Incompas (Fall 2016) Show Daily

DAY

THE

INCOMPAS SHOW

I OCTOBER 23-25, 2016

www.bekapublishing.com

THE

INCOMPAS

SHOW

t’s not a secret that mobile network operators

already are looking for more speed, capacity

and quality of service. That means another

new generation: Get prepared for 5G.

Addressing 5G is today’s 12:10 p.m. session

at The HUB, “Maximizing Returns with Poten-

tial 5G Network Design and Use Cases While

Avoiding Legal and Regulatory Obstacles.”

The moderated-panel discussion is sponsored

by international law firm Hogan Lovells. The

panelists are Hogan Lovells’ partners Michele

Farquhar and Trey Hanbury, as well as senior

advisor Tom Peters.

According to the firm, annual service reve-

nues estimated at more than $250 billion by

2025, 5G broadband promises to change the

way the world generates and receives data.

The advent of 5G has awakened estab-

lished operators from throughout multiple

discrete industries to vulnerabilities in their

existing business models. The 5G revolution

will require vast swaths of newly available

spectrum and a huge surge in the deployment

of point-to-point and point-to-multipoint back-

haul networks.

The industry already understands that

consumers have adopted mobile broadband

technology at unparalleled rates compared to

other technology iterations.

U.S. wireless network operators led the world

in developing and deploying 4G LTE service,

which created an explosion in mobile broad-

band use, smartphone adoption and the apps

economy. Mobile broadband is helping to close

the digital divide that exists in communities of

color, low-income households and rural America.

Adoption is growing so fast that mobile

network operators need to be looking to the next

generation of network technology (5G) to accom-

modate the requirement for additional speed,

capacity and quality of service.

INCOMPAS members can benefit from the

move to 5G, Hogan Lovells believes, because a

critical component of 5G networks will be access

to robust backhaul services.

Mobile network operators will need key part-

ners to connect their small cells, distributed

antenna systems, sensors and other 5G network

components. Wireline operators who are aware

of the opportunities and know the important

policy considerations around 5G will set them-

selves apart from the competition and will be

able to win this important line of business.

According to the firm, 5G will take today’s

powerful mobile broadband networks to the

next level.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has described

5G as “the missing piece of the puzzle

depicting the wireless future: Where today’s

wired and wireless networks force customers

to choose either high speed and capacity

or mobility, 5G’s promise of gigabit mobile

connections at any location will open up

hugely disruptive new value propositions for

the users of networks.”

5G will open the doors to applications and

use cases that were once the stuff of science

fiction movies. As an example, 5G’s high data

rates and super-low latency have the poten-

tial to unlock remote surgery applications that

potentially could allow a world-renowned heart

surgeon in New York to perform remote bypass

surgery on a patient located in a hospital on the

other side of the country.

Hogan Lovells’ statement regarding the

discussion panel said, “It isn’t hyperbole to

suggest that the benefits to consumers from 5G

could be limitless.”

Some of the proposed use cases that may be

possible through 5G include:

• Smart cities that reduce pollution and

energy consumption

• Telehealth services that allow consumers to

access world-class physicians and medical

services no matter where they are located

• Virtual and augmented reality experiences

that immerse a user in the middle of a

concert, baseball game or travel experience

• Real-time translation services that break

down barriers to communication between

neighbors

• Connected car technologies that reduce

accidents and fatalities

• Precision agriculture products that reduce

water waste and pesticide use and reduce

the overall costs of food supply

The evolution to 5G is a little different from

prior network evolution, according to firm,

explaining that

4G was a “rip-and-replace” type of network

evolution, as the mobile network transitioned to

IP, packet-based communications.

While 5G will build upon the IP-based

networks of 4G, the firm said, “We expect

Panel to Discuss 5G Inevitability in U.S.

(See 5G, page 19)