Mobile Moves to 5G Advanced, Fixed Networks Evolve to F5G, and 10 Gbps is Enabled in the Campus.
The wireless industry has come a long way in its initial 5G phase. In just four years, operators have invested more than $300 B globally in 5G-related capex, deploying 15 M+ macro and small cell radios. Adoption has been mixed. On the one hand, 5G has been a massive success for the typical Mobile Broadband (MBB) use cases, providing operators with pivotal tools to support data traffic growth and driving down the cost per bit. On the other hand, 5G is still mostly about MBB and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) for humans. The technology has not touched the surface yet when it comes to connecting machines and industries. As we look to the next part of the wireless chapter, 5G-Advanced is an important part of the 5G journey and should help to realize more aspects of the larger 5G vision.
In parallel, the renewed focus on fixed network is spurring industry standards bodies to evolve the fixed network with cadences similar to those found in the wireless industry. F5G, also known as the fifth fixed network generation, includes important technology advancements to ensure there is enough bandwidth and QoS to address the use case of today and tomorrow.
Inside the enterprise network, there is also a push to support new use cases, with the IEEE developing protocols and frameworks to meet companies’ future LAN requirements. Since the pandemic shutdowns, there has been a seismic shift in the way organizations work, with a consequential increase in IT spending. In 2022, WLAN and Campus Switch worldwide sales grew by 19% Y/Y and 2023 is expected to be another year of strong growth. New use cases and work patterns are pushing companies to increase network bandwidth, decrease latency and add new functionality. Network upgrades can be laborious ̶ but they promise to increase productivity, efficiency, and employees’ work experience.
In this four-part blog series, we plan to discuss what is next, for both mobile and fixed, and campus networks.
