Will 5G Be Cost Effective For The Cell Industry?

By Catherine J. Frompovich

Have consumers ever thought what faster 5G cell service actually could wind up doing and/or costing?

There’s a lot of talk about 5G being the next generation of cell provider service, but analysts at UBS think 5G may be too expensive!

Too expensive!  Yes, too expensive is what UBS put forth in a note to investors.  UBS analyst Richard Dineen claims:

We modelled how many 5G sites would be required to cover the NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), an area of ~8,300sq/mi with >20m population (6% of US total). Using FCC tower data, terrain, street and vertical elevation models, our analysis suggests over 600,000 5G cells (each at 100m radius) would be required for contiguous 5G coverage – more than a 500-fold increase from today’s 3G/4G cell footprint. Clearly this would not make economic sense for operators, adding conviction to our view that 5G at mmW frequencies could only be deployed as a WiFi-like “hotzone” service in densely-populated, wealthy areas. [1]

The above model says more than most folks may realize what will need to be implemented in order to have faster Wi-Fi, etc.  It would require an investment in building 500 times more cell towers than now exist to transmit 3G/4G technology.  And current towers dot the landscape like mushrooms after a spring rain.

Can you imagine the cost(s) to construct 600,000 new cell towers with each having only a 100 m (meter or 300 foot) radius, when the average cell tower cost is between $200,000 and $250,000?  And those 600,000 towers would take care of providing 5G cell services to only New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania!  What about the rest of the country?  Frankly, one has to question how much that type of service would cost subscribers monthly.  Could only the rich afford 5G service?

Now here’s what seems to be a ‘prickly burr’ in the 5G scenario, in my opinion.

The technology uses millimeter waves that simply don’t travel far enough, and are too easily disrupted, to make sense for a large-scale cell phone network.

The 5G technology does work. It promises speeds that are much faster than the current 4G systems allow, but only if you can get that signal to reach between a cell tower and a phone. [1] [CJF emphasis]

Will a solution to the above ‘problem’ be to place 5G ‘thimble’ cell towers on everyone’s front porch or on a special pole planted outside front doors?

However, I think the cell/microwave industry may be biting off more than they can chew and swallow, i.e., can 5G make them go broke?  Isn’t that something for them to think about, especially if only the rich can afford 5G?

References:

[1] http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/5g-cell-phone-service-only-makes-sense-for-the-wealthy-2017-7-1002192329

Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.

Catherine’s latest book, published October 4, 2013, is Vaccination Voodoo, What YOU Don’t Know About Vaccines, available on Amazon.com.

Her 2012 book A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.

Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008)

Catherine’s NEW book: Eat To Beat Disease, Foods Medicinal Qualities ©2016 Catherine J Frompovich is now available