provided by the decade-long innovation cycle enables this. But this shared relationship is far from essential. Consumers tend to replace handsets around every two years, so new standards can easily be adopted as needed. Regardless, the reason for using “generations” appears to have more to do with the industry’s reliance on it, so it continues to be preserved—academics thrive on the need for future research; equipment manufacturers rely increasingly on the sales boost a new generation provides; and governments promote their national leadership in technology innovations.

It is not even clear what constitutes a new generation. Mobile communications rely on standards that ensure that network equipment from one manufacturer will work with handsets from another. Standards are developed by an international body called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), who releases updates about once a year. The 3GPP decides whether an update is an “evolution” of one generation or a new generation. Often the step from one generation to another is unclear and further blurred by MNO marketing teams who make claims for next generation deployment to gain a competitive advantage.

It would certainly be possible for mobile communications to thrive without generations. Instead, mobile technologies would gradually evolve, as previous generations have, and consumers would gain from this evolution each time they upgraded their handsets. The difficulty and risk of launching a new generation has sometimes resulted in key players claiming that this is the last time there will be a major generational change. But the next generation—5G—is now almost upon us. Will this be the last generation? Will cellular move toward gradual evolution like other industries?

Next Generation Cellular

Cellular technology has evolved in generations. New generations appear every decade and typically add new features or capabilities: 2G was all about moving to digital communications to improve quality and security; 3G was created to support the move to data, enabling data rates of over 1 Mbps; and 4G was about faster data, with radio solutions capable of around 50 Mbps and networks optimized for data solutions.

A new generation typically requires new radio equipment to be installed by operators, often in a new radio spectrum. For subscribers it means that new handsets are needed to enjoy the benefits of a newer generation. With 4G nearly eight years old, attention has now turned to 5G.

However, the move from one generation to another is not so clear-cut. Generations are progressively upgraded during their lifetime, with these upgrades often termed “3.5G,” or something similar. The new generation can sometimes appear very similar to the latest upgrade of the older generation. New generations also tend to be a collection of features, not all of which are introduced initially, so whether a new deployment is fully the next generation or only partially so can be unclear. Marketing pressure to claim leadership tends to compound this issue.

The 5G Themes

Each generation has had a theme, such as faster data. For example, the theme of 4G was faster mobile broadband. There are multiple themes for 5G; these are often described as:

–Enhanced mobile broadband (EMB): Even faster broadband connectivity than 4G.

–Massive machine connectivity: The ability to connect many devices and often termed the internet of things (IoT).

–Ultra-low latency: Radio solutions that respond so quickly that immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences become seamless.

These themes are quite different and somewhat conflicting. For example, machines typically do not need high data rates but do need very long battery lives. The fifth generation is the first generation to have such widespread, different themes, and it may be that some deployments will concentrate on a particular theme.

Underlying these themes—a point that is central to the arguments made in this book—is that there must be a business case for moving to a new generation. For an MNO, there are costs associated with 5G, both for new equipment and for acquiring the new radio spectrum from the national regulator. This cost can easily run into billions of dollars. MNOs are shareholder businesses that aim to make a profit. Such an investment only makes sense if revenues grow or if costs can be lowered as a result. Investment in 3G was predicated on increased subscriber fees for mobile data usage (which did not really materialize). Fourth generation growth was predicated more on lower network cost through an optimized architecture leading to operational expenditure savings.

At the time of writing, the business case for 5G is unclear, with many MNOs admitting that they cannot yet make that case. The simplest argument for 5G at present is to add capacity to those parts of the network where the ever-increasing demand for mobile data is leading to congestion. With this deployment, 5G would simply be about more capacity rather than new features, and as a result, it would not be noticed by consumers.

Opinions Vary on 5G

A result of having multiple themes, as well as the lack of business clarity regarding the possible profits from converting to 5G, means that there are a range of views on what 5G is. Despite the fact that 5G radio spectrum has already been auctioned in some countries, that 5G has been trialed at events such as the 2018 Olympics, and that some MNOs are already claiming to have a 5G system, there is no consistent view around the industry as to the definition of 5G. This is an unusual and rather incredible situation and points to an underlying malaise that has not existed in previous generations. Put simply, it is not clear what the need is for 5G. Without a need, there will not be the increased revenue needed to fund its deployment.

