How 5G will change everything without changing anything

5G is the newest buzzword in the telecom industry.   All press releases from the telecom industry seem to have the term 5G attached to it somewhere.  But what exactly is 5G and what new technology or applications it will bring? Let see;  You might think that 5G is what comes after 4G, the current mobile data network technology that provides mobile Internet to a vast number of users worldwide; and yes you are partly right.  

4G is a term developed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to identify and market the Data services using technology that provides mobile speeds up to 100 mbps. 

So 5G is the term coined to follow 4G with the latest mobile technology and service definitions proposed by the ITU.  But there’s a new kid on the block, the definition of 5G also includes fixed wireless service, or in simple terms Broadband service provided to homes and businesses using wireless technology.  

5G Tower would serve Mobile, Home and Business

Defining Fixed Wireless service under the 5G standard is a innovative move by the standard body and we should look at it in detail.  Recent developments in the industry have brought to light the high cost of deploying fiber. 

5 Years ago fiber was all the rage, Google Fiber being on the spearhead of all fiber related news.  Now 2017, most, if not all, Service Providers are either evaluating or testing some sort of wireless technology to provide gigabit connectivity to the home; they have realized that fiber works, but its EXPENSIVE and SLOW to deploy. Wireless in the other hand has demonstrated that it can be deployed quickly and cost effectively. 

Posible 5G Equipment

So this takes us back to our original premise, 5G will change everything without changing anything.  Why? Because before the big service providers started to even think about using wireless technology to reach the last mile, there has been a group of smaller service providers doing so all across the world.

Wireless Internet ServiceProviders or WISP have been connecting users since the early dawn of wireless data protocols, even before WIFI. What started as individuals hacking together pieces of equipment and antennas to serve a block of users have evolved into a solid industry that currently serve a large percent of connected users around the globe and continues to evolve with the same grit and passion that those early WISP trailblazers did in the last century.

5G is here and it will change the way we connect to the world, some aspects of it will be new others just an evolution of what’s already here, but certainly WISPs will be there to connect you all the way.

Ill be following this post with more details of 5G development including technical and business related information, please make sure to follow! 

Google Fiber is stopping, Why it's great news!

Recently the broadband industry and consumers have been shocked by the news that Google Fiber its halting all new deployments of its fiber optic network in the cities that were recently announced as the next fiber hubs: 

Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Jose and Tampa are out of the Google Fiber plans for the moment. 

Some consumers are feeling disappointed as their broadband dreams are vanishing away.  And if you are on the outside of the industry, the recent Google announcement might feel like a stab in the back from the big corp with tons of cash. 

But if you look closely, and have some industry information; these are not bad news at all.  Back in June, Google announced the acquisition of Webpass, an ISP with operations in several markets in the US including San Francisco, Miami, Boston, Chicago among others.  What its special about Webpass is that they are a Wireless ISP that focuses in serving Multi Dwelling Units (MDUS) with high capacity fixed wireless access.  Webpass services both the residential and commercial segments with speeds up to 500 Mbps. 

Since the closing of the Webpass acquisition back in October, the industry has been rumoring that Google was favoring wireless as a access medium over fiber, and it seems that with the Webpass integration, wireless technology knowledge have moved to Google higher levels and the decision was made. 

Google halting all new fiber deployments comes as no surprise to me and its a validation of our business model.   Fiber its expensive and slow to deploy;  Wireless technologies  are maturing at a fast pace and its time has come to shine bright.  Millimeter wave technology (equipment that operates higher than 30 GHz) is posing as a the new contender for fiber-like wireless access and will be able to be deployed faster and less costly that fiber to the home. 

Google is not the only company looking at fixed wireless as an alternate access medium, Facebook is heavily invested in several projects including TIP and Terragraph. Verizon and AT&T both are currently running trials of the technology (Verizon, AT&T) and even Amazon has announced that it too whats a piece of the action. 

Facebook Terragraph access site concept

So to all those crying foul at Google Fiber, I say; wait.  Good news will follow.  Be it from Google Fiber or other alternatives broadband providers that are already deploying ultra fast broadband access using microwave technologies.  Google moving to wireless, brings clout to the WISPs industry, more importantly; investment and faster development of new technologies and products.

Stay Tuned! and GoFaster!