SMBs Weigh 5G Impact as Verizon, AWS Launch New Use Cases

… approach to 5G, particularly with concern to spectrum. T-Mobile, for example, uses low-band spectrum, which does not reach the speeds of AT&T and Verizon’s mmWave (high band) spectrum. However, T-Mobile’s low band ensures a wider reaching network that penetrates buildings better than mmWave. AT&T also offers a low-band 5G network.

It remains to be seen how carriers will incorporate midband spectrum into their 5G networks. T-Mobile appears to have an upper hand due to its purchase of Sprint, which owned the most midband spectrum. The FCC recently announced the results of an auction, which dished out highly coveted mid-band spectrum. Verizon (going under the name “Cellco Partnership”) took home more of the 5,684 licenses than any other company.

Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) garnered the most spectrum licenses in the FCC’s latest auction. (Source: FCC)

Schoolar said each carrier still needs to fill out gaps in their network  to fully realize the benefits of 5G.

“You’re still a few years away from getting a really well built-out 5G network that can differentiate from 4G LTE,” Schoolar said.

Customer Impact

However, Schoolar noted that many 5G use cases already exists. He pointed to large manufacturing firms like Corning that have benefited, as well as maritime ports, large mining areas and hospitals. He agreed with vendors like AT&T, which have argued that 5G differs from 4G LTE in how it impacts business customers more than consumers.

Moreover, Schoolar said enterprise are feeling most of the early impact.

“A lot of what you’re seeing is geared toward not the small and midsize businesses but the enterprise ones, because a lot of these early services that I see are very bespoke, customized solutions,” Schoolar said. “That means the customer has to be spending a lot of money to justify it. It’s not really aimed at the insurance office in the strip mall or the dentist office or things of that nature.”

Consider the mobile operators that use mmWave spectrum. Schoolar said these 5G providers are unlikely to cover an entire city with a mmWave network. However, they may deploy multiple radios to cover a region of the city that contains multiple large customers. The carriers will prioritize their 5G investment around areas where customers have use cases that will justify the expenditures.

Nevertheless, the technology make work itself down-market to the smaller companies as ecosystems mature, Schoolar said. The carriers have recently rolled out business-focused 5G offerings. For example, T-Mobile last month announced multiple work-from-anywhere offerings that use 5G connections. In addition, AT&T announced new 5G-enabled fixed wireless routers that partners can sell.