AT&T promises 5G device, adds three 5G cities
AT&T said today that Charlotte and Raleigh, NC, along with Oklahoma City, will get mobile 5G networks this year, and that the company is on track to offer customers a 5G-capable device. AT&T has said in the past that its first 5G device will be more like a Wi-Fi hotspot than a smartphone. The device will use Wi-Fi to connect to smartphones and 5G to connect to the AT&T 5G network.
Twelve cities are expected to get AT&T's mobile 5G service this year, and today's announcement brings the total number of identified cities to six: Atlanta, Dallas, Waco, Oklahoma City, Raleigh and Charlotte.
Charlotte is a city that has been at the forefront of small cell deployments, and small cells are expected to be foundational to AT&T's first 5G networks, which will use millimeter wave technology. Crown Castle has been installing small cells on Charlotte's street lights and sign posts, and recently started adding a second carrier to a number of its small cell sites.
AT&T also said today that its 5G Evolution technology will go live in more than 400 markets this year to enable faster LTE speeds and pave the way for 5G. In addition, the carrier has added license-assisted access technology (LAA) in select neighborhoods within 15 cities: Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Indianapolis, Little Rock, Tampa, Tuscaloosa, and McAllen, TX.
Antenna vendors poised to profit from ARS
Shipments of integrated antenna radio systems (ARS) mean higher price points for antenna vendors, according to the analysts at EJL Wireless Research. The firm sees overall antenna shipments declining this year due to weakness in China and India, but says antenna vendor revenue could rise due to the shifting product mix. Lead analyst Earl Lum expects the majority of 5G New Radio deployments to use 32 transmit 32 receive time division duplex massive MIMO antenna radio systems. The firm's latest research is available at www.ejlwireless.com.
Sprint's small cell rollout finally picks up speed
Sprint said this week that it deployed more small cells during the first three months of 2018 than during 2016 and 2017 combined. The carrier says it has now deployed thousands of outdoor small cells. Sprint has said the locations of some deployments may be adjusted as it prepares to combine its network with T-Mobile's.
Small cells and 5G
New
research
from iGR highlights the integral role that small cells will play in 5G, and forecasts carrier capital spending and operational spending on small cells. The report includes detailed profiles of outdoor small cell solutions and vendors.
5G small cell growth is projected to significantly outpace LTE small cell growth in the years ahead. But LTE has a big head start, and iGR predicts that it will take some time for the number of 5G nodes to catch up. And 5G will not put a stop to LTE small cell deployments -- healthy growth is projected through 2022. Access the full report
here
.
