5G cellular uses far more bands than previous generations. One reason is because 4G bands alone can’t provide enough spectrum to keep up with insatiable consumer and business demand.
A lot of that demand was for higher speeds, which leads to the second reason for the new bands: Many of them are at higher frequencies than 4G spectrum, and higher frequencies support higher data rates.
This enables 5G to support applications that would have been difficult or impossible with 4G, such as competing with fiber and cable for the residential broadband and enterprise branch office markets. Higher speeds also means new opportunities for device OEMs and systems integrators.
Here’s what to know about these new bands in terms of speed, indoor and outdoor coverage, operator support and more.
Upscale Spectrum
The new high-frequency 5G spectrum can be divided into two sets:
- The C band from 3.7 GHz to 4.2 GHz. It’s also sometimes referred to as “mid band” because it’s between the traditional cellular bands, such as 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz, and another new block of high-frequency 5G spectrum that begins around 24 GHz.
- The millimeter wave (mmWave) bands between 24.25 GHz and 43.5 GHz.
The speed of each set depends on factors such as channel bandwidth, MIMO antenna orders, carrier aggregation and signal strength. But the bottom line is that they’re both fast. In an enterprise campus setting, for example, C band 5G can deliver over 5 Gbps. That’s more than enough for bandwidth-intensive business applications such as backhauling live 4K video from security cameras or backing up CAD files to the cloud.
C band and mmWave often are referred to as “ultrawideband” or simply “UWB.” That’s the marketing term Verizon uses for its C band and mmWave services, and for whatever reasons, that branding has become industry shorthand. (By comparison, T-Mobile, for example, brands its 5G UWB network as “Ultra Capacity” or “UC.”) The key thing to remember is that all of these are not the same as the ultrawideband technology used for low-power, short-range sensing applications, such as locating Apple AirTags.
To UWB? Or Not to UWB?
With any wireless technology, one rule of thumb is that the higher the frequency, the shorter the signal range. That’s why C band and mmWave services require a higher density of base stations to cover a given area. To recoup that additional overhead cost, operators are focusing their C band and mmWave buildouts in places with the largest pools of potential customers. One common example is using C band for fixed wireless access (FWA) services for residential broadband in cities and suburbs — but not rural areas.
This highlights an important consideration for device OEMs, systems integrators and end users such as enterprises. Densely populated areas are the primary market for applications that require the multi-gigabit speeds that C band and mmWave can deliver because that’s where operators are building out.
For example, so far Verizon has focused its buildout on arenas and stadiums because they pack tens of thousands of devices into a small area. “In some cities, the stadium will be the only place with Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband service,” the company says.
But that limited coverage can still be a major opportunity for certain types of device OEMs and systems integrators. For example, manufacturers of digital signage and video surveillance cameras, as well as the integrators that design and install those AV systems in arenas and stadiums, could start using C band and mmWave rather than fiber, copper or Wi-Fi.
How to Get Started
As new spectrum, C band and mmWave come with new considerations for device design. Even device OEMs with extensive cellular experience face a steep learning curve. It helps to have a partner that can share expertise gained from working with dozens of other OEMs as they expand into C band and mmWave.
For instance, in-building coverage is much more challenging at higher frequencies. Hence the importance of choosing an antenna system capable of achieving the link budget necessary to ensure reliable, high-performance connectivity.
For over five years, Taoglas has been pioneering C band and mmWave antennas. One example is a smart antenna subsystem covering the 26.5-29.5 GHz band. Developed with MixComm and based on the Taoglas KHA16.24C smart antenna subsystem, this solution is ideal for devices such as CPEs for homes and offices.
Taoglas also offers engineering services such as CSA.52, which helps device OEMs and systems integrators design and refine antenna arrays, beamformer RFICs and multi-layer PCBs for mmWave applications. To learn more about these and other Taoglas antennas and services for 5G C band and mmWave devices, visit https://www.taoglas.com/contact.
