CV_Winter_21

MOBILE & WIRELESS The global market for mobile edge computing, which moves cloud storage and computing closer to the network edge, is expected to reach $2.7 billion by 2027, a compound annual growth rate of 30.8 percent, according to a ResearchAndMarkets study released in December. “The time is now ripe for edge computing to transform telecommu- nications,” said the research firm. The execution and processing of applications closer to cellular networks lead to network de-conges- tion, reduced latency, better user experience and enhanced perfor- mance, said the research firm, allow for faster and more flexible deploy - ment of various services and applica- tions for customers. “Mobile edge computing holds immense potential to support the 5G technology owing to its ability to dramatically reduce latency for enhanced service delivery,” said ResearchAndMarkets analysts. At the end of 2020, there were 6.6 billion connected IoT devices active worldwide. Of those, 840 million of them, or about 8 percent, use cellular networks. In another six years’ time, there will be an almost 7-fold growth in cellular IoT devices, bringing the global total to 5.7 billion, according to ABI Research. This explosive growth means carri- ers face more specific and diverse demands for guarantees from IoT customers, especially when roaming. “More smart devices are being deployed, and more types of devices are becoming smart,” said Jamie Moss, M2M, IoT & IoE research director at ABI Research. “It is clear the ability to connect diverse IoT device types, with different needs, at massive scale, and with global coverage is needed now.” The research shows enterprises want a one-stop-shop, more so now than ever. Multinational corpo- rations that can afford to employ systems integrators to assemble customized systems are few. Although they were some of the earliest IoT adopters, they only represent a portion of the market. Most enterprises do not have the funds or inclination and may not even know what the IoT can do for them, ABI’s research learned. The survey shows enterprises value specialist expertise that can deploy and host services for them that “just work,” leaving the enter- prise to run its business. Verizon Business has brought indoor 5G cell sites from the test phase to commercial rollout, and its indoor 5G is now commercially available expanding the company’s 5G footprint. Verizon uses the brand name 5G Ultra Wideband for 5G service deployed in the millimeter wave band. The indoor cell site was developed with Corning. It will first be used in Verizon’s retail stores and will be deployed at 10 locations in the United States by WeWork, a company that provides flexible space solutions to its clients. The Corning indoor cell site platform features a fully integrated baseband unit, radios and antennas in a package designed aestheti- cally for indoor use. Verizon expects indoor 5G to appeal to hospitals, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, schools, ports, commercial office space, and retail stores. A new report from SNS Telecom & IT predicts annual spending on 5G NR and LTE small cell RAN infrastructure operat- ing in shared spectrum will reach about $4 billion by 2024. It will support various uses including enterprise private networks in vertical industries, densification of mobile operators’ networks, fixed wireless access and connecting neutral hosts. The report said an important aspect of the radical transformation is the growing adoption of shared and unlicensed spectrum frequencies that are not licensed to a single mobile operator. It points out this is possible through a combination of new technologies and regula- tory authorities having launched frameworks to facilitate the coordinated sharing of licensed spectrum. They include the United States’ three-tiered Citizens Broadband Radio Scheme (CBRS) for dynamic sharing of 3.5 GHz spectrum; Germany’s 3.7-3.8 GHz licenses for private 5G networks; the United Kingdom’s shared and local access licensing model; France’s 2.6 GHz licenses for indus- trial LTE/5G networks; and the Netherlands’ local mid-band spectrum permits. Similar approaches are occurring in Japan for local 5G network licenses, Hong Kong’s geographically shared licenses, and Austra- lia’s 26/28 GHz area-wide apparatus licenses. The market is expected to continue its upward trajectory beyond 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 44 percent between 2021 and 2024 to reach nearly $4 billion in annual spending by 2024. Time for Mobile Edge Computing is Now ABI Research: Operators Must Address Connectivity for Range of Devices Verizon Adds Indoor 5G Cell Sites Shared, Unlicensed Spectrum Expected to Surge this Decade for 5G and LTE 12 CHANNEL V ISION | January - February, 2021