5G Deploying, but 4G Expected to Remain in Picture for Many Years, CCA Told

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Competitive Carriers Association members were asked by the federal government to participate in discussions on supply chain security, carrier officials said Tuesday at CCA’s annual meeting. At the opening breakfast, big issues were 5G and what it will mean to competitive carriers. Huawei was at CCA and had a technical presentation on cybersecurity.

Ericsson has more than 50 percent of the rural carrier market share, said G.S. Sickand, chief technology officer. “I don’t believe that cost is the only reason” some carriers use equipment from Chinese vendors, he said: “We are very, very cost competitive.”

“I understand the national security concerns,” said John Hunter, T-Mobile senior director-engineering and technology policy. "There’s a lot of debate around that topic” and there's no Huawei or ZTE equipment in the carrier's network, he said: Supply chain security “is an issue in general” that needs examination.

“Security is extremely important in 5G,” said Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Strategy Analytics director-global wireless practice. “Everyone gets that.” Working together is important, she said. “At a global scale, there is strong competition among vendors.”

Speakers agreed 4G won’t disappear. It won't "go away,” de Grimaldo said. The important thing is getting broadband in rural communities, she said. “Yes, you’ll be using 4G. Yes, you’ll be using 5G. Yes, you’ll be using Wi-Fi.”

“LTE is going to be there for at least 10 years,” Sickand said. “There’s a lot of runway left on 4G. There’s a lot of evolution that’s happening in 5G.” Some carriers will find it cheaper to go to stand-alone fifth-generation quicker because of advantages of carrier aggregation, he said. “It’s not a simple, straightforward question,” he said. “You have to look at what are applications are, what you’re trying to do with the network.”

Hunter agreed. “There’s a long way to go” for 4G, he said: “You’re relying on your core. The bigger question is when do you go to from 5G non-stand-alone to 5G stand-alone. Given the amount of runway we have left, it’s a cost factor.” Hunter said the biggest need in the U.S. is for mid-band spectrum. The nation is an “outlier” in mostly targeting high-band for 5G, he said.

The key to fifth-generation is using different spectrum bands together, Sickand said. “You need spectrum, spectrum, spectrum,” he said: “Spectrum is the lifeblood of any wireless network. You can’t get enough.”

CCA President Steve Berry said 60 percent of the spectrum sold in the TV incentive auction was bought by CCA members, including T-Mobile, the largest bidder in the auction. “It was a successful incentive auction for us,” he said. “The work is not over. We will continue to urge policymakers to ensure they clear the spectrum, they keep to the 39-month transition timeline.” Carriers need access to the spectrum “they paid good money for as soon as possible,” he said.

Many members won licenses in the recent 24 and 28 MHz auctions, Berry said. “Millimeter-wave spectrum will provide opportunities for next-generation services, especially in rural America.” Members are interested in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, launching this week (see 1908210052), Berry said. Members are scoping next year’s CBRS auction, he said.

The C band's “a huge issue” for CCA, which has a plan for the band, along with America’s Communications Association and Charter Communications (see 1908150042), Berry noted. “It has been a major topic of discussion for us, our members.” Berry slammed the C-Band Alliance’s plan. “A one-sided, self-serving private sale to the highest bidder is not what consumers or industry needs,” he said. CCA’s proposal is a “common sense, pro-competition plan,” he said. The proposal will “clear the spectrum as fast, or faster than the satellite companies that use a unique, private auction concept, and then free up 370 MHz or more of mid-band spectrum for terrestrial use,” he said. The CBA plan would benefit “only four, foreign satellite operators,” Berry said.

Berry stressed the importance of better broadband mapping for wireless carriers seeking USF support. “Garbage in, garbage out,” he said of the maps: “The FCC has done a poor job of identifying where there are wireless signals in the United States and … we have great support in the House and Senate to get something done.”