After 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G LTE now comes 5G. 5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It will take a much larger role than previous generations. 5G will be based upon the combination of the existing wireless technologies like GSM, Wi-Fi, LTE etc and the new radio access technologies.5G will elevate the mobile network to not only interconnect people, but also interconnect and control machines, objects, and devices. It will deliver new levels of performance and efficiency that will empower new user experiences and connect new industries.
5G is a new kind of network: a platform for innovations that will not only enhances today’s mobile broadband services, but will also expand mobile networks to support a vast diversity of devices and services and connect new industries with improved performance, efficiency, and cost. 5G will redefine a broad range of industries with connected services from retail to education, transportation to entertainment, and everything in between. 5G will be seen as a technology transformative as the automobile and electricity.
5G is the next-generation mobile technology defined by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) – the standard body that also overlooked the development of 3G UMTS (including HSPA) and 4G LTE standards. Wi-Fi is defined/standardized by IEEE and promoted/certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, not 3GPP. A 5G user will be able to seamlessly use 5G, 4G, and Wi-Fi since 5G will interwork both with 4G and Wi-Fi, allowing a user to simultaneously be connected to 5G New Radio (NR), LTE or Wi-Fi. Similar to Wi-Fi, 5G NR will also be designed for unlicensed spectrum without requiring access to licensed spectrum, which allows more entities to deploy 5G and enjoy the benefits of 5G technology
5G doesn’t have a price tag yet. A key 5G objective is to lower the cost-per-bit (data cost) compared to 4G LTE, by leveraging new and wider spectrum in higher bands including the mmWave range. This could potentially allow mobile operators to continue offer unlimited data plans even with increasing data consumption. This can also enable new use cases and make more applications economically viable for broader adoption in a 5G network. For example, 5G can help to proliferate immersive augmented and virtual reality, which is possible today with 4G LTE but may be limited by network capacity and data costs.
5G will be significantly faster than 4G, delivering up to 20 Gigabits-per-second peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second average data rates. 5G will support a 100x increase in traffic capacity and network efficiency. 5G technology will come up with advanced functionalities as compared to 4G. As we know the data bandwidth in 4G is 2Mbps to 1Gbps, 5G network will allow greater bandwidth i.e higher than 1Gbps. The frequency band will also be very high as compared to 4G.
As 4G uses technologies like seamless integration of broadband LAN, WAN, MAN , unified IP etc 5G network will use these technologies with advanced ones based on OFDM modulation. It will follow CDMA and BDMA standards. It will allow dynamic information access, HD streaming and will work on-demand.
There will be many more changes which will evolve when 5G Technology will come into existence.
….Written by Mrs. Nilam Shetye
