Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1248324
22 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2020 test equipment. It's interesting that electrical theory keeps coming up with components and methodologies to make the lower-performance FR-4 work at higher and higher frequencies and decreasing rise times. It never ceases to aston- ish me what new electrical gizmo or technique allows them to squeeze a little more bandwidth out of what we've always had before. Tushingham: We have to make sure that we're providing solutions that take into account not only the material versus material, but we're also competing against design and system de- sign aspects. There are multiple ways a prob- lem can be solved; high-performance CCLs are one way, but we have to constantly be aware of every other avenue. And a lot of our de- velopment effort now is beyond traditional CCL; it involves looking at overall system per- formance and how we can improve that for the antenna and radar designers that we work with every day. Holden: The one thing about 5G is that it has to have a line of sight capability, which means it works great for cities and high population density, but it must be a much bigger problem for a country like North America, where we're spread out across 4,000 miles. Feinberg: It's going to mean a lot more sites. Tushingham: It's frequency-dependent. That's why the T-Mobile strategy is pretty interest- ing. In rural areas, they're going to go at low band—even maybe 600 or 700 MHz 5G capa- bility—and then as they get into high density, they're only going to deploy millimeter-wave in high-density, high-capacity areas, such as New York City; at those higher frequencies, it is very line of sight with short distances. And then you have people with LEO things going on, and one of their value propositions is they can provide internet access; it may not be 5G, but it will be decent broadband inter- net access to rural areas as well. Many people are trying to resolve this issue of improving connectivity in an economical way, and we're playing in all those areas. It's fun and exciting to be part of all of that. Holden: Unless the micro-satellites that SpaceX has launched turn out to be a cost-effective methodology, the first rollout will probably be along interstate highways because of autono- mous trucking and vehicles. We may see rest stops that also have a 5G thing that says, "It's not only a rest stop, but this is 5G compatible parking lot that you can use." Tushingham: And if you look in China, they're already starting to do that with some stuff like Huawei's working on roadside capability for 5G. I agree that there's a lot of work going into that area. Johnson: Is there anything else you'd like to add? Tushingham: I hope our efforts to increase un- derlying capacity, qualify multiple sites, and manufacture close to our customers whenever possible have addressed any concerns around Rogers' ability to meet customer demand even in these challenging times. We will continue to leverage our global operations, R&D, and com- mercial organizations to ensure we are deliver- ing solutions that meet the needs of our cus- tomers for many years to come. Matties: Thank you for your time today, Roger. Tushingham: I appreciate it. Thanks for the op- portunity. PCB007 There are multiple ways a problem can be solved; high- performance CCLs are one way, but we have to constantly be aware of every other avenue.