GIVEN the optical technologies available today, we can easily ramp the capacity of a fiber into the terabits per second, but the ECONOMICS of doing so towards the network edge STILL needs to be worked out. MNOS concerned about diversity will probably use multiple fibers, but capacity can be delivered with just one pair. For MNOs less concerned with diversity, a single bidirectional fiber may also be an option, albeit likely a more unpopular one, given the AMOUNT of capacity a 5G-enabled cell can carry.

Given the optical technologies available today, we can easily ramp the capacity of a fiber into the terabits per second, but the economics of doing so towards the network edge still needs to be worked out. MNOs concerned about diversity will probably use multiple fibers, but capacity can be delivered with just one pair. For MNOs less concerned with diversity, a single bidirectional fiber may also be an option, albeit likely a more unpopular one, given the amount of capacity a 5G-enabled cell can carry.