The Potential Short- and Long-Term Disruptions and Transformative Impacts of 5G and Beyond Wireless Networks: Lessons Learnt From the Development of a 5G Testbed Environment

Abstract

The capacity and coverage requirements for 5G and beyond wireless connectivity will be significantly different from the predecessor networks. To meet these requirements, the anticipated deployment cost in the UK is predicted to be in between £30bn-£50bn, whereas the current annual capital expenditure (CapEX) of the mobile network operators (MNOs) is £2.5bn. This prospect has vastly impacted and has become one of the major delaying factors for building the 5G physical infrastructure, whereas other areas of 5G developments are progressing at their speeds. Due to the expensive and complicated nature of the physical network infrastructure and spectrum, the second-tier operators, widely known as mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), are entirely dependent on the MNOs. In this paper, an extensive study is conducted to explore the possibilities of reducing the 5G deployment cost and developing business models. This study suggests that the use of existing public infrastructure (e.g., streetlights, telephone poles, etc.) has a great potential to contribute to a reduction of about 40% to 60% anticipated cost for the 5G network. This paper also reviews the recent Ofcom initiatives to release location-based licenses of the 5G-compatible radio spectrum at a nominal cost. Our study suggests that simplification of infrastructure and spectrum will encourage the exponential growth of scenario-specific cellular networks and will potentially disrupt the current business models of telecommunication business stakeholders -specifically MNOs and TowerCos. These scenario-specific networks are expected to be: a) private networks, b) community networks, and c) microoperators. Furthermore, due to the feasibility of dense device connectivity with 5G, the resolution of traditional and nontraditional data availability will increase significantly. This will encourage extensive data harvesting as a business opportunity and function within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as within large social networks. Consequently, the rise of new infrastructures and spectrum stakeholders is anticipated. This will fuel the development of a 5G data exchange ecosystem where data transactions are deemed to be high-value business commodities. The privacy and security of such data, as well as definitions of the associated revenue models and ownership, are challenging areas -and these have yet to emerge and mature fully. In this direction, this paper proposes the development of a unified data hub with layered structured privacy and security along with blockchain and encrypted off-chain based ownership/royalty

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