What’s responsible for Hong Kong lagging behind in the 5G mobile broadband race? What do you know - typhoons and extraordinary demand for satellite TV!
Hong Kong is a bit behind in the 5G tech race right now. According to the deputy director general for the Office of Communications Authority, 5G may not arrive in the region until next year. There are numerous significant relevant factors in HK, such as live satellite television and typhoons or bad weather. But even if these things affect the overall focus on 5G expansion, the technology is still being implemented, just not as fast as we would want. South Korea is the current world leader in internet speed, and HK will probably fall about six months behind it.
Chaucer Leung Chung-Yin is the deputy director general who longs to be in the forefront of the race for 5G. The thing to consider here is that things like technical difficulties can push such an adoption a lot further down the line than you would imagine. But in the end, it’s understandable here as there are many other things which are a lot more important.
We all know that Hong Kong is in a region where typhoons and bad weather are extremely common. This does take a toll on the communication systems, especially the wireless radio communications. In order for 5G to work, you need to have speeds that are 20 times faster than the regular standards. Around 4,300 megahertz of the spectrum will need to be freed up from a total of 3 frequency bands. The 3.5 GHz one is low frequency, but it can be used by satellite TV. Also, the process will involve the 26 and 28 GHz units. All of these will come in April 2019, although the 3.5 band implementation will take until April 2020.
Even the high-frequency band signal is not going to work very well due to the heavy rains. That’s why there’s a huge reliance on the 3.5 GHz band, as it’s a lot stronger in this regard. The reality is that if you do end up implementing 5G, you definitely want to have a continual signal. No one wants their TV to go blank due to weather problems.
Right now the best way to solve the issue is to commission a consultancy study for the region. That’s what the authorities did right now, to see if there’s efficient compatibility between the fixed-satellite service and public mobile services..
As you can imagine, such research is extremely challenging, but it shows the true extent of these problems, and it will hopefully shed some light on this entire process, according to Leung. Based on what he said, all four major mobile network providers in Hong Kong want to bid for the 3.5 GHz bands at the auction that will take place next year.
That doesn’t mean the government will necessarily have to launch a tender for the 26 and 28 GHz bands. Everything is open, and even if there are bound to be some challenges along the way, the results will most likely be great based on the implementation and the other value or factors that you need to consider. As a whole, Hong Kong is on the verge of 5G adoption, but it may take a while until it is completed!
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