Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1414667
October/November/December 2021 I 35 autonomous vehicles and machines, and telemedicine applications, which are just a few of the examples where 5G technology is expected to impact a range of industries. Expect 5G cellular networks to enable great transfor- mations to enterprises in the hospitality space. 5G net- work deployments are expected to provide significant economic and efficiency gains in the markets where they are deployed. In the hospitality space expect services, such as on-demand entertainment, panic buttons for emergency notifications for staff to report trouble, and IoT tie-ins to the building automation system, to make the entire facility more energy efficient as the presence or absence of a mobile device turns lights on or off and the temperature up or down. Automating these features is easy to do in a wireless environment. 300 GHz. Millimeter-wave solutions are important to the fastest data speeds and lowest latency from 5G networks, but the signal only travels a short distance. As such, both Perez and Larsen agree that high-capacity areas in venues will be a sweet spot for millimeter-wave technology. "While 5G may be deployed in the hotel lobby, it likely is going to be a hot-spot type of focus," Larsen says. "Regarding 5G, business cases for hospitality still need to be made," Singh adds. "At a very high level, can I consolidate disparate networks—5G, mobile keys, and door locks?" C-BAND SPECTRUM Recognizing the need to bring more spectrum to market, the FCC started auctioning the CBRS adjacent C-band spectrum (3.7 GHz - 3.98 GHz) late in 2020. The nation's top four wireless service providers—Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and US Cellular—bought the majority of C-band spectrum in the auction, which ended in early 2021 (Table 2). "This spectrum holds the potential to be prime spectrum for 5G services, and the procedures adopted today will ensure the assignment to auction winners of contiguous spectrum blocks allowing wide channel bandwidths that support 5G deployment," the agency said in announcing the auction. Because the C band is so close to the CBRS band, the deployment technologies are similar. TABLE 2: C-Band Auction Winners. Source: FCC. TOP 5 C-BAND AUCTION WINNERS Company Number of Licenses Won Net Payment Verizon 3,511 $45,454,843,197 AT&T 1,621 $23,406,860,839 T-Mobile 142 $9,336,125,147 U.S. Cellular 252 $1,282,641,542 NewLevel 10 $1,277,395,688 "New emerging applications like digital signage will identify and distinguish human persona, and then offer up advertising catered to the individual walking through the hotel lobby," Larsen explains. "Artificial intelligence can send tailored messaging to guests. 5G's low latency can process data quickly and push it back to create addi- tional opportunities for people in the hospitality space. Bottom line, advanced connectivity via 5G will power the venues to offer a portfolio of amenities and applications to attract more visitors." In addition, carriers are deploying equipment using millimeter-wave spectrum, which is between 30 GHz and