Gantt Chart for 5G Network Deployment Projects

Nationwide 5G deployment is among the most geographically distributed and logistically complex infrastructure programs in US history. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile each spent $20-80 billion acquiring spectrum licenses in FCC auctions and are spending additional tens of billions deploying the radio access network (RAN) equipment to put that spectrum into service. For a network operator, program manager, or tower company working on 5G deployment, a Gantt chart is not a nice-to-have -- it is the mechanism by which thousands of independent site-level activities are tracked and coordinated toward a market launch date that has already been publicly committed.

5G Technology and Deployment Context

5G operates across three distinct frequency bands, each with its own deployment timeline, equipment, and market application:

Low-band 5G (600 MHz - 900 MHz): Covers large geographic areas with a single site; T-Mobile's 600 MHz 5G covers 99% of the US population and was the first 5G coverage most Americans encountered. Data rates are modest (50-150 Mbps) but coverage is excellent -- rural coverage is primarily low-band. Low-band 5G is often deployed by adding 5G NR (New Radio) software and new antennas to existing 4G LTE tower sites, which makes deployment relatively fast.

Mid-band 5G (2.5 GHz - 3.98 GHz): The "goldilocks" band. C-band (3.7-3.98 GHz) was auctioned by the FCC in 2021 for $81 billion -- the largest spectrum auction in US history -- with AT&T and Verizon each spending $23+ billion for licenses. T-Mobile holds the most extensive mid-band portfolio via its 2.5 GHz licenses acquired through Sprint. Mid-band delivers 400-900 Mbps in good conditions with 1-3 mile cell radius in suburban environments. The bulk of 5G deployment capex is mid-band.

mmWave 5G (24-47 GHz): Ultra-high capacity (multi-Gbps), extremely short range (100-400 meters). Deployed in dense urban areas, sports venues, airports, and other high-density environments. Requires dense small cell deployment -- one site per several city blocks rather than one site per 1-3 miles. Challenging to deploy at scale; US mmWave deployment remains limited compared to original operator projections.

Phase 1: Spectrum Acquisition and Network Planning

Spectrum Licensing

FCC spectrum licenses for 5G are issued as PEAs (Partial Economic Areas) or county-level geographic licenses. A network operator acquiring licenses in a C-band auction does not have immediate authority to deploy -- licenses are issued with conditions including construction deadlines (typically build-out requirements within 8 and 12 years) and interference coordination requirements with adjacent licensees and with satellite operators who previously used the band.

C-band coordination: satellite operators (SES, Intelsat) received $10 billion in accelerated relocation payments to vacate portions of the C-band. Phase 1 clearance (3.7-3.8 GHz in top 46 markets) was completed December 2021; Phase 2 (full contiguous US) was completed December 2023. Network operators could not deploy C-band equipment until clearance was certified in each geographic area. This regulatory dependency -- a deployment start date tied to a third-party clearance event -- must appear on the Gantt chart.

RF Network Planning

Radio frequency engineers design the network before construction begins:

Coverage objective: Define target population coverage (98% in-building? 95% outdoor?) for each market; determines density of new sites required
Propagation modeling: Use Atoll, Planet, or equivalent RF planning software with terrain and clutter data to model signal propagation; identify coverage gaps; determine site locations needed
Capacity planning: Traffic demand forecast by geographic area; sites in high-density areas need more capacity (more spectrum, more antennas, higher-order MIMO) than rural sites
Site candidate list: Output is a list of geographic search rings for each required new site, and a list of existing sites approved for 5G upgrades (collocation on existing towers or rooftops)

RF planning is typically completed market-by-market and can proceed in parallel across multiple markets. Large operators run RF planning for hundreds of markets simultaneously with teams of 20-50 RF engineers.

