Introduction to 5G Technology
The word 5G is making a buzz over the last few years. And even in many counties, the initial phase of the 5G Technology Deployment is going on. And even in the last couple of years, many 5G Tecnology smartphones are also launched. Now, when we hear the word 5G, then the first thing which comes in our mind is high-speed internet. But this 5G Technology is more than just high-speed internet. So, to understand that, first of all, let's understand what is 5G.
What is 5Ge Technology
So, this 5G stands for the fifth generation of mobile network technology. And in many aspects, it is different from the previous generations. So, in the future, this 5G technology will provide three main types of services.
- That is fast internet
- the Internet of Things
- low latency communication.
So, technically, these three features are known as enhanced mobile broadband, the massive machine to machine type of communication, and ultra-reliable low latency communication. So, as I said, this massive machine to machine type of communication will enable the Internet of Things, where millions of devices can be connected together without human intervention. And these devices will be able to communicate with each other wirelessly. Apart from that, it will also enable the gates for smart homes and smart cities.
Fast Internet
So, per the 5G specifications, it will support the connection density of 1 million devices over the 1-kilometer area. which is 10 times more than the maximum supported capacity of the 4G network.
Enhanced Mobile Broadband
Then the next feature is enhanced mobile broadband, that is blazing fast internet service. So, as per the 5G specifications, theoretically, it will support the peak download speed of 20 Gbps and the upload speed of 10 Gbps. And when the signal is low, or at the edge of the cell, it will provide the maximum speed of 100 Mbps. So, this will enable the services which require very high bandwidth. That means with the blazing fast speed, the consumers will be able to download the HD movies in a few seconds. Moreover, it will also accelerate the adoption of augmented and virtual reality-based services. Not only that, but it will also accelerate the concept of cloud-based gaming.
Low Latency
Then the next technical goal or the next feature which 5G will provide is the low latency communication. So, these 5G features will allow communication with a latency of as low as 1 ms. So, this feature will enable the real-time services which require very low latency and the prompt response. Like autonomous vehicles, remote surgeries, and interactive gaming. Apart from that, it will be also very helpful in the automation industries where fast machine to machine communication and ultra-reliable communication is very critical. which will avoid system failure as well as the loss of life. So, this is how 5G will enable the new services to the consumers with very high reliability. And here is the quick comparison between the 4G and 5G technology.
5Ge Technology Frequency Band
So, now let's talk about the 5G spectrum or the 5G frequency bands. So, this 5G will support the two frequency ranges.
- One frequency range is known as the sub 6 GHz band,
- while the second band is known as the millimeter-wave band.
Now, initially, in this first frequency range, the frequency was limited up to 6 GHz. But later on, it was extended up to 7 GHz. Now, this first frequency band can further be divided into the low band and mid-band frequencies.
So, these low-band frequencies contain frequencies which is less than 1 GHz. And at this low frequencies, this band provides very good coverage. So, these band of frequencies can be used to provide the coverage even in the interior parts. On the other end, this mid-band provides moderate coverage, but because of the increased bandwidth, the data speed will be better than the previous generations. So, currently, in many countries, this mid-band is used for the 5G deployment. But the true 5G experience and 5G speeds like 1 Gbps can be achieved with the help of a millimeter-wave band. So, because of it's high frequency, this band provides very high bandwidth and it can provide a blazing fast internet to the end-user.
But since the millimetre waves can't travel much distance, so the coverage in this band will be limited to only tens of meters. So, because of that, the cells in this millimetre-wave band are known as the small cells. Now, as these small cells provide limited coverage, so when mobile network operator wants to provide really high-speed internet experience to the user then they need to install even a hundred or even thousands of such small cells in the particular area. Now, at the millimetre-wave frequencies, the size of the antenna reduces drastically And since the 5G radios consume very low power, so these millimetre-wave radios can be even installed on the street lights. So, this is all about the 5G frequency bands.
