Analyst: '5G is the Donald Trump of telecom'

In a new guest blog published by Wi-Fi Now, telecom analyst David Theodore articulates exactly why “5G” is currently all hype with little substance, a point he illustrates by comparing 5G to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“5G is nothing,” Theodore writes. “At best, it’s a set of superlatives in want of a plan.” Calling out buzzy words like “internet of things,” millimeter wave and densification, he wrote: “The phrases are so predictable that I’m launching a Mad Libs app so you can plug and chug them with alacrity, and give speeches about 5G all day long.”
Virtually every major global operator and equipment vendor is involved in some sort of related research, development or field trial. It’s largely touted as an air interface that will combine everything from NB-IoT to ultra-high-capacity applications like remote industrial control. Standardization bodies like 3GPP and ITU are projecting a 5G standard in the 2020 timeframe.
“I don’t know how we have a date without a plan,” Theodore writes. “For now, about the only thing we know about 5G is that 5 comes after 4.”
He makes the point that a very important development in telecom – high-capacity fixed wireless broadband – is being overshadowed by the promise of 5G.
“Wireless price/performance has recently reached the sweet spot where high-speed internet can be beamed into people’s homes, giving them faster, more economical internet, and that’s huge. Consumers will finally have a competitive choice to cable TV, and communities stranded by the side of the internet highway might finally get connected.”
Theodore founded Microwave Bypass, which was acquired by Motorola; he worked as a system integrator designing a network for trading between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. Based in Boston, he works as an analyst, speaker, technologist and writer.