Phase 2: Site Acquisition

Site acquisition is the first field-facing phase and is typically the longest single phase in 5G deployment. For each site:

Collocation on existing towers (most common for mid-band):

RF team confirms tower or structure within the search ring is structurally viable (existing tower companies: American Tower, Crown Castle, SBA Communications, Vertical Bridge)
Lease amendment negotiation with tower company (new frequencies, new antenna configuration, new RAN equipment)
Structural analysis: confirm tower capacity for new antenna and equipment weight / wind load
Power analysis: confirm adequate electrical service for new RAN equipment; upgrade if necessary

New site acquisition (required where no tower exists in search ring):

Property research: identify candidate properties within search ring
Landlord identification and outreach: property owners, municipalities, utilities
Lease negotiation: ground leases (new tower build) or rooftop/structure leases
Zoning pre-application meeting with local planning department to assess permit feasibility

Site acquisition cycle time: 3-9 months per site for existing tower collocation; 12-24 months for new sites requiring lease negotiation and zoning. Because site acquisition runs on a per-site basis across thousands of sites, it appears as a rolling wave on the Gantt chart, with different markets at different stages simultaneously.

Phase 3: Local Permitting

Federal law provides significant protections for wireless facility deployment, but local permitting still creates schedule variability that is the primary source of Gantt chart risk.

FCC Shot Clock Rules

47 USC 332(c)(7) and FCC implementing orders establish shot clocks -- deadlines by which local governments must act on wireless permit applications:

Collocation on existing structure: 60 days (or applicant may file suit claiming deemed granted)
New tower or modification: 90 days
Small cells in public right-of-way: 60 days for collocation; 90 days for new installations

Shot clocks do not guarantee approval -- they require a decision. Local governments can deny applications that do not meet applicable zoning requirements. Critically, they cannot deny based on RF health concerns (FCC preemption under 47 USC 332(c)(7)(B)(iv)) or on the sole basis of environmental effects of RF emissions.

Practical Permitting Reality

Shot clocks are frequently exceeded, particularly in municipalities with high application volumes or hostile attitudes toward telecommunications. FCC enforcement is complaint-driven, not proactive. A site in a California city with an anti-tower city council and a backlogged planning department can take 18-36 months for permit issuance even after a deemed-granted petition is filed.

The Gantt chart must reflect market-specific permitting assumptions:

Tower-friendly rural county: 30-60 days
Average suburban municipality: 90-180 days
Dense urban/high-opposition market: 180-365 days
Litigated site: 24-48 months (exclude from critical path; manage separately)

NEPA and Section 106

Most 5G deployments on existing structures qualify for categorical exclusion (CE) under NEPA, requiring minimal environmental review. New towers require Section 106 Historic Preservation review under the National Programmatic Agreement (NPA) -- this adds 30-90 days if no properties of concern are identified, and potentially years if an effect on a historic property is found.

Phase 4: Equipment Procurement and Long-Lead Ordering

5G RAN equipment is a strategic procurement decision with geopolitical dimensions:

RAN equipment vendors: Ericsson (Swedish), Nokia (Finnish), and Samsung (South Korean) are the three primary 5G RAN vendors available to US carriers following the effective exclusion of Huawei and ZTE from US networks (FCC Covered List; NDAA Section 889 prohibition for federal contractors). Open RAN (O-RAN) architecture is an emerging alternative allowing disaggregated radio units and distributed units from different vendors -- deployed by Dish Network (now EchoStar) and being evaluated by other carriers.

Lead times:

5G NR radio units (massive MIMO antennas): 6-12 months from order to delivery during peak deployment
Small cell integrated units: 4-8 months
Baseband units / distributed units: 4-8 months
Fiber backhaul equipment: 3-6 months
Power equipment (rectifiers, batteries): 6-12 months for large orders

Equipment should be ordered on a market-level batch basis as soon as site acquisition confirms sufficient sites to justify the order. Waiting for all permits before ordering equipment is a schedule error that adds 6-12 months to market launch.

