Fifth-generation wireless (5G) is the most recent version of cellular technology, overruling the previous 4G LTE standard. It is intended to improve wireless service responsiveness by increasing speed, decreasing latency, and increasing flexibility.
5G is a unified, more capable air interface with the capacity to enable next-generation user experiences, enable new deployment models, and deliver new services.
For devices such as smartphones, 5G is intended to be much faster than 4G LTE technology. However, mobile carriers hope to use 5G to provide fast mobile internet to other devices such as connected cars, smarthome devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It could even take the place of your wired home internet connection.
The high point speed of 5G technology is 20 Gbps, while the peak speed of 4G is only 1 Gbps. The lower latency of 5G can improve the performance of business applications as well as other digital experiences such as online gaming, video conferencing, and automatic cars.
Seamless open roaming capabilities that enables to users to stay connected as they move between outdoor wireless connections and wireless networks inside buildings without user intervention is another promising feature of 5G network to simplyfy the mobility.
Unlike previous generations of cellular technology (such as 4G LTE), 5G takes connectivity to the next level by delivering connected experiences from the cloud to clients. To enable faster data processing, new 5G networks will also have a dense, distributed-access architecture and will move data processing closer to the edge and users.
5G offers the following features:
- High-quality videos.
- Communication among devices in an internet of things (IoT) environment.
- Critical Service and infrastructure control.
- Accurate location tracking.
- Fixed wireless services.
- Control of remote devices.
- Better ability for real-time analytics.
How Does It Work ?
Wireless networks are made up of cell sites that are divided into sectors that send data via radio waves. To transmit signals over longer distances, 4G requires large, high-power cell towers. While 5G networks employ a network of cell sites that divide their territory into sectors and transmit encoded data via radio waves. Multiple small cells are required because the millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum can only travel short distances and is susceptible to interference from weather and physical obstacles such as buildings or trees. The band of mmWave spectrum that 5G relies on to generate high speeds is between 30 and 300 gigahertz (Ghz)
5G networks use OFDM encoding, which is similar to the representation used by 4G LTE. 5G can operate at any frequency, resulting in three distinct 5G experiences: low, middle, and high. The 5G specification allows phones to use much wider channels over a wider range of frequencies. Carriers and the FCC must make those larger channels available.
When will 5G be available?
5G service is already available in some areas across the world. These first-generation 5G services are referred to as 5G non-standalone (5G NSA). This is a 5G radio that expands on the existing 4G LTE network infrastructure. 5G NSA will outperform 4G LTE. However, the industry’s focus on high-speed, low-latency 5G technology is 5G standalone (5G SA)