Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1414667
36 I ICT TODAY CONCLUSION Even with new spectrum coming to market, 5G cellular networks will bring a paradox once they are deployed. The massive amounts of new connections that will be available could overwhelm networks once billions of diverse devices connect to the 5G networks. Wireless service providers will continue to need to use offloading techniques to keep the macrocellular network operating efficiently. Already, Wi-Fi networks are used to help alle- viate some of this data congestion in hopes of providing a seamless indoor and outdoor customer experience. That practice will continue as wireless demand increases, driven not only by people but also machines that use wire- less technology to communicate with each other. The ability to leverage a variety of licensed and unlicensed spectrum across multiple frequencies using various tech- nologies, along with techniques to increase overall trans- mission bandwidth, remains an essential part of the answer to meeting the demand for mobile connectivity. CBRS spectrum is expected to be part of this offload strategy, as well as a stand-alone use case for businesses in the hospitality space. AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES: Kristen Beckman is the community manager for the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), where she engages with members and provides opportunities for them to showcase their thought leadership through WIA's blog, working groups, and white papers. Kristen has nearly 25 years of experience in the wireless industry, including as a reporter and editor for RCR Wireless News, having covered cellular carriers, tower companies, and public safety, as well as for Mission Critical Communications magazine, where she covered critical infrastructure, public-safety radio networks, and 9-1-1. She earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Kristen can be reached at kristen.beckman@wia.org. Tracy Ford is executive director of member services at WIA. As such, she oversees the HetNet Forum and WIA's Innovation & Technology Council. The HetNet is a wireless ecosystem, comprised of a variety of mobile and wireless technologies and infrastructure, interoperable with the macro-cellular network providing harmonious voice and data communications. Ford has spent more than two decades covering the rapidly changing wire- less industry, tracking its changes as it grew from a voice-centric marketplace to the dynamic data-intensive industry it is today. She started her technology journalism career at RCR Wireless News and has held a number of titles there, including associate publisher and executive editor. A graduate of the Minnesota State University-Moorhead, Tracy holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree in mass communications with an emphasis on public relations. She can be reached at tracy.ford@wia.org. BICSI ICT Cabling Installation Program Visit bicsi.org/installation for information.