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5G vs Wi-Fi Debate for Indoor Connectivity

It's been a while since we looked at the 5G vs Wi-Fi debate. In the meantime, 5G rollouts have gained momentum while Wi-Fi 6 (a.k.a. 802.11ax) has started appearing in the devices as well. Hence the debate of whether 5G or Wi-Fi makes more sense indoors keeps going on. 

It should be pointed out that the discussion is more about Enterprise and Private networks, rather than Wi-Fi vs Cellular at home. Ericsson has been looking at this debate and their whitepaper argues that both Wi-Fi and Cellular have a role to play indoors. 

As one would expect, one of the conclusions is that 5G will play a larger role in future connectivity scenarios as 5G NR supports more use cases than Wi-Fi 6, is more reliable, and provides both wide and local-area coverage with mobility. Many service providers will benefit from the added value of 5G NR and the fact that ultimately, they get more for their money. 5G is also the best fit for addressing emerging new IoT use cases.

The paper also contains a Total cost of ownership (TCO) calculation looking at an example of connectivity cost for a connected warehouse. Wi-Fi is 22% higher in total cost per square foot than cellular. This can of course be challenged and there are many scenarios where Wi-Fi suffices and the cost is far lower than cellular. 

One of the things that I have noticed in this and many other discussions is the absence of discussion of Wireless Wireline Convergence (WWC). I have written multiple posts about it, the most recent being one in November. WWC enables 5G services over trusted & untrusted Wi-Fi as well as on other fixed network residential gateways. This will make access independent of the core and services and has the ability to transform the way cellular connectivity has worked. It's just a matter of time before we start seeing this in practice.

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