The MVNO arrangement between Altice USA and Sprint is unique, in that the cable operator owns an increasing amount of the wireless network as it continuously builds out infrastructure.

But while the 19,000 small cells deployed by Altice USA in the Long Island area may be effectively reducing the cable operator’s reliance on the MVNO for its nascent mobile service, the agreement is not helping Sprint’s network performance, New Street Research analyst Spencer Kurn said in a report to investors published Tuesday.

Citing results from a survey of 1,000 local customers, as well as data from network testing outfit Tutela, Kurn wrote, “The network is disappointing. Based on the Tutela data and our own speed tests, it doesn’t seem like the deployment of 19,000 small cells has improved Sprint’s network much. There is little evidence of improvement year over year; Sprint’s network in Long Island appears worse than in the rest of the country, and Sprint still lags the other national carriers in Long Island.

“Sprint’s network has always lagged the other three carriers in terms of network performance,” Kurn added. “The primary reason has been the amount of low frequency spectrum they have and the amount of nodes. We had thought that Altice deploying 19,000 small cells would really close the gap, but the data doesn’t show that. Sprint still lags other carriers by a pretty wide margin.”

Tough zoning laws have traditionally made Long Island a difficult market for wireless operators to increase network capacity. And Kurn conceded that at least to some degree, Altice’s small cells must be enhancing Sprint’s network.

“But it’s very possible the absence of the low-frequency spectrum really limits the range of Sprint’s network,” he said. The small cells aren’t going to improve that that much. It’s still disadvantaged from a coverage perspective.”

ATLANTA - Sketching out the broad strokes of what it will take for the wireless industry to accomplish the very dense goal of widely deploying 5G services, a duo of consultants told an SCTE Cable-Tec Expo audience that cable operators have the power.

Literally.

It turns out that their hybrid fiber coaxial networks are pretty well situated to provide the electrical power needed to juice the thousands of small cell connections that make up a 5G service.

“Coax is a very efficient way to distribute power out to these small cells,” said Erik Gronvall, VP of strategy and business development for CommScope.

“The amount of coverage, and the amount of radios required to get that coverage they need is way beyond the revenue” that [wireless] can generate from 5G, said Todd Loeffelholz, VP of product management for Alpha Technologies. “The MSOs have what they need, and it’s becoming obvious.”

Indeed, as the wireless operators embark on deployment of a technology that will require the wireline services of cable operators, the latter constituency is looking to cash in on a brand new revenue stream.

The consultants noted Sprint’s recent MVNO deal with Altice USA. While Alice is able to lease the wireless network it needs to launch a mobile service next year, Sprint is getting the backhaul and network densification from Altice required to enable its pending 5G launch.

As Gronvall explained, 5G will require a fundamental realignment of wireless networks, not too different from the movement of the “PHY” layer currently occurring in hybrid fiber coaxial networks of cable operators as they move to Distributed Access Architectures.

While traditional wireless network designs were “macro cell focused,” with “everything coming off huge towers,” 5G will require a far denser network design.

The dense arrangement of radio-enabled “small cells” that define 5G will require three main things from cable operators: electrical power; backhaul, which is the network data connection to these small cells; and a small cell installation that is acceptable to local stakeholders.

In regard to the first requirement—power—cable operators must make sure that electrical requirements of small cell devices being paired to their network matches up, said Loeffelholz, noting that the typical HFC network wasn’t built to power small cells.

“We’re going to see the rollout of HFC ready small cells in next 12-24 months, but right now there’s not a lot fo HFC-ready product,” Loeffelholz added. “For cable operators, understanding what type of voltage you have and what you need to deploy is very important.”

As for backhaul, Gronvall said that’s the area of the typical wireless 5G architecture that’s most compatible with an HFC network. 

Altice USA has asked the FCC to let it conduct CBRS trials in Jonesboro, Ark. beginning Sept. 1.

According to the filing, Alice would like to conduct indoor and outdoor tests using prototype small cells and equipment from vendors including Ericsson, Nokia, Airspan Networks, Arris’ Ruckus Networks and Berkeley Varitronics Systems. According to Altice’s “special temporary authority” application, the operator would like use its 3.5GHz band trials to “evaluate propagation, capacity and mobility characteristics.”

Related: Altice USA Eyes CBRS Small Cell Strategy

Alice USA, Comcast and Charter Communications are all looking at the potential of small cell networks that utilize the emerging CBRS (Citizens Band Radio Service) shared spectrum band.

In April, Altice USA issued a request for information on CBRS small cell products, along with a request for proposal on a multi-phase trial.

As reported by Multichannel News in May, Altice USA believes it is well positioned to build a small network in part to its access to low-cost sites and a workforce that could be trained to install and maintain the new small cell network.

Tied to Altice USA’s CBRS effort, the operator is building out network infrastructure for its MVNO deal with Sprint. Altice expects to launch a mobile service based on this relationship next year.

Speaking to investors two weeks ago for Altice USA’s Q2 earnings report, CEO Dexter Goei talked about the ongoing “densification of Sprint’s network,” as well as upgrades and expansion of Altice’s Wi-Fi network.

“We are also testing CBRS spectrum with equipment in a 3.5 gigahertz band as this may be good complementary capacity for us,” Goei said.

Last month, the FCC announced that it will begin on Sept. 10 accepting initial commercial deployment proposals for CBRS.

The FCC has also conditionally approved a group of Spectrum Access System (SAS) administrators, which include Google, Sony, Amdocs, CommScope and Federated Wireless.