Alpha Wireless Australia Director, engineering Peter Liversidge will be laying out the range of 5G technologies available to operators when he addresses the CommsDay Melbourne Congress this month.
Having led the expansion of Ireland’s Alpha Wireless into Australia over the past year, Liversidge has a strong insight into the requirements of operators moving into the 5G sphere and wants to ensure all the options are clear.
“5G won’t be just a single technology -massive MIMO. M-MIMO gets all the headlines, but it is expensive to purchase and operate, and is an overkill for many sites,” Liversidge says.
“Other 5G technologies exist and should be explored, even in the early phases of 5G rollout, including small cell, cheaper and less complex 8T8R beamforming antennas, and sector splitting. Even ordinary 4×4 MIMO could suffice for many areas where return on investment for massive MIMO deployment is questionable even well into the future.”
Alpha Wireless launched its Sydney-based research and development office in 2018 in response to a growing demand for its products in the Asia and Pacific region.
The company’s strong focus is on driving growth and providing discreet antenna solutions in Australasia – customers are looking for top quality coverage and capacity that has a minimal impact on the surroundings.
“The advent of 5G is only emphasising this challenge. Whether it’s to preserve the aesthetics of natural landscapes in rural areas, or minimise the effect of providing mobile coverage for a vast population in urban areas, quality concealment solutions are increasingly in demand,” Liversidge says.
“Alpha Wireless is particularly known for its innovation; where a solution doesn’t exist, we are determined to create one – fast. We have a typical 90-day product turnaround from concept-to-reality. It is this kind of mentality that I’m keen to spread throughout the industry as we embrace 5G.”
The CommsDay Melbourne Congress runs over October 9 and 10, and will include presentations from Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, as well as executives from telecommunications companies including Telstra, Optus and VHA.
“The mobile industry moves incredibly fast. This event will provide a great opportunity to come together and discuss the changing pace of mobile comms in Australia and how we can address this as technology providers.”
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