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What is it that makes 5G cheaper than 4G? In the past, faster almost always mean a denser network of costly towers. Is that different for 5G?
by TomVDB 7y ago
What is it that makes 5G cheaper than 4G?
In the past, faster almost always mean a denser network of costly towers. Is that different for 5G?
- otoburb 7y agoThere are two ways to answer that question: 1) In order to stimulate (or meet, depending on which side of the supply-demand equation you represent) demand for 5G, wireless operators will most likely need to increase data caps (e.g. Canada) and keep the same prices, because 5G speeds are much faster than 4G. This means that "wireless access" denominated in "$/MB" will likely drop. 2) 5G equipment is not necessarily cheaper than 4G. Depending on the spectrum bands used, 5G may in fact be more expensive. A recent April 2019 Wapo article[1] kind of speaks to some of the issues with the US settling on 24-300Ghz vs. rest of the world settling on sub-6Ghz bands. But the answer from a wireless operator point of view is that 5G is probably much more expensive than 4G, not less. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/on-5g-the-united-states-is-building-betamax-while-china-builds-vhs/2019/04/18/1b9cd096-620c-11e9-bfad-36a7eb36cb60_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/on-5...