Mobile networks have not traditionally been among the access networks featuring the highest access speeds. But all that will change as 5G networks start to be deployed. For the first time ever, mobile networks might become the dominant gigabit access network platforms deployed globally.
That will be a huge change for an industry that traditionally has viewed fiber to the home as the dominant means of providing fast access speeds. With the shift to gigabit networks, that might initially have been expected to continue.
But 5G, and likely coming fixed wireless alternatives, will be major gigabit access platforms.
There are now at least 350 live gigabit deployments globally, with a further 164 announced or under construction, across wireline and mobile technologies including GPON, DOCSIS 3.1, G.fast, LTE-A, 5G and 802.11ac, according to Gigabit Monitor, a visual database produced by Viavi Solutions.
North America has the largest share of announced gigabit deployments, with 61 percent. Europe is second with 24 percent. Asia, Australasia, Middle East, Africa and South America share the remaining 15 percent of deployments.
More than 70 percent of the live gigabit deployments tracked have been launched since the start of 2015, and the numbers will skyrocket as 5G networks come online, as those mobile networks will, by definition, offer gigabit to multi-gigabit speeds.
Fiber dominates: 85 percent of currently known gigabit deployments are based on optical fiber connectivity, while 11 percent are based on hybrid fiber coax (HFC), the platform used by cable providers.
Over time, it is likely that the percentage of deployments based on mobile and “telecom” platforms will grow, as a percentage of total, simply because cable TV platforms are not widely deployed globally. Mobile platforms should start to grow starting in 2017.
Nearly three percent of known gigabit deployments are based on LTE-A.
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