Ten Popular Blogs from 2018
From Private LTE to autonomous vehicles, a variety of wireless infrastructure topics caught your interest this year. WIA tapped into the knowledge and experience of our member companies to bring you blog content that provides information designed to help you be successful in the industry. Following is a list of the top 10 most read blogs of 2018 from WIA’s blog:
1. Executive Q&A: Boingo’s Dr. Derek Peterson on 5G and Hyper-densification
As the wireless industry moves closer and closer to 5G, the landscape of infrastructure and wireless networks is changing. The growing appetite for mobile data is necessitating deployment of smaller cells that address not only coverage but also capacity. Small cells, distributed antenna systems and Wi-Fi are among the solutions that address this need for network densification. Boingo’s Dr. Derek Peterson shared his thoughts on this trend.
2. Executive Q&A: ExteNet’s Greg Spraetz Talks About the Importance of In-Building Wireless Coverage
Thanks to excellent macro cellular network coverage, consumers and enterprises have become accustomed to having quality wireless connections everywhere they need them. But as our reliance on wireless increases, the need to deliver coverage in all kinds of in-building environments is becoming more important. The focus on indoor wireless coverage has begun to shift from the largest venues to the “middleprise” where the responsibility for deploying indoor networks frequently shifts to building owners and neutral-host providers. ExteNet’s Greg Spraetz shared his thoughts on the indoor wireless environment.
3. AT&T: Ten predictions for the next 25 years
Twenty-five years ago, AT&T created a marketing campaign based on predictions about how communications technology would change our lives. It turns out AT&T was pretty good at making predictions. In 1993, before cellular phones were mainstream, and smartphones put the world at our fingertips, AT&T’s “You Will” marketing campaign envisioned then-revolutionary concepts like streaming movies, wristwatches with integrated phones, and the ability to connect with loved ones wirelessly from the furthest reaches of the earth. To commemorate the success of its prognostications, AT&T decided to take another look into its crystal ball to see how communications technology might continue to change our lives for the next quarter century.
4. Focus on private LTE networks sharpens with emergence of CBRS, MulteFire options
The business case for private LTE networks is developing for enterprises as well as rural carriers and wireless internet service providers. Enterprises in several large industries, from health care to manufacturing and transportation hubs, often want to control their own wireless networks to ensure high levels of security and low latency for their mission-critical operations. With new spectrum options and innovative protocols becoming available, enterprises can now build their own private LTE networks, provision client devices and create new services.
5. DAS Solutions, Smart City Applications Among Products Announced at MWC
The wireless industry converged in Barcelona this week for Mobile World Congress 2018, where the latest and greatest phones, gadgets, solutions and applications made their debut. Among the buzz at the conference that annually draws more than 100,000 attendees were announcements from vendors and infrastructure companies about DAS solutions, virtualization and smart city applications.
6. Executive Exclusive: ADRF’s Julie Song on 5G, Smart Cities and Private LTE
The entire wireless ecosystem, as well as the economy as a whole, is poised to benefit from the deployment of 5G technology. Several challenges, however, must be overcome before the benefits are seen. The emergence of CBRS as a potential private LTE network solution along with a groundswell of momentum around smart cities applications will create additional opportunities and challenges for the wireless infrastructure industry. Julie Song, President of Advanced RF Technologies Inc. (ADRF), sat down with WIA to discuss these revolutionary changes impacting the wireless infrastructure industry. ADRF is an original equipment manufacturer of in-building wireless solutions with 19 years of industry experience.
7. Mobile Networks Ready for Record Data Usage at Super Bowl LII
When the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles take the field Feb. 4 for Super Bowl LII, wireless infrastructure will also be in the spotlight as nearly 70,000 fans inside U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and an expected 1 million visitors expected to converge in the area use their phones to access information and share their experience with selfies, live streams and social media posts. The nation’s wireless carriers have been busy preparing their networks with macrocellular, small cell and DAS upgrades and deployments to create a winning experience for fans and visitors gathering for the big game.
8. Hurricane Season is Here: Are You Ready?
Telecom managers often face the dilemma of whether to invest more money to build towers that can withstand a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, or spend substantially less money and build for a more “common” tower that can withstand a Category 2 or 3 hurricane. In fact, a tower built for a Category 5 can be about 50 percent heavier (hence substantially more expensive) than a tower built to the same specifications and weight load, but for a Category 2 wind speed. Risk management is not easy and it comes at a cost: it’s either money (for sure and now) or damage (maybe and in the future).
9. Wireless Infrastructure Will Drive Autonomous Vehicle Market
Ford is one of many companies pursuing the opportunities in the autonomous vehicle market. GM has promised an autonomous car without steering wheel or pedals by 2019, and Tesla plans to send one of its autonomous vehicles on a cross-country test trip sometime this year. Google began live passenger testing of its Waymo autonomous vehicles in Arizona last year. Other companies working on autonomous vehicle technology include Daimler-Bosch, Volkswagen, BMW and Aptiv. These technologies will require reliable infrastructure to work.
10. Wireless Infrastructure Evolves as Industry Moves Toward 5G
Macro cells have been the stable backbone of the wireless industry for decades, and they will continue to provide the essential backbone for wireless connectivity as networks evolve to support increased data consumption and the Internet of things. Fifth-generation technology will introduce a paradigm shift in the wireless industry, connecting billions of people and billions of things with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity and speed.
Do you have an idea for a blog? Contact Kristen Beckman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..