Appendix DParting Thoughts and Call to Action
The Future of Cellular and Wi-Fi
Cellular 5G is bringing a new era of connectivity and new opportunity, but Wi-Fi and cellular will continue to be complementary, not competing, technologies.
This section focuses on these two topics and provides some context and comparison for organizations making decisions about cellular augmentation moving forward:
- Cellular Carrier Use of Unlicensed Spectrum
- Cellular Neutral Host Networks
Cellular Carrier Use of Unlicensed Spectrum
One of the questions I'm often asked is: “Will LAA interfere with Wi-Fi?” The short answer is: YES.
For years, mobile network operators (MNOs, aka cellular carriers) have been seeking ways to augment their connectivity and capacity for remote and high-density cellular areas. They do this by using portions of unlicensed spectrum (the same bands we use for Wi-Fi).
Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) is one technology designed for this need. LAA was introduced in 4G/LTE and approved by the FCC in the U.S. in 2016. It uses spectrum in the unlicensed 5 GHz band which does, in fact, overlap with Wi-Fi. LAA uses cellular (LTE) signaling (not Wi-Fi). Although in most markets (including the U.S., India, and South Korea) LAA uses a Listen Before Talk (LBT) mechanism to attempt to avoid interfering with Wi-Fi, if there is no free airtime, LAA will “share one of the occupied channels equally and fairly with Wi-Fi.”
Now, I don't know who gets to define what “equally and fairly” looks ...