5G spectrum auction without action support is just hooliganism!

Translated from - Semiwiki, Roger C. Lanctot

"We don't need 10mbit/s, we need basic bandwidth and low latency, and we need coverage everywhere!" said Christoph Grote, senior vice president of electronics at BMW, at the recent elektronikKongress auto show in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Grote made this call against the backdrop of the rise of 5G technology. For Grote, 5G is not just about higher capacity or faster speeds - 5G is a new way of thinking about wireless.

Deutsche Telekom, a local wireless operator and BMW partner that won a 5G spectrum auction in June, has been describing the installation of new base stations across Germany.

Meanwhile, DT has chosen to use a unique webpage to highlight about 1,000 locations where it has been working for months or years to get approval from local municipalities or landowners to build towers and base stations where its network has holes. Months and years of delays raise serious questions about the value of the spectrum it has just won.

More importantly, these delays have raised questions about federal involvement. What is the value of spectrum if it can’t be used?

Wireless operators like DT pay billions for spectrum and then have to spend billions more to enhance wireless technology. Normally, the average citizen might not care that much. Billions of euros spent on spectrum are far from a daily concern for the average citizen.

But this time is different. Wireless networks built around 5G are expected to enable entirely new value propositions designed to transform factories and transportation networks, potentially saving thousands of lives and alleviating congestion, emissions and overall economic inefficiencies.

5G promises to enable self-driving cars, smart cities and greater efficiency in everything from factories to highways and city streets. But that won’t happen without more base stations and tiny cells.

BMW's Grote isn't the only one advocating for universal wireless coverage -- at least covering most major roads. Today's reality falls far short of that expectation or requirement.

In addition to DT, wireless carriers around the world have rolled out Swiss cheese-like coverage maps, riddled with holes that effectively represent the gap between the promise and reality of mobile technology in the 5G era.

As coverage becomes more widespread, requiring the deployment of hundreds of base stations and thousands of microcells, transport authorities will consider eliminating proprietary and incompatible roadside infrastructure. But to realize this promise, operators first need the support of the agency that auctions spectrum.

If public authorities fail to help operators deploy network equipment that supports both commercial applications and security and public service applications, perhaps spectrum should be made available for free. So can it be auctioned without guarantees?

The vast majority of new connections to existing wireless networks over the past five years have come from connected cars. Many 5G contracts have been awarded by multiple automakers. It is worth noting that most of the awards involve two or more connected devices - to enhance connectivity and for different vehicle-related applications.

A few years ago, the EU deemed it necessary to have embedded connectivity in cars. What value would those connections have if the network was not available in the event of an accident?

As the wireless and transportation industries prepare to take advantage of the new capabilities that LTE and 5G bring to transform lives and remove friction from systems that move people, it is time for stronger support from federal authorities. Therefore, auctioning spectrum and requiring embedded connectivity (in the EU) without any quality of service guarantees is irresponsible and dishonest. If federal authorities around the world don’t step in to help operators roll out 5G, then the billions of dollars they have illegally obtained should be returned.