By Gerard Donohue, Chief Technical Officer at Telent Technology Service Ltd
Each generation of technology opens new opportunities and challenges for communication service providers. Rising demand for faster connectivity, driven by our ‘always on’ culture and next generation 5G-enabled smartphones, means operators and providers have a constant and growing customer demand to satisfy. 5G’s delivery of higher throughput and lower latency services compared to its predecessors will meet these demands. For an on-the-go, gigabit-access norm to be realised, mobile operator investment in capable infrastructure is crucial.
For the UK to truly become a 5G nation, mobile operators are tasked with establishing a network of 5G sites, laying the foundation for a new era of services and applications. As 5G’s reach extends beyond internet access, this network infrastructure requires scale, robustness and reliability to connect and enable the technology’s various use cases. This includes the Internet of Things, and vertical sector applications such as health and manufacturing. At Telent, we’re applying our extensive experience designing, deploying and maintaining telecommunications infrastructure to play a key role in the build out of 5G.
Joining the 5G revolution
Telent has been awarded a contract by a major network equipment manufacturer to install 5G base station sites up and down the country for mobile network providers. The sites will be used to deliver superfast 5G services to millions of mobile users in the new era of gigabit connectivity.
Owing to the massive increase in required network performance and to support the increased traffic, operators need to build new sites to transition to 5G, which will predominantly be located on rooftops and greenfield towers.
Telent will be responsible for the design and build of the sites, which will use technology from a leading mobile networks equipment manufacturer. Each site will take up to a week to complete and the projects will be delivered by a dedicated team Telent engineers. The highly skilled, certified and accredited team will be responsible for deploying the kit and installing the new technologies, while overcoming complex safety challenges.
Trusted partner
Having worked with the vendor for many years, Telent initially assisted with the first stages of the project involving several pilot sites. The level of service provided led to the operator choosing Telent as the preferred partner to complete many more of their sites.
With a proven track record, Telent was also chosen by the network provider for the quality of service and many years’ experience it has working on the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, including the earliest days of cellular mobile services through to the latest 5G enablement projects. Telent has a long and trusted relationship with the network operator and has maintained parts of its network over recent years.
“Despite the physical challenges of the project – such as accommodating for larger infrastructures and equipment like antennas – and the technical complexities of ensuring optimal 5G potential can be met, we are working hand-in-hand with our partners to make seamless network evolution a reality from the ground up,” said Gerard Donohue, Chief Technical Officer at Telent.
”This contract award emphasises that our strategy of developing services and supporting key vendors in mobile technologies will ensure that Telent is a key partner in the delivery of 5G and the digital transformation of 21st century Britain to meet new and future business requirements.”