Small Carriers Still Figuring Out What 5G Will Look Like in Rural America

Initial 5G deployments are in millimeter-wave bands, concentrated in densely populated areas. Major carriers have made clear they plan to deploy 5G in low-, mid- and high-band spectrum. Midband, especially the future of the C band, was a big topic, especially since CCA is part of a coalition pressing an alternative plan for the band (see 1909180061 and 1909200054).

“I’m very excited about 5G for rural America,” Commissioner Brendan Carr said in an interview. “It underscores the wisdom of our decision at the FCC to focus on all three spectrum” ranges, Carr said: “You’re going to see high-band small cells on main streets across the country. You’re going to see 5G pushed down through low spectrum bands. That’s going to be a real big improvement over low-band 4G.” Smaller and rural carriers are “all in on making this transition and it’s just up to us to do the best we can to make sure that we have a modernized infrastructure approach,” he said. “Regulatory reforms matter. Economics matter. … The evidence shows that we are making it easier to build out.” Providers are “excited about 4G builds, 5G builds, in their own hometowns,” he said.

“Competitive carriers want, and some are well on their way to, providing 5G to their customers,” emailed CCA President Steve Berry. “It is imperative that carriers have a pathway to these next generation technologies to meet consumers’ needs and demands and effectively compete in the marketplace,” he said: “5G was a big focus at our Annual Convention … keeping the topic at the forefront of everyone’s minds and many discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities ahead to get to the ‘next G.’ All Americans, including those in rural areas, should be able to access 5G technologies, and there may be 5G use cases that are particularly well suited to rural America including telehealth, education, and precision agriculture.”

“The little guys really have played a key role in just getting LTE out to more people in more communities and more locations,” said Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, director at Strategy Analytics. “When we think about 5G and 5G quality and getting it out to more people, that’s where they’re really going to play a key role.” Smaller carriers will also be “important roaming partners” for the bigger wireless providers, she said. As 5G is deployed, smaller carriers will “have to think about what do they need to deliver,” de Grimaldo told us.

Rural Differences

Rural areas look different, many agreed.

Mining businesses, tourist attractions and others are among users wanting broadband, including over wireless spectrum. Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is important, de Grimaldo said. “Getting voice away from circuit-switched voice” is “an important component of being ready to do 5G.” There are “a lot of steps to be 5G ready and you don’t have to deploy 5G everywhere -- you can do hot spots and build it as the demand builds,” she said.

“There are particular densities of rural communities that when fiber is nearby, millimeter is a viable option,” said Craig Sparks, C Spire chief innovation officer. That’s a small part of rural markets, “but for the 5 percent of rural communities that have the right density and the right fiber nearby, millimeter-wave is a great solution, counterintuitively,” Sparks told us. He said 5G won’t solve every problem: “You could launch a 600 MHz 5G carrier, but it’s going to have the same capacity and performance as a 700 MHz 4G system.”

The rural situation is complicated, said Peter Rysavy, president of Rysavy Research. “5G is just now rolling out and in existing cellular bands with current size channels” and “only offers a small advantage in performance,” he said: “But in combination with millimeter-wave for denser areas, or mid-band … in combination with larger radio channels, 5G delivers a compelling broadband solution. Unfortunately, C-band is not yet available, although the FCC has made unlocking it a priority.”

“The building blocks for 5G are being laid through LTE,” which is still being deployed by rural carriers, said Carri Bennet, counsel to the Rural Wireless Association. “They have made great strides and are working hard to get VoLTE deployed, but they need to have commercially viable VoLTE roaming agreements with the nationwide carriers. Those agreements are not in place nor has the technical coordination and support to implement VoLTE roaming occurred. While VoLTE is not 5G, it is needed to advance the existing networks to 5G or rural America will be left behind.” Bennet said rural carriers will need high-band spectrum for some of their customers. “As we move to artificial intelligence and robotics for precision agriculture, mining and extracting natural resources like oil and gas, rural carriers will need to have access to millimeter band spectrum for short distances,” she said.

Rural markets “tend to have plenty of spectrum to go around, and don’t necessarily need the massive capacity or super dense IoT support that might drive investment in heavily populated areas,” said Doug Brake, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy. “Operating expenses are supposed to be lower with 5G, but LTE still has a lot of life in it, especially for basic connectivity that provides so much value.”

It's "very early days” for 5G, said Tom Struble, R Street technology policy manager. Sprint will have an advantage as it launches fifth-generation in mid-band spectrum using the 2.5 GHz band, and that will accrue to T-Mobile if the carriers are allowed to combine, he said. "That's the area I expect small and rural carriers will be watching most closely in the coming months,” he said: “In the long term, though, it may not matter much. All of the initial 5G deployments are non-stand-alone, meaning they run on top of an LTE backbone that is typically low-band spectrum. … Eventually, everything will transition to 5G, so low-band spectrum will once again become the most vital asset for rural carriers.”