Big Trends of 2021

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Some trends slowly creep up on you and others are the result of a paradigm shift. But most trends are a little of both. While 5G is a long running story, it saw a paradigm shift in 2021 as enterprises began to deploy private 5G networks. What was seen as overhead is now viewed as an essential differentiator. Satellites have always lusted after terrestrial mobile users. So close, yet so far! Then, low earth orbit (LEO) satellites came closer to earth and reduced latency. But the big change was they became smaller and less expensive and private companies appeared on the scene to launch multiple birds in one flight. And the game was changed.

The Cloud and Edge Compute

DISH’s deployment of a virtualized Open RAN is the highest profile example of the wireless industry’s embrace of the cloud, but in December, Verizon announced that its 5G Edge will use Google Distributed Cloud Edge’s compute and storage services to support mobile robots, intelligent logistics, and factory automation. And, in July, AT&T and Google Cloud unveiled use cases that will be made possible through 5G mobile edge computing and the cloud. Before that, in June, Ericsson added support for 5G mid-band and Massive MIMO deployments to its Cloud RAN portfolio.

5G

There were many positive stories about 5G in 2021. The Big Three carriers met or exceeded their coverage goals for the year, each company reported. As far as spectrum was concerned, all eyes were on the mid-band. For example, T-Mobile set the goal to push the coverage of its Ultra Capacity 5G, using 2.5 GHz, from 165 million people to 200 million by the end of the year.

“We’re rolling this 5G network across the country at an incredible pace. Today, we have hundreds of radio upgrades underway, every week,” T-Mobile President of Technology Neville Ray said, “It’s a massive undertaking.”

5G speeds were significantly higher than 4G, perhaps enticing more subscribers to make the jump, according to Ookla. 5G could be the driver that will make fixed wireless access successful, according to a CTIA report. 5G is more energy efficient than 4G, according to Ericsson’s Mobility Report

However, the year ended on a down note, with threats by the airline industry, and United Airlines in particular, that if AT&T and Verizon Communications switch on 5G wireless services in the C-band, January 5, it could create thousands of daily flight cancellations in the United States, according to United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby. The aviation industry fears that radios in the C-band will interfere with aircraft radio altimeters, even though both AT&T and Verizon have offered to institute voluntary temporary power limits and antenna restrictions on C-band deployments near airports.

Private LTE/5G Networks

Enterprises owning private LTE/5G networks became a thing in 2021. It was not exactly Industry 4.0, but the seeds were being sown. There were announcements of new services and of enterprise deployments. Last month, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the provision of a managed service, AWS Private 5G. In November, Geoverse launched a managed private 5G network at the Caribe Royale Orlando resort in central Florida. Also in November, Airspan Networks led a coalition that deployed an enterprise private 5G pilot in France. In October, the Department of Defense began developing a private wireless 5G network for first responders in California.

In June, Verizon Business announced the launch of the “On Site 5G” private 5G network solution. Also in June, the cancer research center at the University of Southern California opened a new “smart” facility that uses a private 5G network. 

DISH

DISH spent 2021 forming its company at the same time it began to build out its virtualized, O-RAN 5G broadband network, still in beta testing in Las Vegas. The upstart carrier, which topped 1,000 employees in September, formed an array of partnerships with more than 25 companies, some of which showed an intention to disrupt the wireless business or at least think outside the box. In December, DISH said it will collaborate with FreedomFi, an open 5G networking company, giving DISH users access to a community-driven, neutral host CBRS hotspot network. In October, DISH partnered with Helium Inc., to allow DISH users to roam onto its consumer-deployed, decentralized wireless infrastructure of data-forwarding hotspots.

LEO Satellites

Satellite providers and terrestrial telecom companies, it seems, have always been at odds. But in 2021 that appeared to change as the concept of a direct satellite-to-mobile handset became a reality. As governments pushed for broadband in remote rural areas, LEO satellites became smaller, cheaper and certainly more plentiful as private launching companies sent up dozens at a time. Four players populate the LEO field: Spacex, which promises 42,000 birds; Amazon’s Project Kuiper with 3,236s; OneWeb with nearly 2,000; and Telesat with more than 500.

The telecom industry has recognized the emergence of LEOs with agreements to combine satellites with terrestrial infrastructure and even LEO satellites with GEO satellites. In November, Rakuten Mobile, Inc. began joint R&D with the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Engineering to use LEO satellites with IoT devices. Also in November, Intelsat and OneWeb demonstrated a combined GEO/LEO service. In September, AT&T signed an agreement with OneWeb to serve areas outside of its footprint.

HAPS

Another telecom service from above began to be taken seriously in 2021. High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS). It wasn’t always this way. Not too long ago, Google’s Project Loon was the butt of quite a few jokes. This fall, people stopped laughing as HAPS were successfully tested to communicate from the stratosphere directly to smartphones and IoT devices. The HAPS vehicles differ. Airbus and Bayanet use solar-powered airplanes and Sceye’s antennas ride in a 500-foot long, 130 foot-wide solar-powered airship, but the intention was the same: allow connectivity to wireless handsets in unserved areas and provide real-time data capture. Again, HAPS drew the attention of mobile network operators, such as NTT DoCoMo, which joined with Airbus looking for rural coverage.

Digital Twins

This year tower management systems using digital twin technology, an exact 3D digital replica of a tower’s structure and appurtenances, became the killer app for drone imaging. Aided by artificial intelligence and computer graphics, these products took advantage of drone images to transform tower maintenance closeouts, equipment and space inventories on cell and broadcast towers.

“For enterprises, digital twin technology not only seeks to provide the opportunity to grow and optimize but also a way to improve strategies and business processes. More importantly, this technology seeks to fulfill a promise to put enterprises one step ahead of the competition,” wrote Sayantan Dasgupta is a Director of Demand Generation at Gramener in Forbes.

By Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor

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