Sprint Adopts Wait-And-See Approach To 5G, Per Carrier Top Executive

According to a high ranking executive of Sprint, the wireless carrier is taking a “wait and see” approach to 5G technology. As explained by Jay Bluhm, the vice president of network planning at the company, there are still plenty of technologies existing that the fourth biggest wireless carrier in the United States can take advantage of in meeting the demands for data of its subscribers. Still, Bluhm is quick to note that Sprint is currently evaluating and constantly looking into what 5G can offer to its customers.

Sprint claims that is still has adequate network capacity to effectively handle all of its subscribers’ need, with Bluhm saying that there is so much more left in 4G technology and LTE Advanced that the wireless carrier can utilize to deliver top quality mobile services to its customers. The top Sprint executive acknowledged however that the demands of customers are leveling up. 

Bluhm revealed the volume of the wireless carrier’s network traffic has grown 85 percent year over year, and should triple in size by the end of this decade. Absolutely to nobody’s surprise, a huge chunk of the network traffic is made up of video content. Bluhm has stated that half of the entire network activity of Sprint consists of video.

Meeting customers’ demands, especially for quality video streaming, is no walk in the park for Sprint. But as explained by Bluhm during the Competitive Carriers Association’s Mobile Carriers Show, the wireless carrier is busy exploring LTE Advanced optimization technologies, which include methods like beamforming and carrier aggregation. 

Sprint recently revealed its plans of raising about $2.2 billion in funding by selling some of its equipment at its cellular towers to a new entity, Network LeaseCo, which is described by Sprint as multiple bankruptcy remote entities. Under this deal, Network LeaseCo will lease the equipment back to Sprint, and then the equipment will serve as collateral for the wireless carrier to receive $2.2 billion from so-called external investor parties, which include SoftBank. The deal with Network LeaseCo is perfectly timed with Sprint’s extensive initiative to cut costs, and should help immensely in alleviating the wireless carrier’s financial struggles, which have worsened amidst increasing competition from rivals such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

Sprint may be content with taking a step back to observe things first before jumping into the pool, but its fellow major wireless carriers look to be diving headlong into exploring 5G. Verizon Wireless recently confirmed that it is planning to start testing 5G soon at 28 GigaHertz with Samsung in Euless, Texas. AT&T has similar plans to test 5G at Austin, Texas with Intel and Ericsson beginning in the second quarter of 2016.