The race to establish America as a world leader in 5G technology is far from over, despite being one of the first countries to launch 5G services in 2019 and boasting extensive ongoing development. AT&T’s Chris Sambar expressed optimism regarding the potential for 5G ecosystem growth, comparing it to the development process of LTE. The standalone 5G architecture is currently being rolled out by AT&T, offering the prospect of monetizing new services such as gaming and augmented reality, as well as virtual reality.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) has become a significant area of interest and profit in the US due to its ability to monetize new technology. However, AT&T is adopting a more cautious strategy toward FWA than its competitors, Verizon and T-Mobile. Sambar elaborated on this stance, explaining that the rapid growth of consumer bandwidth demand and the limited number of customers that can be served by FWA in each sector pose challenges to effectively complying with the laws of physics involved in providing network capacity. Additionally, the considerable costs of deploying mobile infrastructure make it an unappealing alternative to fixed fiber connections.
AT&T plans to target FWA services towards customers currently using legacy copper networks, offering an enhanced service quality while allowing the company to shut down older networks. The focus on sustainability reverberates throughout the telecoms world, as AT&T acknowledges both the moral and economic incentives to preserve the environment. Accordingly, the company aims to reduce power consumption and improve energy efficiency by transitioning away from old infrastructure and deploying AI, automation, and machine learning solutions. These technologies facilitate network optimization and improve maintenance logistics, resulting in decreased costs and a smaller carbon footprint.
In conclusion, the journey to 5G maturity is filled with optimism, yet also demands caution in areas like FWA. The focus on sustainable technologies and efficient solutions plays a crucial role in ensuring that networks can maximize their potential while taking care of the environment.
