JMA, a 4G and 5G technology operator, is transforming a section of downtown Syracuse, New York, into a 5G manufacturing and edge development center.
The goal will be to create a 5G campus that will manufacture what the company claims will be the first indoor 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) radio system.
The 5G center will span a city block and support both consumer and business developments with high-tech manufacturing operations. The company will invest about $25 million and will be part of Syracuse’s strategy to revitalize the downtown area. The 5G center will bring about 100 new jobs in manufacturing, testing and production support.
Additionally, the 5G campus will be a testbed for showing what 5G can do beyond just accelerated download speeds for smartphones. It will focus on use cases across vertical markets such as sports and entertainment, retail, education and healthcare.
Comprised of a set of high spectrum bands above 24 GHz, mmWave is capable of extreme data speeds and capacity. But these transmissions suffer from significantly higher path loss and susceptibility to blockage even to the point where coverage is limited to hundreds of feet. Obstacles such as walls, trees, the roof of a car, buildings and more cause the technology to be obstructed.
While some work is being done to improve coverage with help from objects including street lamps, finding indoor solutions would be a big deal for businesses, governments, education and even consumers to get the fastest possible speeds and lowest latency that 5G affords without having transmission loss.
