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CenterFuse Broadband Feasibility Report This technology is available to anybody since the required licenses are inexpensive and available to anybody. The largest company using this technology today is Webpass, a subsidiary of Google Fiber. Webpass deploys the technology in downtown high-rise districts to bring gigabit broadband to whole buildings. They start with a building where they have a fiber connection and bring that connection to the roof. From there they beam to other downtown buildings. The is far cheaper than constructing fiber in downtown areas. Radios today are affordable and a pair of transmitters/receivers costs around $5,000. The technology is of limited use though, in that two radios are needed for every connection, and this can quickly clog up valuable rooftop space. Verizon, AT&T and CenturyLink have been experimenting with the technology to bring fiber speeds to apartment buildings and other big broadband customers without having to build additional fiber. This is mostly a downtown urban technology. The beams need pure line-of-sight and there can be no impediments in the signal path. As mentioned, the biggest limitation is deploying too many transmitters at the network hub building that has fiber since landlords are not likely to allow dozens or more antennas on the roof. The other limitation is the amount of broadband. One or two gigabit speeds might sound large, but even in today's environment that's often not enough to serve a whole large building. These radios are limited by physics to about 2 gigabits. Most companies deploying the technology view it as a temporary solution that will eventually be replaced by fiber. Is 5G Cellular a Substitute for Landline Broadband? Is 5G cellular going to be a competitive broadband product in a market like Ellensburg?There are several factors to consider in trying to answer that question. What Will be the Real Speeds? The 5G cellular standard calls for eventual speeds of 100 Mbps. If 5G follows the development path of 3G and 4G, then those speeds probably won't be fully met until near the end of the next decade. Even if 5G network can achieve 100 Mbps in ideal conditions there is still a huge challenge to meet those speeds in the wild. The 5G standard achieves 100 Mbps by bonding multiple wireless paths, using different frequencies and different towers to reach a customer. Even in urban areas there will be many places that can't get a clear signal from multiple towers. My prediction is that even after 5G is implemented that much of the world will still be seeing 4G speeds. Cell Phone Coverage is Wonky. What is never discussed when talking about 5G is how wonky all wireless technologies are in the real world. Distance from the cell site is a huge issue, particularly for some of the higher frequencies. More important is local interference and propagation issues. As an example, I live in Asheville, NC. It's a hilly and wooded city and at my house I have decent AT&T wireless coverage, but Verizon sometimes has zero bars. I only have to walk half a block away to find the opposite situation where Verizon is strong and AT&T doesn't work. 5G is not going to overcome the topographical and interference issues that already affect cellular coverage. 5G Cellular Will Require Significant Deployment of Small Cell Sites. To achieve a strong 100 Mbps everywhere will require the deployment of a lot of small cell sites, and Page 77