5G – Everything You Need To Know
What is 5G?
5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and more uniform user experience to more users. Higher performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and connect new industries.
Who Invented 5G?
No one company or person owns 5G, but there are several companies within the mobile ecosystem that are contributing to bringing 5G to life.
How is 5G different?
The previous generations of mobile networks are 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G.
First-generation - 1G
The 1980s: 1G delivered analog voice.
Second-generation - 2G
The early 1990s: 2G introduced digital voice (e.g. CDMA- Code Division Multiple Access).
Third generation - 3G
The early 2000s: 3G brought mobile data (e.g. CDMA2000).
Fourth-generation - 4G LTE
The 2010s: 4G LTE ushered in the era of mobile broadband
1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G all led to 5G, which is designed to provide more connectivity than was ever available before.
The biggest difference here is speed. There has been a study indicating that 5G could reach a speed of 10 gigabits per second, 20 folds faster than 4G.
The second difference is in latency, the “lag time” between device communication. This means with 5G, more activities through the internet could be more “real-time”. For example, remote surgery could become a reality and driverless cars could communicate with each other to avoid a collision in milliseconds.
The third difference is in connectivity. 5G could support one million devices per square mile versus 10K-100K for 4G. This is 100 times better.
The two biggest cons of 5G are cost and range. Because 5G uses micrometer waves to reach mobile devices, it has a much shorter range compared to 4G due to the nature of the electromagnetic spectrum. Verizon Ultra Wide Band technology cell could reach 1500 ft. This means we would need a different 5G small cell for every single block of Manhattan, and more in rural areas due to lower density
What Underlying Technology is 5G made up of?
5G is based on OFDM (Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing), a method of modulating a digital signal across several different channels to reduce interference. 5G uses 5G NR air interface alongside OFDM principles. 5G also uses wider bandwidth technologies such as sub-6 GHz and mmWave.
Like 4G LTE, 5G OFDM operates based on the same mobile networking principles. However, the new 5G NR air interface can further enhance OFDM to deliver a much higher degree of flexibility and scalability. This could provide more 5G access to more people and things for a variety of different use cases.
5G will bring wider bandwidths by expanding the usage of spectrum resources, from sub-3 GHz used in 4G to 100 GHz and beyond. 5G can operate in both lower bands (e.g., sub-6 GHz) as well as mmWave (e.g., 24 GHz and up), which will bring extreme capacity, multi-Gbps throughput, and low latency.
5G is designed to not only deliver faster, better mobile broadband services compared to 4G LTE, but can also expand into new service areas such as mission-critical communications and connecting the massive IoT. This is enabled by many new 5G NR air interface design techniques, such as a new self-contained TDD subframe design.
How is 5G Better Than 4G?
There are several reasons that 5G will be better than 4G:
5G is significantly faster than 4G
5G has more capacity than 4G
5G has significantly lower latency than 4G
5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G
5G uses spectrum better than 4G
5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G.
While 4G LTE focused on delivering much faster mobile broadband services than 3G, 5G is designed to be a unified, more capable platform that not only elevates mobile broadband experiences, but also supports new services such as mission-critical communications and the massive IoT. 5G can also natively support all spectrum types (licensed, shared, unlicensed) and bands (low, mid, high), a wide range of deployment models (from traditional macro-cells to hotspots), and new ways to interconnect (such as device-to-device and multi-hop mesh).
5G uses spectrum better than 4G.
5G is also designed to get the most out of every bit of spectrum across a wide array of available spectrum regulatory paradigms and bands—from low bands below 1 GHz, to mid bands from 1 GHz to 6 GHz, to high bands known as millimeter wave (mmWave).
5G is faster than 4G.
5G can be significantly faster than 4G, delivering up to 20 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second (Mbps) average data rates.
5G has more capacity than 4G.
5G is designed to support a 100x increase in traffic capacity and network efficiency.1
5G has lower latency than 4G.
5G has significantly lower latency to deliver more instantaneous, real-time access: a 10x decrease in end-to-end latency down to 1ms.
How Will 5G Effect The Economy?
5G is driving global growth.
$13.2 Trillion dollars of global economic output
22.3 Million new jobs created
$2.1 Trillion dollars in GDP growth
Through a landmark 5G Economy study, we found that 5G’s full economic effect will likely be realized across the globe by 2035—supporting a wide range of industries and potentially enabling up to $13.2 trillion worth of goods and services.
This impact is much greater than previous network generations. The development requirements of the new 5G network are also expanding beyond the traditional mobile networking players to industries such as the automotive industry.
The study also revealed that the 5G value chain (including OEMs, operators, content creators, app developers, and consumers) could alone support up to 22.3 million jobs, or more than one job for every person in Beijing, China. And there are many emerging and new applications that will still be defined in the future. Only time will tell what the full “5G effect” on the economy is going to be.
Are 5G towers harmful to our health?
In the early January of 2020, there were several websites posting about the 5G high-frequency radio waves weakening the human immune system and causing the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. There have also been claims that the 5G higher frequency millimetre waves helped mutate the SARS virus into COVID-19.
But then, according to studies, there is no evidence that 5G can damage the immune system, cause brain tumours, or have any significant biological effect on human health.
So, so far, according to studies, over-exposure to any man-made technologies could potentially be harmful and 5G is not unique. However, 5G is no more or less safe compared to 4G or 3G or even your home Wi-Fi. 5G did not cause Coronavirus COVID-19 and it did not contribute to the spread of the pandemic in any way.
Where is 5G being used?
Broadly speaking, 5G is used across three main types of connected services, including enhanced mobile broadband, mission-critical communications, and the massive IoT. A defining capability of 5G is that it is designed for forward compatibility—the ability to flexibly support future services that are unknown today.
Enhanced mobile broadband
In addition to making our smart phones better, 5G mobile technology can usher in new immersive experiences such as VR and AR with faster, more uniform data rates, lower latency, and lower cost-per-bit.
Mission-critical communications
5G can enable new services that can transform industries with ultra-reliable, available, low-latency links like remote control of critical infrastructure, vehicles, and medical procedures.
Massive IoT
5G is meant to seamlessly connect a massive number of embedded sensors in virtually everything through the ability to scale down in data rates, power, and mobility—providing extremely lean and low-cost connectivity solutions.
Is 5G Available Now?
Yes, 5G is already here today, and global operators started launching new 5G networks in early 2019. In 2020, many countries expect nationwide 5G mobile networks. Also, all major Android phone manufacturers are commercializing 5G phones. And soon, even more people may be able to access 5G.
5G has been deployed in 35+ countries and counting. We are seeing much faster rollout and adoption compared with 4G. Consumers are very excited about the high speeds and low latencies. But 5G goes beyond these benefits by also providing the capability for mission-critical services, enhanced mobile broadband and massive IoT.
While it is hard to predict when everyone will have access to 5G, we are seeing great momentum of 5G launches in its first year and we expect more countries to launch their 5G networks in 2020 and beyond.
An Article By: Workshops Team
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