To expedite the roll out of 5G, telecom operators in the country will leverage street furniture such as poles, advertisement hoardings and bus shelters for deploying low power base stations called ‘Small Cells’ that will help bring the network closer to the consumers.
“Small Cells are needed for deploying 5G as opposed to earlier generations such as 4G, because of the frequency. The higher the frequency, the lower the wavelength, which means that the distance they travel is less,” S.P. Kochhar, Director General at Cellular Operators Association of India, said.
He added that for higher frequencies in the range of 3.3-3.6 GHz, which are expected to be used for offering 5G services, the waves will travel around 100-150 metres. At present, telecom towers, which are about 30 meters high, are placed at a distance of about 5 km apart.
