Manish Bhardwaj, the Senior Marketing Manager for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company explores the future of 5G networks in Middle East Africa region that were used at the just-concluded Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang County, South Korea
The use of the world’s first 5G network at the 2018 Winter Olympics is generating excitement amongst those in the industry – and it’s easy to see why. As a user, our expectations for instant, seamless connectivity on every device have never been higher. For stadiums and other public venues, the opportunity to keep users engaged, offering instant replays, time and location-specific offers and always-on connectivity, have not gone unnoticed.
Venue operators in the Middle East will likely be watching the Olympics and considering their own need to keep up with connectivity demands. The development of VR, 4k video and the growth of IoT means an explosion in user numbers and data traffic. The lure of expanding network capacity and coverage is incredibly appealing not only to mobile providers, but to any business owner wanting to keep on top of these growing technological demands.
Many public venues already run public Wi-Fi to connect technology systems and visitors. So do the events taking place in South Korea give us reason to reconsider those deployments?
For most, a journey towards 5G starts with the convergence of LTE over licensed and unlicensed spectrum. However, the way this LTE-U technology takes control of a channel is controversial and may degrade performance of Wi-Fi equipment using the same channel. The two are not working smoothly together, leaving venue operators with a headache that could extend long into the future.
Here, we identify five essential technical considerations to help stadium and venue operators make an informed decision about whether to consider unlicensed spectrum technologies alongside Wi-Fi:
1- Spectrum Availability
Most stadium Wi-Fi networks are already spectrum-constrained, meaning they are only just managing to carry their existing load. Large, crowded venues like stadiums and arenas, need 20-24 full time-equivalent channels to make a 5 GHz system work (regardless of the type of technology). These Wi-Fi networks are carefully optimised to eliminate all unnecessary transmissions.
Adding more unlicensed systems will reduce available capacity for Wi-Fi operations in this scenario. At present, there are no public technical measurements of deployed systems – so the actual impact is unknown. If four separate unlicensed networks are deployed, the negative impact on Wi-Fi connectivity will be even greater.
2- Number of Networks Required
Visitors to a stadium each carry devices run by different operators. To offer gigabit cellular connectivity, and a consistent experience to all, you’ll need to permit all four to deploy an unlicensed network. Because this technology is so new, it lacks a “neutral host” methodology, so each operator will require its own separate physical network and spectrum. Without huge outlay, this can damage the customer experience.
3- Compatibility
Most stadiums and arenas have either separate antenna systems for each major mobile operator or a converged neutral-host distributed antenna system (DAS). Large venue operators interested in unlicensed spectrum technology, should first check its compatibility with their existing DAS. To be compatible, a DAS system must support an expansive LTE-U/LAA small cell deployment where the primary cell (PCell) is the DAS and each PCell has dozens of secondary cells providing 5 GHz service.
4- Cost, Cost, Cost
The amount of equipment and the cost of a hybrid Wi-Fi/cellular situation is significant. For example, a 60,000-seat stadium at typical under-seat densities, would require about 850 Wi-Fi access points. Stadium operators adopting unlicensed LTE technology would need over 3,000 additional small cells; each requiring sturdy waterproof housing, a 30-watt Power over Ethernet connection, Cat-6 cabling, and conduit. These small cell deployments would make the same physical footprint as Wi-Fi, which is likely to already be installed. All of this, and we’re not even mentioning the fact that many of today’s devices have Wi-Fi only connectivity, with billions more set to follow in the future.
5- Risk
It’s critical to consider the risk of adding multiple unlicensed mobile networks to your Wi-Fi environment. It took about seven years and three full generations of radio designs for Wi-Fi vendors to perfect high-capacity stadium systems, yet providers of LTE-U/LAA are only just getting started, let alone those working on 5G.
As a robust, stable and mature technology, Wi-Fi’s strength and ability to handle exceptional data traffic loads at large venues is well established. Yet as research suggests mobile data traffic will grow by 47 percent annually through 2021, it’s no surprise that new solutions – ultimately leading us to 5G – are cropping up.
But the key takeaway, is to think about both the pros and the cons of combining these two technologies before taking any action. Delaying combining Wi-Fi and unlicensed LTE networks, until the equipment can prove itself reliable outside of the Olympic bubble, is well worth considering.