In this book, when talking about 5G, the broad assumption is that it means at least one of the three elements described above—a better broadband experience than 4G, IoT connectivity, and low-latency communications. Insomuch as there was industry consensus, in 2018 it was considered that 5G would start with EMB, deploying in cities where there are capacity issues rather than being rolled out nationwide. However, there are important regional differences: for example, governmental pressure appears to be driving faster and more widespread 5G deployment in China; and competition may be driving some form of deployment for “bragging rights” in the United States, but in Europe the pressure appears to be less.

The net result is that it is not possible to give a clear and concise definition of 5G. Some have suggested that “5G will be whatever radio system happens to be deployed in 2020.”

5G Technology

The introduction of new features typically requires new technology—if the technology is not there, then these features would have been deployed in the previous generation. For the first four generations, the new technology has concentrated on the radio part of the network, with new forms of modulating the signal, or radio waveforms, as the mechanism to enhance performance. The fourth generation also changed the core network, although this was more of a simplification than the introduction of anything new.

With 5G, despite much research on new radio waveforms, none have been found that make a material difference to performance. Instead, the focus has been on antennas. A 5G network makes use of beam forming, where antennas focus the radio energy like a torch rather than spread it around like a lightbulb. The term most often used for this is multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antennas. However, MIMO is common in 4G. The difference in 5G is in the scale—that is, from 4G’s nearly eight antenna elements at the base station to 5G’s about 128. “Massive MIMO” is the term used to differentiate 5G MIMO from 4G.

To enhance flexibility, 5G also sees further changes in the core network, allowing the network to be “virtualized”—in that it can be deployed as a software solution on general-purpose computing platforms or cloud servers. This may bring cost savings to the MNOs and might enable new services to be introduced more quickly and flexibly than has been possible in the past.

Both of these technologies are challenging, and there is much yet to be learned before it will be clear how effective they are and what benefits they can really bring. The core network changes also risk network outages if the new platforms are not utterly reliable and so will probably be introduced with much caution.

5G Radio Spectrum

Each new generation has typically made use of additional radio spectrum, typically enabled by clearing older non-cellular applications from particular bands. Third generation initially concentrated on 2.1 GHz and 4G on 800 MHz, although there were regional differences and other bands were subsequently added. Just as 5G has multiple themes, it also has multiple bands:

–A low band at 700 MHz: This is anticipated to be used for widespread coverage, although broadly that already exists with 4G.

–A mid-band at 3.5 GHz: This will likely be the key band for 5G, used for EMB and additional capacity, although since it is at frequencies above those previously used for mobile, it has a reduced range.

–A high band at 28 GHz: This might be used for low latency or for other applications such as fixed-wireless access (FWA)—a way to provide home broadband without a cable or fiber connection.

The use of multiple bands further confuses the picture as to what 5G is or might be. In addition, the mid to high bands bring new problems such as low range that will require experience and research to fully resolve.

What the Consumer Might Expect

This chapter has shown that there is no easy answer to the question, “What is 5G?” At one extreme it might just mean additional capacity in cities, with consumers not noticing any difference (although without 5G, they would have noticed a steady degradation in performance as congestion grew). At the other extreme, it might be a swathe of new services enabling virtual reality, connected machines, and competitive home broadband provision. Opinions as to where in this spectrum 5G will finally land lie across the entire spectrum. One of the key purposes of this book is to analyze in a logical and evidence-based manner what the most likely outcome will be.

Chapter 2
Learning from Prior Generations

A Quick Trawl Through History

The reason that a fifth generation of wireless communications is being developed is because there have been four prior successful generations which have progressively taken cellular from a voice-only service to one delivering high speed data connectivity in three steps. Figure 2.1 shows the key trends moving through the generations.

Figure 2.1: Trends in Mobile Phone Generations

The two aspects that are clear from Figure 2.1 are a regularity in timing and a steady improvement in data rates.

Generations have appeared every decade with great consistency. This may be predominantly because all the various steps needed from research, through standardization, to design and production take this long to develop. It may also be some...