FINAL WORD
Mile networks include Centennial, Colorado and Howard County,
Maryland to name just a few.
network convergence is primarily driven by the development
of enabling technologies, user demand and service providers’
capabilities. Large incumbent service providers have both wireline
and wireless operations, so converging onto a single network and
maximising asset utilisation makes excellent business sense and will
be a push for 2019.
Real-life examples have occurred where a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)
network was built and several months later, the same construction
crew dug up the same street to lay fibre for a cell site, which is
wasteful and disruptive. Network convergence would mean one
build-out that could be used for multiple service delivery platforms
including FTTH (Figure 1).
That said, most cities will incorporate different providers’ networks
in their overall infrastructure. How should they tie all these networks
together? The first step is to put all this fibre from different vendors in
the same trench and in the same conduit.
In some cases, cities in North America are funding or partnering with
local power companies to build out the ‘Middle Mile’ of the fibre
network (Figure 1)
In many other cases, cities are also building the ‘Last Mile’ that
connects customers, often in partnership with local municipal electric
companies. Ammon, Idaho; Hudson Oaks, Texas; and Fairlawn,
Ohio; and are deploying last mile connectivity on their own, while
Chattanooga, Tennessee; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Longmont, Colorado
are partnering with local electric utilities to reach end customers.
Some networks need to be private (public safety, for example), but
cities can at least ensure that all networks use the same conduit and
perhaps even the same fibre bundle. After all, when the US Interstate
Highway system was built, there weren’t separate roads for trucks,
cars and motorcycles – a shared infrastructure was built. It makes
sense to do the same with fibre networks.
Applications drive the need for more bandwidth: parking, smart
meters, public safety (surveillance cameras), traffic management,
5G small cell densification, waste management, and coordination of
departments for emergency services are just a few examples.
It’s easy to see that a single converged network would be the most
cost-effective way to support these applications. When a city builds
out a fibre network to its light poles, for example, those poles can
support smart lighting, surveillance cameras and small cells for 5G
network densification.
According to GSMA (Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association), 5G will
account for 16% of total connections in MENA markets by 2025.
In fact, the advent of 5G networks over the next couple of years is
a major driver for fibre deployments. 5G will not only bring faster
speeds, but also much denser small cell deployments due to distance
limitations with millimeter wave technology and ultra-low latency
applications at the edge.
In many cases, US cities are building the ‘Last Mile’ that connects
customers, often in partnership with local municipal electric companies.
We see similar trends internationally in Stockholm (Stokab),
Netherlands (Reggefibre, Citynet Amsterdam) and Singapore
(OpenNet) to just name a few. Carriers are also building their
own Last-Mile networks, and 5G access will play an increasing role
in delivering this connectivity, either through the densification
of mobile networks or deployment of new fixed access solutions.
Verizon has already launched 5G wireless access trials in several
cities in 2018.
Network convergence
In the past, service providers built separate wireless and wireline
networks. Wireless infrastructure is becoming more centralised, so
it makes more sense to converge all the wireless backhaul traffic
onto the same fibre used by wireline services. The process of fibre
76
INTELLIGENTCIO
By providing the pole infrastructure and facilitating permitting, a
city can speed the build-out of fibre-to-the-pole networks by utility
companies or service providers.
By meeting these expectations, 5G will foster new applications. Large
companies like Netflix and Uber were built because fibre and 4G
mobile wireless infrastructure were there to support their services.
With its increases in bandwidth and coverage ubiquity, 5G will drive
similar innovations, but it will rely on fibre for transport to and from
the rest of the city’s network.
Cities are implementing Smart City applications because they improve
efficiency, reduce costs, generate new sources of revenue, and most
importantly, improve the lives of their citizens.
By planning ahead, using creative funding approaches, and converging
networks around citywide fibre rollouts, cities will move forward on the
path to becoming smarter in 2019. n
www.intelligentcio.com