The most profound requirements of fifth-generation (5G) technology implementations are the architecture design and the radio base station technology to capably run applications such as device-to-device, machine-to machine and internet of things at a reduced latency. Owing to these requirements, the implementation of 5G technology is very expensive to mobile network operators (MNO). In this study we modified the existing 4G network to form a distributed wireless network architecture (DWNA); the picocell and distributed antenna system were modified to support the enabling technology of 5G technology were a multi-edge computer (MEC), software-defined networking (SDN), massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO), ultra-dense network (UDN), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and device-to-device (D2D) communication at a reduced cost of ownership, improved coverage and capacity. We present a mathematical model for operational expenditure, capital expenditure and total cost of ownership (TCO) for the DWNA. A mathematical model for DWNA capacity and throughput was presented. Result shows that it is very economical for MNO to rent the space of the tower infrastructure from tower companies. The sensitivity analysis also shows a significant reduction in TCO for both the modified picocell and modified distributed antenna systems.
<p>Fifth-generation wireless (5G) mobile communication technology has been classified as a high wireless standard that is capable of handling internet of things, machine-to-machine, and device-to-device communication. Consequently, there is a need to meet the very sensitive requirements of 5G, which include high coverage density, high speed, high capacity and low end-to-end delay. Of crucial importance is 5G’s passive infrastructure. This paper therefore presents a techno-economic analysis of the current telecommunication infrastructure, as well as investigating and determining the suitable passive infrastructure for 5G technology deployment. The paper outlines all the passive infrastructure elements and proposes a mathematical model to calculate the capital expenditure, operational expenditure, total cost of investment (TCI) or total cost of ownership (TCO) and net present value (NPV). Experiments are performed using market prices from the national communication authority, the mobile network operators and the tower company of Ghana. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the variables that increase the TCO or TCI, NPV and return on investment, and to propose the most economical passive infrastructure architecture for easy implementation of 5G technology in Ghana and Africa.</p>
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