5G Trends and Predictions
Bruce Lancaster, CEO at Wilson Electronics

  • Fixed wireless is the next big thing. Cell phones have historically operated on low-band signal, but as 5G proliferates, 2022 will see a huge rollout of mid-band signal. Carriers have been making major investments in mid-band technology for one particular use case: fixed wireless replacement. The ability to access the internet at your home and/or business through only a wireless connection will be made possible with mid-band technology, and will benefit customers with faster speeds at low costs as carriers scramble to compete on price.
  • As 5G booms, and so will the need for additional carrier towers and signal repeaters. Because mid- and high-band signal cannot travel nearly as far as low-band, additional towers and cell signal repeaters will be necessary to propagate that network for both indoor and outdoor spaces. Currently, the U.S. has deployed 387,000 towers. In order to be able to take on mid- and high-band technology while still covering all the same footprint, as many as 6x “nodes” will be needed on the network. Additional cell towers will be built as a result, but many of those nodes will come in the form of signal repeaters.
  • The supply chain woes won’t go away any time soon. As CEO of a mid-sized company dealing first-hand with supply chain issues, inflation is a major driver. We’ve seen costs skyrocket on labor rates, container shipping, and manufacturing parts. As a result of wage pressures and high demand for shipping, inflation will continue to rise and supply chains will struggle through the first 2-3 quarters of 2022.
  • The future of e-commerce is your phone. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed paper money into the background for most transactions, and reliance on mobile payments is becoming ubiquitous. People will also rely on their phones to take advantage of in-store AR capabilities, compare product prices while in-store and pick up products bought online using mobile barcodes.

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