What is 5G?

5G (fifth-generation wireless) is the latest iteration of cellular technology, and the upcoming evolution of wireless 4G LTE, which is mostly used today for wireless mobile networks. 5G is engineered to greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks. It offers incredibly fast wireless communication that can be used to transmit all sorts of data at rates as high as 20 Gbps by some estimates -- exceeding wireline network speeds -- as well as offer latency of 1 ms or lower for uses that require real-time feedback. 5G networks offer more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices than ever before. The networks will help power a huge rise in the Internet of Things technology, providing the infrastructure needed to carry huge amounts of data, allowing for a smarter and more connected world.

 What is 5G

Apart from fast mobile networks, 5G will also be used to deliver internet to your home. Its speed is also suited for upcoming technologies, such as providing a continuous stream of data required for many self-driving-car systems. With development well underway, 5G networks are expected to launch across the world by 2020, working alongside existing 3G and 4G technology to provide speedier connections that stay online no matter where you are.

4G to 5G

What will we benefit from 5G?

 

  • > Faster download and upload speeds
  • > Smoother streaming of online content 
  • > Higher-quality voice and video calls 
  • > More reliable mobile connections
  • > Greater number of connected IoT devices 
  • > An expansion of advanced technologies - including self-driving cars and smart cities

 

How fast could the 5G reach?

It’s still not exactly known how much faster 5G will be than 4G, as much of the technology is still under development. Most estimates expect the average speed of 5G networks to reach 10Gb/s, and some even think transfer rates could reach a whopping 800Gb/s. This would mean that users could download a full-length HD quality film in a matter of seconds and that downloading and installing software upgrades would be completed much faster than today.

5G Advantage

 

How does 5G Work?

Wireless networks are composed of cell sites divided into sectors that send data through radio waves. Fourth-generation (4G) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless technology provides the foundation for 5G. Unlike 4G, which requires large, high-power cell towers to radiate signals over longer distances, 5G wireless signals will be transmitted via large numbers of small cell stations located in places like light poles or building roofs. The use of multiple small cells is necessary because the millimeter wave spectrum -- the band of spectrum between 30 GHz and 300 GHz that 5G relies on to generate high speeds -- can only travel over short distances and is subject to interference from weather and physical obstacles, like buildings.

 

Previous generations of wireless technology have used lower-frequency bands of spectrum. To offset millimeter wave challenges relating to distance and interference, the wireless industry is also considering the use of lower-frequency spectrum for 5G networks so network operators could use the spectrum they already own to build out their new networks. Lower-frequency spectrum reaches greater distances but has lower speed and capacity than millimeter wave, however.

5G NR Applications

 

5G Frequency Bands

On 21st December 2017, in Lisbon, the 3GPP TSG RAN Plenary Meeting successfully approved first implementable 5G NR specification. The completion of the first 5G NR standard enables the full-scale development of 5G NR for large-scale trials and commercial deployments as early as in 2019. This first specification was completed as part of 3GPP Release 15.

As per 3GPP release 15, the frequency bands for 5G NR have been designated and TS 38.104 section 5.2 provides the list of bands in which 5G NR can operate. The specification defines the frequency bands as FR1 and FR2.

Band

Frequency

Type

FR1

450 to 6000 MHz

Sub-6 GHz

FR2

24250 to 52600 MHz

mm-Wave


FR1 and FR2 are the basic frequency band classifications for 5G-NR. These can be further classified into three bands:

  • Frequency Division Duplex Bands (FDD)
  • Time Division Duplex Bands (TDD)
  • Supplementary Bands: Supplementary Downlink  Bands (SDL) & Supplementary Uplink Bands (SUL)

FR1 FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) Frequency Bands for 5G-New Radio

5G NR Band

Uplink Frequency

Downlink Frequency

Bandwidth

n1

1920 -1989 MHz

2110 - 2170 MHz

60 MHz

n2

1850 - 1910 MHz

1930 - 1990 MHz

60 MHz

n3

1710 - 1785 MHz

1805 - 1880 MHz

75 MHz

n5

824 - 849 MHz

869 - 894 MHz

25 MHz

n7

2500 - 2670 MHz

2620 - 2690 MHz

70 MHz

n8

880 - 915 MHz

925 - 960 MHz

35 MHz

n20

832 - 862 MHz

791 - 821 MHz

30 MHz

n28

703 - 748 MHz

758 - 803 MHz

45 MHz

n66

1710 - 1780 MHz

2110 - 2200 MHz

90 MHz

n70

1695 - 1710 MHz

1995 - 2020 MHz

15/25 MHz

n71

663 - 698 MHz

617 - 652 MHz

35 MHz

n74

1427 - 1470 MHz

1475 - 1518 MHz

43 MHz

 

