 is designed with standalone (SA) radio architectures as the primary focus. In order to provide complete coverage for standalone 5G, low frequency bands must be utilized for 5G. The thin layer of LTE can be converted into a 5G layer using DSS. This need to upgrade radio units to support 5G and DSS also affords the opportunity to completely replace the incumbent vendor with another vendor's solution that will allow legacy LTE users and 5G users and both NSA and SA modes to be fully supported with a simplified cell site configuration, as shown in Figure 8.28. Summary This chapter presented a few important factors that have a major impact on 5G network performance and deployment complexity. Spectrum resources and base station density are relevant factors in defining how much capacity the radio network is able to provide. More spectrum and more base stations lead to higher capacity. That is also visible in the References Two options for 5G introduction Thin LTE layer Open X2 Standalone 5G Single vendor 5G3500 5G3500 5G3500 5G3500 Multi- Single vendor vendor LTE/5G multiband multiband multiband LTE/5G = New 5G vendor = Incumbent LTE vendor Figure 8.28 Long-term migration plans for a new vendor 5G overlay. current LTE networks where the highest data volumes tend to occur in those countries where the network density is relatively high and spectrum resources are relative large. The chapter discussed practical base station and site solutions. The evolution leads to close integration of RF and part of baseband functionalities to the antenna, which can improve the radio performance and minimize the site complexity. The chapter presented network synchronization requirements and solutions. All TDD networks, including 5G TDD, require accurate phase synchronization between base stations and also between operators running their networks in the same frequency band. In addition, the downlink and uplink must have the same asymmetry. Network synchronization can be obtained by GPS and by ToP via a transport network. References 1 Bara