Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 54 | Page 41

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FEATURE: 5G When using mid-band or low band spectrum, which enables them to lower the cost as they don’t have to deploy as many cells to cover the same area, the cost per bit goes up as the bandwidth of the radios is significantly less. The key will be an optimisation equation driving high frequency in more dense areas and lower frequency in less dense areas. Which bands are owned and deployed by an operator will dictate the areas of coverage, reach and speed. What we will end up with is ‘coverage kings,’ ‘capacity kings’ and ‘fixed wireless’. Coverage kings will use their spectrum and chosen technology to cover a large geographic area; for example, in Saudi Arabia where vast parts of the country are sparsely populated. Capacity kings will focus on cities like Cairo, Riyadh, New York, Paris and London, and other densely populated areas relying on technologies such as small cells, to deliver speed and low latency services to consumers, businesses and connected devices. Fixed wireless will focus on Femi Oshiga, VP Sales, Service Providers, MEA, CommScope www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 41