No wonder the business world is buzzing about 5G. One report puts the potential revenue of the technology at a staggering US$1.5trillion between now and 2030. There is money up for grabs for traditional mobile network operators, as well as system integrators, cloud providers, app developers, infrastructure vendors and others from various industries. 5G could transform the business world, making our streets safer and bringing autonomous cars to life in the process.
There is just one problem for anyone looking to get in on the action: choosing where to put infrastructure for 5G is complex and costly. Network planners need to find the right locations based on return-on-investment for it all to be worth it. They need rich, precise location data to do this quickly and accurately without an extortionate spend. Using legacy planning tools from the 4G rollout will simply not do.
The ebook from HERE, Infrastructure Planning: Developing 5G networks in less time, outlines how to use location technology to maximize the opportunity of 5G.
Operators must firstly make an assessment of existing coverage and demand before choosing the right spot for 5G infrastructure. That includes understanding competitor coverage as well as your own. The table below explains how rich and precise location datasets can support this.
How location helps at the planning stage |
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The benefits of location technology do not stop there. The ebook also explains how planners can move forward once they have identified potential sites for 5G radio frequency equipment. While this usually requires time-intensive site surveys, location technology provides an answer that is a whole lot quicker.
5G has a lot of potential – but infrastructure location is key.
Planners can use HERE Geodata Models to create 3D digital twins with submeter geospatial and geometric precision for each area of interest. They show its buildings, land elevation, trees and street pole objects to help identify the best location of individual 5G cell sites. The high precision means plans do not have to be drawn up and amended as many times as they would using satellite imagery alone.
Digital twins can reduce the number of site visits needed.
HERE Geodata Models can be used to make the best of the 5G signal, minimizing anything that might block it such as buildings or tree foliage. The ebook also explains how the tool can be used for a variety of wireless broadband solutions, as well as how location intelligence can be used to automate processes and make better decisions generally.
The HERE platform gives access to a wealth of location data for developers to create, build and run their own 5G business applications. The ebook highlights the following aspects of the HERE platform:
Using the HERE platform |
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