Episode 12 of The NEDAS Live! Podcast (hosted by Ilissa Miller, President of NEDAS, CEO of iMiller Public Relations and Co-Founder of the IND-DCA; and Steve Yapsuga, Co-Chair of the NEDAS Advisory Council and North American Director of Sales for Comba Telecom) featured a discussion with Wade Sarver. Wade is the Founder of Wade4Wireless — a blog that helps the industry learn more about wireless systems and deployment — and is a podcast host veteran, an author, the founder of TECHFECTA and more.
As an individual with a rich knowledge of the wireless landscape, Wade has been an integral part of the infrastructure discussion for decades. Looking back on progress and past initiatives, host Steve Yapsuga begins the discussion by referencing the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) 2016 Smart City Initiative and the contest it held for cities to be awarded funding. At the time, this initiative was about bridging gaps to avert food deserts, encourage healthcare penetration, enhance transportation, etc. Now however, when asked about the current state of the smart city discussion as opposed to just a few years ago, Wade acknowledges, “Back then, all the futurists thought that vehicles were the way to deploy the new technology and that that would be the ‘killer’ app for 5G.” He continues, “Well, the reality is that… that didn’t pan out like they hoped.”
While the future defined by cars communicating everywhere and anywhere may have been too complex to come to fruition, Wade says that today, 5G still traces back to what the end user needs. He notes that this is the reason why new spectrum was made available in the form of millimeter wave. On previous existing spectrum, an efficiency was certainly delivered, but it was not enough to be a game-changer. Millimeter wave now offers the capability to get many gigabits per second through the spectrum, allowing room for the host of new data-intensive applications.
There have been advancements to empower the future of smart cities, but Wade is clear that change still needs to be made. For 5G and its abilities to really succeed, everything beyond the spectrum needs to be enhanced as well, from base stations to backhaul to fiber to the core and beyond.
To help ensure that the industry is able to plan for and create these widespread changes that will build the smart cities of the future, NEDAS, an association located at the intersection of wireline and wireless, brings attention to areas that need work and facilitates constructive, productive discussion. By focusing on its core dedication to education and collaboration, NEDAS delivers programs, webinars and regional conferences in key areas such as Washington D.C., Boston and New York City that bring key industry ecosystems together to create critical advancements that reach end to end. By amplifying awareness and helping industry personnel understand how best to get to work, NEDAS continues to be a critical element of the ubiquitously connected and long-awaited smart 5G future.
To read the previous blog about NEDAS Live! Episode eleven, please click here.
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