Phase 5: Network Installation

Installation activities at each site:

Structural and civil: Antenna mounts, cable bridges, conduit, equipment shelter or cabinet installation
Antenna installation: Massive MIMO antennas for mid-band 5G are significantly larger and heavier than 4G antennas -- tower loading must be confirmed; some towers require strengthening
RAN equipment installation: Remote radio unit (RRU) and baseband unit (BBU) or distributed unit (DU) installation; fiber connectivity between RRU and DU
Power: AC power upgrade if required; DC power installation (rectifiers, batteries); power turn-up
Backhaul: Fiber or microwave backhaul connection to core network
Integration: Network element manager configuration; antenna azimuth and tilt confirmation per RF plan

Installation timeline per site: 1-3 days for an experienced crew on a straightforward collocation. Complicated sites (high-elevation work, dense urban rooftop logistics, equipment hoisting) take 3-7 days.

Large-scale deployment uses specialized installation contractors (Mastec, Black Box, Ericsson Services, Nokia Networks Services, subcontractors) operating in parallel across multiple markets. Work queues by market appear as parallel bars on the Gantt chart.

Phase 6: RF Acceptance Testing and Network Launch

RF Acceptance Testing

Before sites are turned up in the commercial network, each site undergoes acceptance testing:

Drive testing: A vehicle equipped with test equipment (TEMS, Nemo, Accuver) drives the coverage area; records RSRP (signal strength), SINR (signal quality), downlink throughput, and handoff behavior
Indoor testing: Verify in-building coverage at key venues (malls, office buildings, stadiums) in the coverage area
KPI verification: Confirm that site meets defined network KPIs; failed sites are flagged for optimization (antenna tilt, azimuth, power level adjustment)

Integration Testing

Neighboring cell parameters: Confirm handoff relationships with adjacent sites are correct; missing neighbor list entries cause dropped calls at cell boundaries
End-to-end testing: Voice, data, and VoLTE (Voice over LTE) call testing through the core network
Carrier aggregation: 5G supports aggregating multiple frequency bands simultaneously; carrier aggregation configuration must be tested

Commercial Launch

Markets launch commercially when sufficient coverage density is achieved (typically 80-90% of planned sites on-air). Operators launch with commercial marketing when network performance meets defined thresholds. This milestone appears prominently on the executive Gantt chart.

Gantt Chart Structure for 5G Deployment

Track 1 -- Spectrum and planning (Months 1-12):

Spectrum license acquisition → spectrum clearance confirmation → RF network planning → site candidate list by market

Track 2 -- Site acquisition (Months 6-30, rolling by market):

Landlord outreach → lease negotiation → structural analysis → power study → lease execution

Track 3 -- Permitting (Months 9-36, rolling by market):

Permit application filing → agency review → permit issuance → appeal period

Track 4 -- Equipment procurement (Months 12-24):

Vendor selection → RFP / negotiation → PO placement → factory delivery → warehouse staging → logistics to site

Track 5 -- Installation (Months 24-42, rolling by market):

Civil and structural → antenna and RRU installation → power and backhaul → integration and turn-up

Track 6 -- Testing and launch (Months 30-48, by market):

Drive testing → optimization → acceptance testing → commercial launch → market completion

Timeline Summary

Deployment Type	Sites	Timeline from Spectrum to Launch
Single metro market mid-band overlay	200-500 sites	18-30 months
Regional 5-market mid-band buildout	1,000-2,500 sites	24-36 months
Nationwide mid-band deployment	50,000-150,000 sites	36-60 months
Dense urban mmWave (single city)	500-2,000 small cells	24-48 months

The programmatic Gantt chart for a nationwide 5G deployment is one of the most complex infrastructure schedules in existence: hundreds of parallel market tracks, thousands of individual site records feeding into market-level summaries, with regulatory, logistical, and technical dependencies at every level. The project management infrastructure to run this program -- the market-level Gantt charts rolled up into regional and national views, the site database feeding schedule status, the exception reporting for sites that have stalled in permitting or lease negotiation -- is itself a significant technology investment.