IoT is the Top Use Case for 5G

At the end of August, IHS revealed some highlights from its "5G Strategies Global Service Provider Survey":

• 54% of respondents see 5G as evolutionary, that is, an extension of LTE, LTE-Advanced* and LTE-Advanced Pro**
• 75% of respondents think 5G should be codependent with LTE and LTE-Advanced
• 79% of operator respondents rated IoT as the top use case for 5G
• The ongoing 5G race is leading to a marketing battle around what 5G truly is, similar to what happened with 4G vs. LTE in 2010
• Ultra-low latency is the survey participants’ main 5G upgrade driver and toughest technology challenge
• Industry will drive 5G and thus 5G networks should be designed to enable vast IoT connectivity

Even if IoT may be the top use case for 5G, one of the first use cases for commercial 5G deployments is likely to be fixed wireless broadband connectivity. This is because it can be done cost effectively and thus operators are expected to replace plans for fiber-to-the-home broadband services with the use of 5G to enable connectivity from a central location to a building or neighborhood.

Verizon has stated that they think 5G initially as wireless fiber that allows the last mile to be a virtual connection, dramatically changing their cost structure. They are looking at models showing deployments at roughly half of the cost of current fiber-based Fios (Verizon’s Fiber Optic Service) deployments to the home.

*The main LTE-Advanced features include carrier aggregation, higher-order MIMO, relay node and heterogeneous networks, enhanced inter-cell interference coordination, and coordinated multipoint (CoMP).

**The main new features of LTE-Advanced Pro include LTE-WiFi Aggregation (LWA), Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), Device-to-Device (D2D), Massive Carrier Aggregation (CA), Dual Connectivity (DC), Machine Type Communication (MTC) enhancements, 3D/Full Dimension MIMO, and multi-RAT joint coordination.