We use Smartphones to carry out all kinds of daily tasks, at work and in our personal life. The demand for mobile traffic increases year after year making the operators struggle to satisfy this demand.
The situation will force the operators to double their capacity every two or three years in the near future.
In order to cope with this difficult situation and solve the problem, mmWave is a good alternative for the next few years.
Due to the high demand for mobile traffic, operators are running out of capacity to cover it, since it is very expensive to increase it below 6 GHz. To face this problem, mmWave technology is presented as one of the best solutions. But, what is mmWave? And, what are its strengths and weaknesses?
What is mmWave
mmWave or millimeter wave networks is a technology that uses very high frequencies (between 24 – 300 GHz) achieving transfer speeds of 10 GB per second. The wavelength of these high frequencies is shorter, so their range is more limited than frequencies below 6 GHz, reaching only 200 meters.
mmWave advantages
- Provide increased performance (large capacity with speeds up to 10GBps).
- Low latency.
- Closer integration across multiple wireless technologies (4G, Wi-Fi, sub 6GHz or 5G).
- Can handle a greater number of connections without significant speed drops.
mmWave disadvantages
- They have a smaller range than the low and medium band frequencies, reaching just 200 meters.
- These types of frequencies are not able to pass through walls.
How mmWave can help operators increase their capacity
Operators have to “play” with both low-band and high-band options in order to meet the high demand for mobile traffic. One gives you more capacity, but only provides coverage in limited spaces, while the other allows you to go further, but does not give you the ability to serve many users.
The best solution for operators is to combine both technologies in order to cope with the growing existing demand.
The mmWave technology will allow the user experience to remain optimal where there are large concentrations of users since they will be forced to share the radio electric spectrum.
The use of high frequency is the best solution so that operators can double their mobile traffic capacity to meet the incessant demand.
