MARCH 2023TELECOM BUSINESS REVIEW9some cases difficult. Government and standards bodies must work to create uniform guidelines for joint use of these facilities that provide telecom companies with certainty about installation requirements. 2. Site acquisitionLocation suitability for installations is determined by carrying out a software modelled RF design which helps select sites based on location, height and suitability. The location used in the modelling design may not be physically available for the installation of the 5G small cells 3. Site approvalSite approvals for traditional mobile network base stations this can take several months. It can involve obtaining approvals from the regulatory, environmental, and other authorities This amount of approval, just for a single small cell will be excessive and burdensome. The approval process for the development of an acquired 5G small cell site needs to be streamlined. 4. Powering challenges5G small cells are generally powered with AC power from nearby power lines. In many cases this power is converted to DC power before it flows to the 5G equipment. In a very small number of cases there is a DC battery backup installed on poles as well. The availability of low voltage power to power 5G equipment also varies, necessitating a small transformer to reduce high voltage to low voltage on some poles. Equipment in the streets is also exposed to threats from power and lightning surges and additional measures are needed to provide protection. If batteries are utilized they bring with them the additional challenges of monitoring and managing the batteries in varying temperatures. While the power consumed is very small, installers still need the infrastructure to get the power to the sites. 5. Public safety and electrical groundingTraditionally, telecommunications network equipment installations are housed in buildings or shelters in gated environment away from public. Since the advent of ADSL and multiple fiber technologies FTTX , some infrastructure is now installed in the streets.. The deployment of 5G will see a significantly larger proportion of the powered network installed in the streets in public domain. This brings with it additional public safety considerations. While 5G small cell equipment is low in power, the path to ground created by the necessary grounding systems used could become a path for larger power system faults. Faults from other high voltage assets owned by power utilities could also migrate to small cell ground electrodes. Guidelines and safety measures to mitigate this risk of public safety need to be developed. 6. Access to fiber network5G small cells are designed to operate on fiber backbones directly from the small cell to a central office. That means that every small cell site needs several fibers direct back to a central facility. In metro areas, that will require lots of fiber. If it's not there, it will need to be installed. The current fiber network even in developed cities will almost certainly not get to every small cell without further development of fiber infrastructure. 7. Local planning laws and rights of waySuch installations would need to comply with existing planning rules, which are usually set at a local level. Local administrative processes are intended to assure that specific requirements are met and the installation and operation of equipment is compliant with norms. However, the more complex the process the more time it requires. Changes are needed in local planning and zoning legislation to allow speedy compliance and approval8. Leasing and tax arrangementsTelecommunications leases exist between the telecom provider and a landlord. These agreements are put in place in order for the carrier to lease space to place their equipment on the landlord's property, rooftop or tower for a specified length of time. The carrier normally enters into a lease with a standard timeframe of 20-25 years, in exchange for monthly or annual payment to the site owners. The management of these agreements across a large number of poles in public domain will be an excessive burden on telecom companies. Legislative changes will be necessary to standardize the leasing and tax arrangement in the use of streel poles as the asset.With many telecom carriers and smart cities expecting to deploy large numbers of outdoor 5G small cells, challenges will arise which, if not addressed in a timely fashion, threaten to derail the ambitious 5G targets set by many countries. Development of legislation, codes and standards for deployment are needed at several levels of public utilities and government in every country. The low latency of 5G makes it very attractive for time-critical communications and could enable many new applications in our streets
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