CUTTING THROUGH THE HYPE – 5G AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON ELECTRIC UTILITIES

Mlungisi Mkhwanazi,Executive Director, Africa Utilities Technology Council, South Africa

• Who are Africa Utilities Technology Council– AUTC is an African chapter of the UTC– EUTC and UTCAL are other chapters– Advocacy & Collaboration on ICT within utilities

• My Role – Executive Director– Would like to collaborate with Utilities in WAPP.– Work with utilities in the water, energy and transport

sectors.

INTRODUCTION

ROLE OF ICT IN UTILITIES

• Why a White Paper• What is 5G• Killer App to drive 5G• Opportunities For Utilities• Unresolved Conversations

– Infrastructure– Spectrum– Policy

• Call for Action • Conclusion

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 5G is a global issue and is billed as the next space race• UTC representing the interests of Utilities / other Critical

Infrastructure Industries considered that it was essential that a white paper should be developed on behalf of its members – to assist in the understanding about opportunities and challenges 5G represents for Utilities.

• The paper is meant to be the “START” of the conversation.• This presentation is a “teaser” to introduce the main themes in the

White Paper.• White Paper is available: Please email me for a copy• Feedback & Comments on the 5G White Paper are most

welcome.

WHY A WHITE PAPER

• No “official” definition of 5G - however, while previous generations of mobile technology were purpose built for delivering communication services, 5G appears to be driven by use cases such as smart cities, smart grids and smart agriculture.

• 5G is the fifth and latest generation of mobile technology, following through on its predecessors: 1G (~1980), 2G (~1990), 3G (~2000) and 4G-LTE (~2010).

• As with previous generations of wireless networks, although countries, networks and vendors are seeking to brand their offerings as ”5G”, it is likely to be another 10 years before 5G achieves the reliability, penetration and costs associated with previous generations.

WHAT IS 5G? 1/2

Who decides what it looks like?• There are several international standard organisations such as ITU /

ETSI/ 5GPPP that are working towards the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in 28 October to 22 November 2019, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (RA-19 :1st week)

• The ITU Radio Communication sector (ITU-R) has the lead role in 5G development through its Study Group 5, Working Party 5D (WP5D), together with the other standards bodies.

• The ITU has distilled these applications into three broad usage specifications:– Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)– Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC)– Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC)

WHAT IS 5G? 2/2

KILLER APP TO DRIVE 5G

5G use cases include

• Improved broadband• Autonomous Vehicles• Public safety and infra• Remote Device Control• Healthcare• Internet of Things (IoT)

5G Apps envisioned include

• Real Time Interactive gaming

• Virtual Reality on the move• Downloading 4k resolution

feature films in seconds• Remote healthcare

• Utilities may be able to provide the following more cost effectively in many areas than alternative operators based on their broad presence…– Suitable sites - Joint ventures between utilities and

telecommunications service providers to deploy fiber backhaul connectivity.

– Back haul capacity - Provision of utility infrastructure for small cell sites, if safety, electricity reliability, and fair pole-attachment rates are considered.

– Facilitating power supplies to base station sites. Disguising 5G antennas in utility infrastructure, again, where safe, feasible, and affordable.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR UTILITIES 1/2

• The areas where 5G may be able to add value to utility operations include:– Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) or more commonly termed

drones;

– Enhanced and virtual reality. When undertaking repairs and maintenance, demonstrations of virtual reality safety helmets are impressive;

– Utilities may also wish to participate in the 5G world by acquiring spectrum in order to have the option to construct their own private 5G networks and integrate them into a 5G world.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR UTILITIES 2/2

• There are a number of issues that need to be resolved such as:– Infrastructure – 5G is heavily reliant on infrastructure – fibre.

– Spectrum - regulatory framework, allocation of new spectrum in 4G and 5G, service providers having to re-farm spectrum, prevent reservation of spectrum without utilisation, strict monitoring of utilisation, etc.

– Policy – attachment of wireless infrastructure

• UTC will be taking these conversations forward with its national and international regions.

UNRESOLVED CONVERSATIONS

INFRASTRUCTURE

PRIORITY FREQUENCY BANDS FOR 5GLICENSING OF THE BANDS

• I have spoken about AUTC/UTC/UTCAL work at the ITU within WPSA to further the interests of utilities and our need for spectrum and 5G

• The ITU have requested that we circulate to and obtain as many responses from Utilities to the following survey:

https://forms.gle/Mm3Dr7QaensEdvj96 • It is in the interests of all Utilities to take the time to

respond to this survey • Many thanks in anticipation of your assistance.

CALL FOR ACTION

• Spectrum allocation remains the focal point of the 5G implementation and its full impact on the socio-economic space.

• Regulatory bodies need to comprehend the critical role they play in these technological advancement phenomenon, whether in favor or against the its deployment.

• Questions remain as to the fulfilment of the promise of reaching the under-serviced (rural) areas.

• The Utilities space however welcomes technological advancement such as 5G, as it will also seek to narrow the digital divide.

CONCLUSION

Thank you for your kind attention

REMEMBER WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK

Mlungisi Mkhwanazi | Executive DirectorAFRICA UTILITIES TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

Cell: +27 82 323 5500 Email: mlungisi.mkhwanazi@utc.org | Web: www.africautc.org