5G Wireless Technology
5G is the next generation of mobile networking
technology following 4G. Much like every generation before it, 5G aims to make
mobile communication faster and more reliable as more and more devices go
online.
Unlike years before when mobile networks only
needed to support cell phones that were just for browsing the web and text
messaging, we now have all sorts of bandwidth-demanding devices like our
HD-streaming smartphones, watches with data plans, always-on security cameras,
self-driving and internet-connected cars, and other promising devices like
health sensors and untethered AR and VR hardware.
As billions more devices connect to the web, the
entire infrastructure needs to accommodate the traffic to not only support
faster connections but also better handle simultaneous connections and provide
broader coverage for these devices. This is what 5G is all about.
How Is 5G Different Than the Other “Gs”?
5G is simply the next numbered generation following
4G, which replaced all of the older technologies.
-1G introduced analog voice
-2G introduced digital voice
-3G ushered in mobile data
-4G paved the way for widespread mobile internet
usage
What Will 5G Be Used For?
This might seem obvious given how ubiquitous
smartphones are, but while phones are definitely a major player in mobile
communication, they might not be the primary focus in a 5G network.
As you’ll see below, the key components with 5G are
ultra-fast connections and minimal delays. While this is definitely great for
anyone streaming videos from their phone, it’s more important in scenarios
where minimizing delays is really important, like with the future of
interconnected devices.
One application might be augmented reality devices
or virtual reality headsets. These devices require a tremendous amount of
bandwidth and need to communicate over the internet as quickly as possible to
provide their intended effects. Any latency at all can drastically impact how
real things feel in those environments.
The same applies to any other devices that need to
act quickly, like autonomous cars to avoid sudden collisions and understand
proper turn-by-turn directions, remotely operated hardware, and robotic systems
that learn or abide by remote controllers.
With that being said, 5G will still pave the way
for smoother connectivity from our everyday devices, too, like when gaming,
making video calls, streaming movies, downloading files, sharing HD and 4K
media, receiving real-time traffic updates, vlogging, etc.
5G is so fast that it won't just be available for
mobile devices. It has the potential to even replace your cable through fixed
wireless access! See our 5G Internet: The High-Speed Replacement for Cable
article for more on this.
How Will 5G Work?
Standards for 5G aren't fully solidified just yet
and service providers won't necessarily use the exact same technology to
implement 5G, so it's hard to say exactly how it will work for every company in
every country.
For example, in some cases, 5G will broadcast data
at a totally different range of frequencies than existing networks. This higher
range of waves is called millimeter waves, which operate at the 30 GHz to 300
GHz range (current networks use bands below 6 GHZ).
What makes this significant is that instead of a
multitude of devices sharing a small space on that spectrum, they will be able
to "spread out" on that line and use more bandwidth, which means
faster speeds and less dropped connections.
However, while these higher frequency waves can
carry more data, they can't broadcast as far as the lower ones, which is why
some providers, particularly T-Mobile, will deliver 5G on the 600 MHz spectrum
to start, and then likely other bands as time goes on.
Providers that do use higher frequencies might need
to position small wireless stations between 5G towers to repeat the data in
order to provide 5G speeds while at the same time covering more distance.
Instead of broadcasting signals all over the place to reach nearby devices,
these stations will probably use what's called beamforming to direct signals to
specific targets.
This type of setup should allow for faster
transmissions not only because there will be a number of stations to help relay
the data at top speed, but because signals won't need to physically move as far
to reach other devices. This device-to-device communication is what will allow
for such low latency.
Once 5G is here and widely available, it's possible
that it will be the last major advancement in mobile networking. Instead of a
6G or 7G later on, we might simply stick with 5G but get incremental
improvements over time.
When Will 5G Come Out?
The timeframe for 5G service availability depends
not only on where you live but also which service providers are available in
your area.
See When Is 5G Coming to the US? For more
information, or 5G Availability around the World if you're not in the US.
5G Specs: Data Rate, Latency, & More
5G seeks to improve several areas of mobile
communication, from how fast you can download and upload data to the number of
devices that can connect to the internet at the same time.
Data Rate
These are the minimum requirements for 5G peak data
rates. In other words, it’s the bare minimum download and upload speed that
each 5G cell must support, but it could fluctuate in some conditions.
-Download: 20 Gb/s (2.5 GB/s)
-Upload: 10 Gb/s (1.25 GB/s)
The numbers above are what each mobile station must
support but that doesn’t mean that’s what your device will be capable of. That
speed is split between all of the users connected to the same base station,
making these rates a bit more realistic for each user:
-Download: 100 Mb/s (12.5 MB/s)
-Upload: 50 Mb/s (6.25 MB/s)
With 5G speeds, you could download a 3 GB movie to
your phone in four minutes, or upload a 1 GB video to YouTube in just under
three minutes.
For comparison, the average mobile download speed
reported by Speedtest.net in 2017, for users in the United States, was around
22 Mbps—over four times slower than what's proposed by 5G.
Connection Density
At a minimum, 5G will support 1 million devices for
every square kilometer (0.386 mile). This means that within that amount of
space, 5G will be able to connect a whopping 1 million or more devices to the
internet at the same time.
This type of scenario might seem hard to fathom
considering cities with the highest population density (like Manila,
Philippines, and Mumbai, India) only hold anywhere from 70,000 to 110,000
people for every square mile.
However, 5G doesn’t need to support a mere one or
two devices per person but also everyone’s smartwatch, all the vehicles in the
area that might be connected to the internet, smart door knobs in nearby
houses, and any other current or to-be-released device that needs to be on the
network.
Latency
Latency refers to the time lapse between when the
cell tower sends data and when the destination device (like your phone)
receives the data.
5G requires a minimum latency of just 4 ms assuming
that ideal conditions are met, but could drop as low as 1 ms for some forms of
communication, particularly ultra-reliable and low-latency communications
(URLLC).
For comparison, the latency on a 4G network might be around
50-100 ms, which is actually more than twice as fast as the older 3G network!
Mobility
Mobility refers to the maximum speed at which a
user can be traveling and still receive 5G service.
The 5G spec has defined four classes it will
support, anywhere from a stationary person who isn’t moving to someone in a
high-speed vehicle like a train, who’s traveling up to 500 kmh (310 mph).
It’s possible that different areas will require a
different mobile base station to accommodate for varying speeds. For example, a
small city that only has users traveling by car and foot might not have the
same base station included in a larger city with a high-speed public transport
system.
Power Consumption
Energy efficiency is another component called out
in the 5G spec. Interfaces will be built to quickly adjust power usage based on
their current load.
When a radio is not in use, it will drop down into
a lower power state in less than 10 ms, and then readjust just as fast when
more power is needed.
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