Why don’t we have more options for in-building connectivity?

2019 was a transformational year for the telecommunications industry. We saw the deployment of shared spectrum, the availability of 5G phones and services in select cities, increased interest in private networks, and the launch of Wi-Fi 6 certified products. The availability and popularity of such technologies has given enterprises more options in terms of how to meet the growing demand for capacity and coverage and meet increasing end-user expectations.

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As we delve deeper into 2020, let’s explore what’s expected to disrupt the status quo when it comes to enterprise-grade connectivity:

Wi-Fi 6 will become the choice for industry applications

Wi-Fi 6 access point (AP) shipments will grow across multiple verticals, including healthcare, education, and hospitality, to support high-bandwidth applications including 4K video, esports, AR/VR, facial recognition, and public safety.

In fact, it is expected that by this time next year, Wi-Fi 6 APs will represent the majority of access point shipments. Multiple Wi-Fi 6 APs deployed in dense device environments can jointly provide the required connectivity services to more clients using different profiles. This is due to the use of technologies such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM) access, multi-user multiple input multiple output (MIMO), and target wake-up time.

Shared spectrum delivery applications

Currently, many European countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and the UK are studying local licensing methods using shared spectrum and cellular-oriented frequencies. Ultimately, leveraging local spectrum access in the 3.4-3.8 GHz range will enable European enterprises to more easily deploy their own private networks in 2020.

One of the benefits of shared spectrum includes the ability to provide connectivity to industrial buildings in remote or temporary locations, such as mining, power plants, factories and warehouses, and we believe this year will be a testing ground for applications including industrial IoT and densely populated locations.

Enterprises deploy private networks to own data

Private networks, either through network slicing or private LTE networks, will be a key option for wireless technology in 2020. The concept of private networks is not new, but the introduction of CBRS and 5G makes the conversation more interesting. As IoT deployments increase, buildings will quickly become “smarter” from the inside out, and IoT devices often require the installation of separate networks, which puts pressure on ever-shrinking IT departments and increases installation and management costs.

5G enables the “real” Internet of Things

5G has long been considered the best option, or at least some expect it to be. This year, wireless carriers will look at the spectrum they have acquired through auctions or allocations and make technical decisions to maximize their investments.

These technology decisions will impact the ability to bring the benefits of 5G into the built environment to deliver applications such as the Internet of Things, where machine-to-machine communications enable billions of devices to send short bursts of information to other systems, enabling intelligent, efficient operations and new capabilities to bring buildings and smart cities to life.

Infrastructure that meets new demands

The need for adequate bandwidth to support new technologies and applications will become even more important this year as indoor wireless technologies drive periodic upgrades to back-end infrastructure. IT departments that are performing periodic upgrades through 2020 will deploy Category 6A cabling and spend time and money on new Gigabit switches to support the expected growth in data volumes and number of devices.

Fiber as an enabler

We will also see a trend towards deploying fiber for residential and business services as well as a push for wireless backhaul. The focus is on efficient deployment of fiber, and customers are looking for the most cost-effective way to serve a wide range of applications in the future.

One thing we are seeing is a continued push for fiber-based networks in Europe. We are seeing a lot of initiatives to drive more fiber networks, often passive optical networks (PONs), for residential and enterprise services and in preparation for 5G backhaul. As service providers look to widen the playing field, close the digital divide, and provide access to all customers, they need to use new technologies like XGS-PON and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to get the most out of existing networks.

Ultimately, with the introduction of new technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and the rollout of spectrum sharing, increased interest in private networks, and the continued rollout of 5G networks, many of which are powered by fiber, we are certain to see connectivity change the game in new environments, which will lead to better network experiences for consumers and businesses.