Thursday, February 7, 2019

In 5G Era, Capacity Versus Coverage Remains a Key Question

Though it is easy to debate the merits of using spectrum below 6 GHz, or in the higher-frequency millimeter bands (24 GHz, 28 GHz, 39 GHz for example), the traditional trade offs between coverage versus capacity will still have to be made.

The only difference is that the range of frequencies will shift. Where 2 GHz once was seen as “high frequency” with better capacity performance, while 800 Mhz was better for coverage, now any spectrum below 6 GHz is seen as the “coverage” suppliers, while millimeter wave spectrum is seen as the capacity bands.


Ultimately, we are likely to see all service providers rely on sub-6 GHz for coverage, even if that means sacrificing capacity (speed). To supply the gigabit per second speeds 5G makes possible will require the millimeter bands, but with coverage limitations.

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