What is 5G?
5G is the 5th Generation technology standard for broadband cellular network. Cellular companies worldwide use it to provide faster speed of internet communication. It is the successor to its predecessor 4G and was first deployed in 2018. The advantage of 5G over its predecessor are its greater bandwidth and higher download speed. 5G is expected to have about 2 billion users by the end of 2025.
5G brings three new aspects to the table which are:
- Bigger channels for speed
- Lower latency that leads to increasing the responsiveness and
- Ability to connect many devices at once.
Technical explanation of 5G
The high speed of 5G can be attributed to the use of high frequency waves in addition to the low and medium frequency waves being used by 4G. Thus it can low, medium, and high-millimeter waves can implement it. The division of network in 5g is according to a geographical cell. Each cell has a respective antenna which will support a particular band mentioned above. The low-band uses 600-850 MHz, mid-band uses microwaves of about 2.5-3.7 GHz while the high band is in the range of 25-39 GHz. Out of these three, the mid-band is the one which is and going to be most widely deployed.
The industry consortium standard for 5G is 3GPP or 3rd Generation Partnership Project. Overall, the average download speed in 5G networks is expected to be 10 MBps and 1 GBps. Different cellular companies have started their own process of deployment of 5G. Many of these companies provide information about the place and scale of their deployment and resources to see them online. One such map for the company Verizon coverage can be found with hotspots listing the ultra-wideband and spread of 5G as per coverage.
Network usage in 5G
When it comes to the transition of cellular networks, it has streamlines the currently used 4G network and coverage of companies at first. After making the initial connection, it uses something called non-standalone network. Slowly it then transitions towards standalone. Part of the 5G spec allows 5G phones to combine 5G and 4G channels invisibly and seamlessly to the user. So, most connections will be combined 4G/5G links for quite some time.
Carriers also flexibly share channels between 4G and 5G using a technology called dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS). DSS makes the walls between 4G and 5G channels movable, so carriers can split channels between 4G and 5G based on demand. Accordingly, the areas which are crowded will have better suitability for 5G. 5G networks use a type of encoding called OFDM, which is like the encoding that 4G LTE uses. OFDM is Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing. It utilizes the bandwidth better over its earlier iterations.
Pillars of 5G
There are few pillars that have been paving way for 5G adoption more than the others:
- Fiber optic cables are immune to radio and electromagnetic interference and are able to provide better speed.
- The use of small cells or microcells, instead of macrocells, which are currently in use. They serve lesser users but provide better coverage
- Another important component is the high spectrum frequency availability. With the use of a Spectrum Access System (SAS), carriers can access dynamically the shared frequencies based on their availability.
- The use of fixed wireless enables the use of antennas placed inside offices and homes. It helps in providing wireless coverage inside the houses.
Conclusion
Given the wide availability, speed, low latency, and bandwidth, 5G looks like a good successor. But there are a few things that cannot be surpassed. The broader spectrum of bandwidth that we use in 5G is harmful for the environmental. It can affect both for humans and other animals, especially birds. Another constraint is the high cost in rollout as the hardware used for cells and antennas. Even at the origin of the signals is different than the one used traditionally for 4G, the impact of it is larger. A practical aspect is the impact on batteries of devices. Some devices are incompatible and that places a limitation on companies for adoption.