FR1 TDD (Time Division Duplex) Frequency Bands for 5G-New Radio

5G NR Band

Uplink Frequency

Downlink Frequency

Bandwidth

n38

2570 - 2620 MHz

2570 - 2620 MHz

50 MHz

n41

2469 - 2690 MHz

2496 - 2690 MHz

194 MHz

n50

1431 - 1517 MHz

1432 - 1517 MHz

85 MHz

n51

1427 - 1432 MHz

1427 - 1432 MHz

5 MHz

n77

3300 - 4200 MHz

3300 - 4200 MHz

900 MHz

n78

3300 - 3800 MHz

3300 - 3800 MHz

500 MHz

n79

4400 - 5000 MHz

4400 - 5000 MHz

600 MHz



FR1 Supplementary Downlink Bands (SDL) & Supplementary Uplink Bands (SUL) for 5G-New Radio

5G NR Band

Uplink Frequency

Downlink Frequency

Bandwidth

Type

n75

-

1432 - 1517 MHz

85 MHz

SDL

n76

-

1427 - 1432 MHz

5 MHz

SDL

n80

1710 - 1785 MHz

-

75 MHz

SUL

n81

880 - 915 MHz

-

35 MHz

SUL

n82

832 - 862 MHz

-

30 MHz

SUL

n83

703 - 748 MHz

-

45 MHz

SUL

n84

1920 - 1980 MHz

-

60 MHz

SUL

 

5G NR Frequency Bands in FR2

5G NR Band

Band Alias

Uplink Band

Downlink Band

Bandwidth

Type

n257

28 GHz

26.5 - 29.5 GHz

26.5 - 29.5 GHz

3 GHz

TDD

n258

26 GHz

24.250 - 27.5 GHz

24.250 - 27.5 GHz

3.250 GHz

TDD

n260

39 GHz

37 - 40 GHz

37 - 40 GHz

3 GHz

TDD

 

 

5G Applications

 

5G’s speed and reduced latency have the potential to transform entire industries.

5G Applications

Cars

Connected cars are a key growth driver. Futurists predict that the self-driving vehicles of the future will exchange cloud management info, sensor data, and multimedia content with one another over low-latency networks. According to ABI Research, 67 million automotive 5G vehicle subscriptions will be active, three million of which will be low latency connections mainly deployed in autonomous cars.

 

IoT

According to Asha Keddy, general manager of mobile standards for advance tech at Intel, 5G will be the first network designed with the Internet of Things (IoT) in mind. “These next-generation networks and standards will need to solve a more complex challenge of combining communications and computing together,” Keddy told Quartz in an interview ahead of the 2017 Mobile World Congress. “With 5G, we’ll see computing capabilities getting fused with communications everywhere, so trillions of things like wearable devices don’t have to worry about computing power because the network can do any processing needed.” Eventually, everything from wearables to internet-connected things such as washing machines, smart meters, traffic cameras, and even trees with tiny sensors could be connected.

 

Virtual reality and augmented reality

 

5G could bring about advances in virtual reality and streaming video. Sprint recently demonstrated streaming wireless VR at the Copa America soccer tournament, and Huawei showed a demo of 360-degree video streamed live from a 5G network.

 

Cloud-powered apps

 

Remote storage and web apps stand to benefit from 5G. “The cloud becomes an infinite extension of your phone’s storage,” El-Kadi said. “You never have to worry about running out of photo space.”

 

In addition to additional phone storage, you may see a significant difference in mobile hardware design overall. With 5G many of the computing tasks completed on your device can be moved to the network. Since the devices will not require the same computing capabilities, we may see so-called “dummy phones” with minimal hardware using the network to complete tasks. The transfer of power from the device to the network also means that your cell phone may have greater longevity as it will not necessarily require incremental hardware improvements to keep pace.

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