Huawei: How 5G changes networks, their cost and their use
Huawei draws the contours of the 5G scenario by analyzing the costs for operators and users, as well as the advantages that the new-generation networks bring (even in areas such as live broadcasts).
5G is about to change the telecommunications scenario in all respects: on the one hand, there will be changes in the use of networks for purposes further than those of today, and on the other changes for telephone operators. Huawei presented some data and scenarios at the Mobile World Congress 2019 in Shanghai.
Huawei: the 5G ready to change networks and the way they are used
Huawei is a protagonist of the transition to 5G, as evidenced by the fact that two-thirds of the networks launched so far in many countries (including Italy, United Kingdom, South Korea, Switzerland, Kuwait) use Huawei branded equipment. The company claims to have 50 commercial contracts in place and to have delivered 150,000 base stations.
Where the 5G networks have already been launched, changes are already taking place: for example, in South Korea, the target of one million users has been reached in two months, with an average daily traffic of 1.3 GB per user, an average gain per user 75% higher than that of 4G and a price per GB 90% lower.
If these data are particularly interesting in terms of private users, on the industrial front, such a small price per gigabyte can lead to significantly lower prices for companies, which can make massive use of the potential of new networks for their own businesses without face huge expenses.
Among the main novelties of the 5G is that of the largest band available. An interesting scenario envisaged by Huawei for the use of new-generation networks is that of television live broadcasts: while large-scale investments are now needed for live connections, with 5G and a cloud ” bridge.”
It will be possible to make direct expenses minimum and with minor staff in the field. This is because the videos taken in real time are sent via cloud to the main office, which can then broadcast them.
The impact on the operators’ front is also interesting: the 5G also significantly changes the impact on the networks and equipment used to build them. For example: Huawei states that its active antennas are 55% smaller and 23% lighter than previous-generation radio units, which makes it easier to place antennas in a widespread manner on the territory and within the various sites.
Energy efficiency is another particularly important parameter: the efficiency per bit is 25 times that of previous generations, which leads to a drastic reduction in costs for operators.
These latter aspects lead to the aforementioned cost reduction, which then falls on the companies that want to use the new networks. The spread of 5G seems to have paved the way ahead on many fronts, not least that of competitiveness.
However, it may still take some time for the real fruits of these changes to be seen, given that at present the retail prices per GB are rather high – and if, it is true that these are prices for private the early adopters, it is equally true that the initial transition phase brings with it generally higher costs to take advantage of the new networks (and, on the other hand, higher costs to implement them for the operators).
