Participants in the panel "5G, A New Paradigm of Networks and the Role of FTTH in the Infrastructure Layer" of the FTTH Council conference that is being held this week in Buenos Aires, initially demurred over  the enthusiasm of the 5G arrival. Martín Wessel, Manager of Technological Evolution of Telecom Argentina, considered that the migration to 5G will only occur in 2020 and will not be massive but on a first stage focused on IoT. The companies started the process by core virtualization and in a next phase will reach access. Wessel said that the demand will require "bringing the contents close to the user" so at the infrastructure level each plant should be converted into "small data centers", in addition to space for the connected fiber.

Adrián Di Meo, CTO of Telefónica de Argentina, recalled that there is still no standard of 5G and opined that it would be wise to wait for such a definition to advance on technological choices. More optimistic, Lucas Gallito, public policy director of the GSMA Latam, highlighted the progress of ITU in the process of the standardization, but also admitted that these issues will only be defined at WRC-19 as well as the discussion on the bands.

The three speakers agreed on warning that due to the characteristics of 5G (each cell should have at least 20 Gbps download capacity, support 1 million connected clients per square kilometer, and each user will have a minimum download speed of 100 Mbps; among others) which will require a deployment of fiber and small cells that will conflict with regulatory obstacles at the municipal level for the installation of infrastructure. Di Meo recalled that in 70% of the municipalities of the country there is a regulation that regulates the installation of ICT infrastructure.