5G in the world: this is how the deployment of new networks progresses – La Tercera

According to the projections published in The Ericsson Mobility Report for this year 1.2 billion mobile subscriptions are expected for 5G networks worldwide, Much faster figure than its predecessors. fifth generation of mobile technologies Crossed the 1 billion user barrier in 3.5 yearsWhile 4G took four and 3G took twelve years.

Despite its rapid expansion internationally, the network’s deployment is still slow in Latin America, which has about 35 million customers. Chile has been one of the leading countries in the implementation of 5G networks since its arrival exactly one year ago, with coverage across the entire national territory and reached 545,323 daily connections in April 2022, thus reaching the same number of reaches in the first four months of the year as 4G achieved in 12 months.

Timeline of 5G in the world

According to a document from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), as of June this year, 5G networks were Available in about 80 countries, while another 70 are testing and developing their implementation.

South Korea was the first country with fifth generation mobile technologies After implementing this network in April 2019, followed by Switzerland. In May of the same year, the United Arab Emirates and Finland joined them, while in June it reached the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Germany.

In China, 5G has been available since November 2019 and in the United States since December of the same year. In early 2020, the technology was launched in Canada and Austria in January, Thailand in March and Belgium in April.

in Latin America, Uruguay was the first country to launch a commercial 5G network in a sparsely populated region in 2019 through state company ANTEL., Our country was one of them which implemented this technology with more coverage from December 2021. “Chile is One of the first countries in the region and one of the few in the world to deploy 5G networks across the region, This is the first time that mobile technology has been deployed simultaneously across the country, which implies different challenges for the three companies currently setting up their respective networks,” said Claudio Araya, Undersecretary of Telecommunications.

Along the same lines, the Civil Engineer in Electronics said that “we expect to complete the deployment of the entire network during 2023 and we will be able to receive 5G networks in different cities throughout Chile. Subtel will support the companies in their respective deployments as well as enforce its role as an inspector in case of non-compliance.”

coverage level

According to an ECLAC document titled “5G networks in Latin America: development and potential” published last month, currently All EU countries have commercial 5G service in at least part of the country, while China has nearly 1 million 5G base stations installed, eight times more than the European Union and 18 times more than the United States. South Korea, for its part, is the country with the largest number of 5G base stations per resident with more than 200,000, totaling around 25 million customers.

In Latin America, coverage is still limited, with Chile and Brazil leading the way. In this regard, Under Secretary Araya has confirmed In our country “the network has made 83% progress in its first phase And today it is already deployed in a large part of the country’s regional and provincial capitals. There are other cities where technological development is late, but still, this time they already have 5G networks, as is the case of Puerto Williams. We expect the network deployment to be complete across the country next year, and the advanced 4G social ideas are already live and benefiting the 366 locations where they will be installed.

In turn, Araya explains the difficulties that exist in our country for the implementation of this technology. “There are areas that, because of their geography, are always a relevant challenge for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure. It is also common for some deployment to have some resistance from local communities. has the support of Subtel and can gradually remove the bottlenecks”, he added.

benefits of being a pioneer

With regard to the benefits of Chile being a leader in the implementation of the fifth generation of mobile telephony, the Under Secretary explains that “there are benefits at the user level, such as improvements in speed that will allow better communication with people. For example, friends and family through video calls. But, undoubtedly, the main benefit of this network will be at the level of productive sectors and smart cities, 5G network will change our environment, make it more digital”.

“The new network will drive the development of the Internet of Things and communication between devices, promoting autonomous and instantaneous processes. This is how we may see autonomous vehicles, intelligent traffic lights, sensors on pedestrian crossings and intelligent lighting systems in the future. It would also allow the development of intelligent production processes, making them more efficient with sensors that would send data and allow certain parameters to be redefined, for example, in the use of water and electricity in some industries. in the fight against fire and pests, among others.” He added.

In turn, the civil engineer in electronics highlighted that “The advantage of having the network deployed across the region is that Chile will be ready to make the leap when these new technologies become widespread., It is also an incentive for our students and study centers to think and propose applications, programs, etc., that allow to improve both the quality of life of users and various industrial processes.

When asked about plans to increase the coverage of 5G networks in Chile, Araya assured that “today we are in the first phase of the project and the deployment progress is 83%. That is, at the end of the phases, almost the entire country will be likely to be connected to 5G network. Added to this, other projects that are being developed, such as fiber optics, also allow us to expand that coverage with the installation of new antennas. With Subtel, we are analyzing various options to reach all the corners of the country where people live with the best technology and in the process we are evaluating to launch another 5G competition.