Monday Musings: Take a Step Back to see the Growth! “Why do we need bigger Mobile Phone Masts?” Let’s try and answer this question. My first phone was GSM which I used for voice only. At around 200KB per minute and only 30 minutes per month, I experienced my first ‘hockey-stick’ – which became an S-curve – as mobile phone subscriptions went from 4 Million in 1994 to over 40 Million by 2000 and largely plateaued by 2010 at 75 Million. So network demand had it’s first 2 orders of magnitude of growth by the time 3G Smartphones came along. By the time 4G Smartphones took over network demand had grown another 200-fold. Now arguably – with only around 12X growth since then – we’re into the S-Curve phase now, but that’s a cumulative growth of 50000X traffic in 30 years! In fact, as we’re also starting to see Smart Devices and Fixed Wireless Access demand rise, we’re handling a larger increase still. We’ve gone from about 110MHz of spectrum used, to around 1100MHz and 10X and about double the number of sites (~25K to ~55K), which puts into context how much more efficient we have become. Some of that efficiency comes from increasing from 2 antenna ports per sector in 1994 to 20 ports+ (and Massive MIMO) in 2024 meaning more and much bigger antennas. We’re sharing more sites between 2 operators, which on monopole sites frequently means antennas stacked on top of one another increasing heights by 3M. So next time someone asks why we need so many sites, and why do they have to be so big, perhaps we should be less defensive and prouder as an industry to meet such a massive increase in demand with such a modest increase in infrastructure. I’d also like to see (non-tech) journalists referring to this growth when reporting on Prior Notifications and other Mobile Site Planning instruments. Perhaps this would elicit a more favourable understanding from the public! #Infrastructure #EveryDaysaSchoolDay #Mobile 🤳🏼 #Telecommunications #ChangeIsTheOnlyConstant Previous Post: https://lnkd.in/ededbWkR
Paul Rhodes
2w
Here's the Infrastructure Equivalent. The initial cabinet supported only low-capacity 2/2/2 2G. It was then internally re-fitted to support 2G/3G with much higher density RBS6000 RF and Baseband (my design) feeding into the existing antennas. Later it was swapped to Huawei 2G/3G/4G and an inexplicable patchy blue pole added to green and grey cabinets. Eventually a replacement site was built in parallel on the opposite side of the road, and the Huawei site decommissioned and removed.
Paul Rhodes
2w
I understand your point, Gregory, however the 50% of sites covering the rural areas which you mention have still yet to be upgraded to 5G, the 50% of sites covering the area which small cells operate in have largely been covered. Realistically we have to use small cell networks to densify ahead of 6G since we will not be able to repeat the 5G mMiMO metro rollout - which massively boosted capacity - for 6G. I will cover this in future posts.
David Swift
2w
As I see it here are 5 reasons mobile phones are getting bigger: 1.Content Consumption: Larger screens enhance the experience of watching videos, playing games, and browsing the web. 2. Productivity: Bigger screens facilitate multitasking and improve productivity for tasks like email, document editing, and video conferencing. 3, Camera and Battery: More space allows for better camera systems and larger batteries, improving photo quality and battery life. 4. User Preferences: Consumer demand trends show a preference for larger displays. 5. Technological Advances: Thinner bezels and foldable screen technology make larger screens more manageable and portable.
There is one point in common between all those devices: once you're with an operator, you're tied to their network, even when its quality drops. The true "revolution" is the ability to automatically switch from one network to another, based on quality criteria. We at Lyfo pride ourselves of enabling such paradigm change.
Paul Rhodes I must disagree. This is the traditional (old fashioned) approach, where hardware is the determining factor. Therefore you need bigger masts. With the new small cell technology and the new approach where software is the defining factor, we do not need bigger phone masts. In fact, we may only need mast in remote areas, where no people live (just incase someone is in the middle of nowhere) and when small cells are combined with new satellite technology, we don't need phone masts at all.
That reminds me I've been meaning to post a pic of my collection since we have a new phone ...
Telco 101
2w
Great post! Thanks for sharing! It's incredible to see how much our mobile network infrastructure has evolved over the years. The jump from early GSM to today’s advanced 4G and 5G networks is mind-blowing. Considering the rise of smart devices and fixed wireless access, the demand will only keep growing. It’s impressive how the industry has managed such an increase with relatively modest infrastructure changes. How do you see the role of emerging technologies like AI and IoT impacting network growth and efficiency in the future? And what can we do to ensure public understanding and support for these advancements? #Telco101 #NetworkEvolution #MobileTech #5G #Innovation
If you really want to get 5G advantages, you really do need loads of new towers and small cell sizes. Not ideal for non- urban areas, where 4G is still a good option.
I had a Sony Ericsson Pi1 on Vodacom South Africa sim card from 2008-2009.
Builder of Open vRAN, Small Cell and EdgeAI Networks
2wUK Mobile subscriptions S-Curve (without B2B) for reference.