{"id":16387,"date":"2020-01-08T10:56:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T17:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=16387"},"modified":"2020-01-08T18:15:44","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T01:15:44","slug":"what-att-verizon-and-t-mobile-dont-want-you-to-know-about-their-5g-deployments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=16387","title":{"rendered":"What AT&#038;T, Verizon and T-Mobile don\u2019t want you to know about their 5G deployments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>by Monica Alleven |\u00a0<time datetime=\"2020-01-02T15:51:37Z\">Jan 2, 2020 10:51am<\/time><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>For all the talk about 5G, operators still prefer to keep some things to themselves, such as exactly how many 5G cell sites they\u2019re deploying.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"content-embed-one-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"content-embed-one\" data-google-query-id=\"CI-dm6DJ9OYCFUYXrQYdQdkNZw\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/298443\/telecom\/wireless\/wireless_8__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/298443\/telecom\/wireless\/wireless_8\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_\/298443\/telecom\/wireless\/wireless_8\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-google-container-id=\"9\" data-load-complete=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sure, they\u2019ll make broad statements about their investments and intentions to eventually blanket the country with 5G. When it launched its 5G service at the end of 2019, T-Mobile said it had deployed more than 25,000 new towers and cell sites to provide 5G to 200 million points of presence (PoPs). Still, it\u2019s not disclosing exactly how many 5G cell sites it\u2019s deployed and their exact locations.<\/p>\n<p>CTIA, which lobbies for the big wireless carriers in the U.S., has estimated the industry may need more than 800,000 small cells by 2026. But you\u2019re not going to get the individual companies to readily reveal exactly how many 5G cell sites\u2014macro plus small cells and everything in between\u2014they\u2019re deploying.<\/p>\n<p>Queried by Fierce, spokespersons for AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon declined to provide exact figures on the number of 5G sites they\u2019ve deployed.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s nothing new in wireless. Wireless operators are notoriously competitive with that kind of information and have considered that proprietary information from the get-go.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking at Small Cells<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That said, last year analysts at the Wall Street investment firm MoffettNathanson, relying on public record requests, conducted extensive research into the number of small cells deployed in some of the nation\u2019s largest cities.<\/p>\n<p>Moffett Nathanson obtained detailed data for about 15,000 small cell locations across New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Sacramento and Cincinnati. While acknowledging that the data was imperfect and didn\u2019t completely reveal the inner workings of small cell networks, they concluded on a high level that while small cells were growing like weeds, the expectations for their long-term return potential probably should be tempered.<\/p>\n<p>They also found that Verizon had deployed 391 small cells across Sacramento as of last spring, of which at least 273 were being used for 5G, with the remainder appearing to be for 4G service only. They also noted the sheer magnitude of the challenge facing Verizon in scaling a 5G network using primarily millimeter wave spectrum\u2014the real question being not whether they can make the technology work, but whether the economics will pencil out for an acceptable return on capital.<\/p>\n<p>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercewireless.com\/5g\/mobile-experts-predicts-small-cell-market-to-hit-5-2b-by-2024\" rel=\"nofollow\">Mobile Experts predicts small cell market to hit $5.2B by 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, one company that is not quite a wireless player as of yet\u2014Dish Network\u2014has made some revelations about its greenfield 5G network plans. The settlement that Dish reached with the government would have T-Mobile and Sprint making available to Dish at least 20,000 cell sites;\u00a0Dish has committed to deploying a nationwide 5G network that covers 70% of the U.S. population by June 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, that\u2019s contingent on the court approving the T-Mobile\/Sprint merger, which is being tried in Judge Victor Marrero\u2019s court\u00a0at the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York. During the trial, it was discussed that Dish expects to build 10,000 towers by the end of 2022.<\/p>\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WaltLightShed\/status\/1207060475269304322\">\n<div class=\"SandboxRoot env-bp-350\" data-twitter-event-id=\"0\">\n<div id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"EmbeddedTweet EmbeddedTweet--cta js-clickToOpenTarget\" lang=\"en\" data-click-to-open-target=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WaltLightShed\/status\/1207060475269304322\" data-iframe-title=\"Twitter Tweet\" data-scribe=\"page:tweet\" data-twitter-event-id=\"3\">\n<div class=\"EmbeddedTweet-tweetContainer\">\n<div class=\"EmbeddedTweet-tweet\">\n<blockquote class=\"Tweet h-entry js-tweetIdInfo subject expanded\" cite=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WaltLightShed\/status\/1207060475269304322\" data-tweet-id=\"1207060475269304322\" data-scribe=\"section:subject\">\n<div class=\"Tweet-header\">\n<p><a class=\"TweetAuthor-avatar Identity-avatar u-linkBlend\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WaltLightShed\" data-scribe=\"element:user_link\" aria-label=\"Walter Piecyk (screen name: WaltLightShed)\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/668775163798884356\/kkNvM2Er_normal.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-scribe=\"element:avatar\" data-src-2x=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/668775163798884356\/kkNvM2Er_bigger.jpg\" data-src-1x=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/668775163798884356\/kkNvM2Er_normal.