5Ge Technology
Now, let's briefly see the different technologies behind 5G, which will enable the different services to the end-user.
Massive MIMO in 5Ge Technology
So, one of the main technology behind 5G is the Massive MIMO. So, here this MIMO stands for multiple inputs, multiple outputs. where at both transmitters and the receiver, the multiple antennas are installed. So, this MIMO is not a new concept. And even it was used in the previous generations like in the fourth generation and even it is used in the WiFi technology. But in the case of the 5G, the scale at which this concept is used is massive. So, this massive MIMO will enable spatial diversity and spatial multiplexing. Spatial diversity means, using the same frequency and the time-slot, the same data can be sent over the different spatial paths. which will improve reliability and it will also improve the data rate. Then in the case of the spatial multiplexing, different data is sent to the user over the different spatial paths. which will increase the throughput to the end-user.
MU Massive MIMO in 5Ge Technology
Then another concept which is possible to achieve with this massive MIMO is the multi-user MIMO. where using the different spatial paths, different users can be served simultaneously over the same frequency. So, with the help of this multi-user massive MIMO, it is possible to enhance the cell capacity. That is the number of users, which can be served simultaneously. Now, this massive MIMO will also enable the use of the beam forming technique. This beam forming is another key wireless technique, where a wireless signal is focused in a specific direction rather than broadcasting it in a wide area. So, to understand this beam forming, you can think of it as a difference between the flashlight and the laser pointer. So, with the massive number of antennas in the massive MIMO system, this beam forming will also become 3D beam forming. So, with this 3D beam forming, it is possible to serve and track the user whenever they are moving on the street. Or it is possible to track them whenever they are moving from one floor to another floor in the buildings. And having such narrow and the direct beam will also help in reducing the interference with the other beams. So, these are the advantages of massive MIMO technology.
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5Ge Technology Network Slicing
Then the next important aspect is the network slicing. the network slicing is a specific form of virtualization, which allows the multiple logical networks to run on top of shared physical infrastructure. So, as discussed earlier, this 5G network should be able to provide three types of basic services together. That is the Internet of Things, enhanced mobile broadband, and very low latency communication. So, all these different types of services will require a different quality of services as well as the different resources. For example, in the Internet of Things, a large number of devices are connected together, but the throughput of each device will be very low. But to connect such a large number of devices, the network should be capable enough. On the other end, if we see the case of very high-speed internet users, then their throughput will be very high. But the number of users will be less than IoT devices. So, using this network slicing, all the similar types of services can be served together using the logical network. which will not only increase service reliability, but it will also increase the end-user experience. But all these different types of services can be provided to the end-user when the entire architecture is based on the 5G network.
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5G Technology Deployment
But most of the current 5G deployment is on top of the 4G architecture. So, basically, there are two 5G deployment options.
- That is non-standalone
- standalone 5G
In non-standalone 5G deployment, the core is still 4G core, but the base station or the new radios are the 5G based.So, in this non-standalone 5G, the 5G radios will be used to provide fast data to the end-user. But for the control and the signaling, still, the 4G architecture will be used. So, currently, most of the 5G deployment which is going in the world is based on this non-standalone 5G. So, in the first phase of the 5G deployment, the focus is to provide faster internet speed to the end-users.
The advantage of this non-standalone 5G is that the existing 4G infrastructure can be used for the 5G deployment. But the true potential of the 5G can be experienced only in the standalone 5G. where the core is based on the 5G architecture, and the new radios which are used in the 5G deployment are based on the millimetre-wave frequencies. So, this network slicing and all other low latency services can be provided to the end-user when the core is also 5G core. So, gradually, the mobile network operator will move towards the standalone 5G, but it will take some time. So, even in the counties, where this 5G deployment is going on, it will take some time, to experience the true 5G features. So, that is all about the 5G deployment. So, if you have any questions or suggestions, do let me know here in the comment section below.
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