Small Cell Forum’s (SCF) 5G mmWave whitepaper provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of 5G mmWave small cells, examining both the current state of deployments and the promising avenues for future development.

This latest paper from SCF represents a proactive strategy aimed at realising a practical, commercially viable, and sustainable approach to infrastructure development. It is the output of SCF members including Picocom (Work item lead – Vicky Messer, VP Product Marketing, Picocom), Qualcomm, Crown Castle, iCana, Reliance Jio, Dense Air, BT Wholesale, TMYTEK and Microamp Solutions.

The paper presents a comprehensive market analysis and demonstrates the growing maturity and viability of the technology, as well as identifying the interplay between mobile operators, enterprise network deployers and users. Key highlights include:

• Technology: how ongoing R&D activities mean mmWave is now ready to transition into the telecoms mainstream. Including an explanation of architectures and components.

• Applications: the global market opportunity over the next five years, with early demand coming from fixed wireless access deployments, plus, the introduction of 5G mmW non-terrestrial networks (NTN).

• Use cases: The paper includes a selection of case studies, showing mmWave is starting to be better understood and has been exemplified in trials and early commercial deployments, indicating the growing maturity and viability of the technology.

• Sustainable operating practices: how the radio propagation characteristics of mmWave allows for more efficient use of energy and more sustainable network operations.

Read the full whitepaper launch news here.