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"TweetAuthor js-inViewportScribingTarget\" data-scribe=\"component:author\">\n<div class=\"TweetAuthor-nameScreenNameContainer\">\n<p><span class=\"TweetAuthor-decoratedName\"><span class=\"TweetAuthor-name Identity-name customisable-highlight\" title=\"Walter Piecyk\" data-scribe=\"element:name\">Walter Piecyk<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"Icon Icon--verified \" title=\"Verified Account\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Verified Account\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"TweetAuthor-decoratedName\"><span class=\"TweetAuthor-verifiedBadge\" data-scribe=\"element:verified_badge\"><b class=\"u-hiddenVisually\">&#x2714;<\/b><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TweetAuthor-screenName Identity-screenName\" dir=\"ltr\" title=\"@WaltLightShed\" data-scribe=\"element:screen_name\">@WaltLightShed<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Tweet-brand\">\n<div class=\"Icon Icon--twitter \" title=\"View on Twitter\" role=\"presentation\" aria-label=\"View on Twitter\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Tweet-body e-entry-content\" data-scribe=\"component:tweet\">\n<div class=\"Tweet-inReplyTo\"><a class=\"u-linkBlend\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_\/status\/1207060031126036488\" data-scribe=\"element:in_reply_to_user_link\">Replying to @WaltLightShed<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"Tweet-target js-inViewportScribingTarget\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"Tweet-text e-entry-title\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ergen says internal estimate for 5G build will be $8 &#8211; $10 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Expects to build 10k towers by end of 2022. <a class=\"PrettyLink hashtag customisable\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24SBAC&amp;src=ctag\" rel=\"tag\" data-query-source=\"cashtag_click\" data-scribe=\"element:hashtag\"><span class=\"PrettyLink-prefix\">$<\/span><span class=\"PrettyLink-value\">SBAC<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"PrettyLink hashtag customisable\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24AMT&amp;src=ctag\" rel=\"tag\" data-query-source=\"cashtag_click\" data-scribe=\"element:hashtag\"><span class=\"PrettyLink-prefix\">$<\/span><span class=\"PrettyLink-value\">AMT<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"PrettyLink hashtag customisable\" dir=\"ltr\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24CCI&amp;src=ctag\" rel=\"tag\" data-query-source=\"cashtag_click\" data-scribe=\"element:hashtag\"><span class=\"PrettyLink-prefix\">$<\/span><span class=\"PrettyLink-value\">CCI<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"TweetInfo\">\n<div class=\"TweetInfo-like\">\n<div data-scribe=\"element:heart\">\n<div class=\"Icon Icon--heart \" title=\"Like\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Like\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"TweetInfo-heart\" title=\"Like\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/like?tweet_id=1207060475269304322\" data-scribe=\"component:actions\"><span class=\"TweetInfo-heartStat\" data-scribe=\"element:heart_count\">8<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"TweetInfo-timeGeo\"><a class=\"u-linkBlend u-url customisable-highlight long-permalink\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WaltLightShed\/status\/1207060475269304322\" data-datetime=\"2019-12-17T22:10:18+0000\" data-scribe=\"element:full_timestamp\"><time class=\"dt-updated\" title=\"Time posted: December 17, 2019 22:10:18 (UTC)\" datetime=\"2019-12-17T22:10:18+0000\">2:10 PM &#8211; Dec 17, 2019<\/time><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tweet-InformationCircle\" data-scribe=\"element:notice\"><a class=\"Icon Icon--informationCircleWhite js-inViewportScribingTarget\" title=\"Twitter Ads info and privacy\" href=\"https:\/\/support.twitter.com\/articles\/20175256\"><span class=\"u-hiddenVisually\">Twitter Ads info and privacy<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"CallToAction-icon\" data-scribe=\"element:profile_icon\">\n<div class=\"Icon Icon--profileCTA \" title=\"View profile on Twitter\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"View profile on Twitter\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"CallToAction-text\" data-scribe=\"element:profile_text\">See Walter Piecyk&#8217;s other Tweets<\/div>\n<div class=\"CallToAction-chevron\" data-scribe=\"element:cta_chevron\">\n<div class=\"Icon Icon--chevronRightCTA \" title=\"View on Twitter\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"View on Twitter\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"resize-sensor\">\n<div class=\"resize-sensor-expand\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"resize-sensor-shrink\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sprint, whose fate is being decided one way or another through that trial, did say that it has \u201cthousands\u201d of 5G Massive MIMO macro sites on air today across its nine 5G cities. \u201cSince launching commercial 5G service we have continued to light up new sites in our nine 5G markets\u2014in August we were at approximately 11 million people covered with Sprint 5G, and [at the] end of October we announced we\u2019d hit approximately 16 million people covered,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the spokesperson said Sprint currently doesn\u2019t use 5G small cells, but it\u2019s exploring the feasibility of potentially adding an underlay 5G small cell network to its 5G macro network.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that Sprint\u2019s 64T64R 5G Massive MIMO radios are deployed on its existing 4G macro cell sites, providing a nearly identical footprint for both 2.5 GHz LTE and 5G NR coverage. For Sprint, the size of Massive MIMO equipment is not a challenge at 2.5 GHz; the size of the equipment is dictated by physics of the spectrum band that&#8217;s being\u00a0used. Sprint CTO John Saw has said that contrary to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercewireless.com\/wireless\/inventor-massive-mimo-technology-didn-t-always-want-to-call-it\" rel=\"nofollow\">the name<\/a>, its Massive MIMO gear is not any bigger than existing equipment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercewireless.com\/wireless\/what-at-t-verizon-and-t-mobile-don-t-want-you-to-know-about-their-5g-deployments\">https:\/\/www.fiercewireless.com\/wireless\/what-at-t-verizon-and-t-mobile-don-t-want-you-to-know-about-their-5g-deployments<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Monica Alleven |\u00a0Jan 2, 2020 10:51am &nbsp; For all the talk about 5G, operators still prefer to keep some things to themselves, such as exactly how many 5G cell sites they\u2019re deploying. Sure, they\u2019ll make broad statements about their investments and intentions to eventually blanket the country with 5G. When it launched its 5G [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346,134,17,103,739,59,654,675],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-5g","category-government-bc","category-bc","category-canada","category-city","category-government","category-municipal","category-prime-minister"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16387"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16394,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16387\/revisions\/16394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}