Will some rural areas be left behind when 5G arrives in the Dakotas?

Experts say it could be up to five years before customers in smaller cities like Fargo (ND) and Bismarck (ND) can expect to see 5G wireless, and it likely will be available only in densely populated areas, such as the downtowns, the campus of North Dakota State University or state capitol complex. That’s because 5G uses very high-frequency radio waves that travel very short distances, requiring a dense — and very expensive — network of transmitters that are cost-effective only in very urban environments. Given those costs and limitations, rural customers aren’t apt to see 5G mobile service anytime soon, if at all, said Justin Forde, senior director of government relations at telecommunication company Midco. Midco is advocating an alternative it touts as better suited for remote rural areas called fixed wireless. The company has deployed a network using 140 cell towers, water towers and grain elevators as platforms to transmit and relay wireless signals over an area of more than 14,000 square miles. Midco plans to extend its fixed-wireless service to rural areas outside the reach of its broadband fiber network to southeastern South Dakota, including the Mitchell area, as well as central and southern Minnesota over the next several years, Forde said.