San Diego and Verizon in deal to deploy small cells for 4G-LTE to be upgraded to 5G
Verizon and the city of San Diego, CA have announced a partnership under which the U.S.’ #1 wireless telco will invest upward of $100 million to deploy as many as 200 energy-efficient light poles that host small cells for 5G wireless, as well as providing the police with 500 smartphones and the fire and rescue department with 50 tablets. The city, in exchange, will ensure a streamlined process for approval of small cells and fiber optic links.
San Diego has pledged to streamline the permitting process for rolling out mobile network “small cells” in a deal with Verizon that could help lay the foundation for bringing 5G technology to the city. Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced the deal in a news conference Monday on Harbor Island. Verizon will spend more than $100 million to install up to 200 power efficient light poles with small cell wireless network gear to improve cellular coverage.
“Verizon is a partner in our effort to enhance wireless capability and lay the groundwork for the future of 5G wireless,” said Faulconer. “This agreement is going to increase services and expand our smart cities capabilities, at no additional costs to taxpayers.”
Small cells — about the size of a pizza box — contain lower power radios and antennas. They add density to the cellular network to boost range and increase the number of smartphone/ endpoint users who can then gain high speed connections to the Internet. This is done via frequency reuse– small cells in one area of town may use the same frequency bands as other small cells in a different part of the city. Small cells are expected to be a key component of high speed 5G mobile networks, which have just begun rolling out in a few cities in the U.S. and South Korea. They have to be mounted on city owned polls or like infrastructure. “Most of these small cells essentially they are on poles, and they blend into the areas to provide that coverage, as well as capacity,” said Ed Chan, Verizon’s senior vice president of engineering.
Verizon plans to install 4G LTE small cells in San Diego under the new program, said Chan. These small cells can be upgraded to 5G technology — either through software updates or the addition of 5G radio equipment. 5G networks aim to deliver speeds 10 times faster than current 4G technologies, with imperceptible transmission delays. They are expected to help power ubiquitous mobile video, self-driving cars, smart cities infrastructure and connected health care devices.
Verizon deployed its first pre-standard mobile 5G networks last week in neighborhoods in Chicago and Minneapolis. It expects to expand to 30 additional cities U.S. by year end. The telco hasn’t named the next 30 cities to get 5G. Chan said to stay tuned. “This will definitely create the foundation to get to 5G” in San Diego, he said.
The city and Verizon have been talking for several months about ways to speed up the permitting process for small cells and fiber optic links. Plans include updating some building codes and allowing “master permits” where the installation of several, similarly designed small cell street-light poles in a neighborhood would fall under one permit, said Ron Villa, assistant chief operating officer with the city.
“We are doing a pilot in Mission Valley where they can permit a whole area all at once, and they don’t have to go through individual permits,” said Villa. “It will be to the advantage of other carriers as well. If we can get this to work, there will be other carriers that will be welcome” to use the streamlined permitting process.
Verizon is providing poles with street lights and will cover installation costs, said Villa. The company will own the poles. In the future, it will provide analysis of traffic patterns and other data to bolster San Diego’s smart cities capabilities.
“From smart streetlights on Mira Mesa Boulevard to weather-based irrigation controllers in Clairemont, innovation is shaping how we are living and working in District 6,” said Council member Chris Cate. “San Diego’s partnership with Verizon will not only benefit San Diegans today, it will help all future generations.”
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Mobile Experts predicts small cell market to hit $5.2B by 2024
The LTE small cell market saw a strong year in 2018, according to a new report published by Mobile Experts. LTE small cell unit shipments grew 20% year over year in 2018, as did revenue, which reached $2.9 billion.
Mobile Experts expects the small cell market to continue growing at a 10% CAGR over the next five years to reach $5.2 billion by 2024. Kyung Mun, principal analyst at Mobile Experts, pointed to private LTE and 5G as growth drivers in the small cell market.
Mun predicts 5G massive MIMO will “have a profound impact on C-band small cell strategies.” He also stated that private LTE and edge computing use cases “will drive significant growth in the small cell market, with new customer groups aligning to drive growth.”
The report tracks both the carrier indoor segment and outdoor segments. It notes that the indoor segment remains a key driver for the overall small cell market. “As the market transitions to 5G, we will see some challenges for small cells—especially in the outdoor segment,” Mun said.
Mobile Experts predicts “substantial adoption” of CBRS, LAA and Wi-Fi connectivity in small cells as a low-cost way for carriers to add capacity to their networks.
Small cell deployments are expected to continue to grow over the next few years, as carriers continue to densify their networks. A wave of legislation at the state and local levels aimed at streamlining the various permitting and siting processes for small cells could be spurring some of the growth.
This week, Verizon announced a multimillion-dollar deal to accelerate the deployment of 4G LTE small-cell facilities in San Diego after the city agreed to revamp its permitting process, while lawmakers in West Virginia recently signed into law similar new rules for optimizing small cell permitting throughout the state.
https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/mobile-experts-predicts-small-cell-market-to-hit-5-2b-by-2024
The small cells on streetlights are going to be very unsightly.
Not to mention that densifying radio frequency signals of 2,3 and 4 g is the same thing as 5 g . You don’t need more than that to sicken the people living and being constantly bombarded with cancer causing microwave pulsed frequencies.
Believe it or not, San Diego is about to turn into a virtual police state.
The 900 my spectrum of friends is called Sub Gigahertz. It is what Lycra radar signals use and also high tech ref that can see right through ppls walls and such. Only an idiot can think this total loss of privacy and the new green deal is not the infrastructure for foreign United Nations technocratic dictatorship. It is the infrastructure bandwidth for an open air prison where every move one makes is videoed and recorded.
All one has to do is a little research to see that globalization, wealth redistribution and tyranny are well underway along with a totally rogue federal government trying to impeach a duly elected United States President with no due process. Is this the type of technology these crooks in office can be trusted with?
Many lessons to be learned from past history, current outrageous events and unconstitutional laws and policies being passed which violate what rights we have left.
The above issues while bad are nothing if people subjected to this biological apocalypse get sick and die. There are over 2000 military peer reviewed science papers there online if you wish to review them , documenting military personnel’s sickness and deaths working in an environment filled with even current frequencies we all are bathed in daily. The technicians installing this equipment are wearing hazmat suits for good reason . The LED STREETLIGHTS destroy human retina cells and cause blindness even without the small cells on them. Good God… is there not a brain cell between anyone’s eyes in these industries?
Also online is the hard cold statistic that the US is in last place for citizen health. That’s 37 th place compared to other country’s included are third world ones in better health. Wake up … When government puts money before population heath and safety it actually is genocide. A war crime under the Geneva Convention and a crime of assault under US criminal law.
Please. become informed. Just because we can have the upside of a technology doesn’t mean it’s moral or that we should do it. In fact it is an activity that only a moron would be happy about
If I become “more informed,” what would you like me to do? I’ve intentionally stayed away from the NIMBY/small cells cause cancer debate, although all of my IEEE colleagues believe there is no really harmful radiation danger.
Awesome blogs you have here at IEEE Techblog! Do you know of any community forums that cover the same 4G/5G small cell topics discussed in this article? I’d really like to be a part of group where I can get feedback from other experienced individuals that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks a lot!
I recommend joining a Linked In Group on small cells and 5G. Of course, you need to be a LI member to join any group and some groups may require approval before you can be accepted into the LI group