Verizon’s argument for deploying millimeter wave spectrum in its network has been to supply capacity at its highest-use sites, both mobile and for delivering home broadband services that compete with fixed networks.
The other part of the strategy is to provide coverage, in many cases, using 4G for mobile and home broadband services, especially where network utilization is low. Additional spectrum based on use of Citizens Broadband Radio Service and other assets will largely support customers in areas of moderate to lower demand.
The broad middle of areas where demand is moderate will eventually be supported by mid-band spectrum assets.
In principle, that strategy reflects the typical demand characteristics of the mobile network overall, where the heaviest demand comes from a fraction of total cell sites.
Mobile network traffic tends to be highly asymmetrical, resembling a Pareto distribution, commonly known as the 80/20 rule. Telecom service provider revenue and profit illustrate how Pareto applies in the business. According to Ericsson, perhaps five percent of sites generate 25 percent of total network usage.
According to Ericsson, five percent of cell sites support 25 percent of total traffic. About a quarter of sites handle half of all traffic, while 70 percent of sites are required for 25 percent of total traffic.
“The top 30 percent of sites--including high- and medium-capacity sites--in the network account for 75 percent of the total traffic, whereas the bottom 70 percent of sites carry only 25 percent of the total network traffic,” Ericsson says.
Other studies confirm the pattern. Looking at usage on a given day, by any single user, perhaps 80 percent of traffic is carried by just three towers. About half of traffic is carried by one tower. The remaining 20 percent of traffic is carried by 28 additional cell sites.
Verizon’s use of millimeter wave, new spectrum and 4G fits that pattern.
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