What is 5G Technology, how does it works? What are its uses?

Written by M. Arshad Sohail 

Table of content:

1. What is 5G technology?
2. 8 specifications
3. 5G speed
4.  How fast will 5G take-up be?
5. Difference between 4G and 5G
6. 5G and the previous mobile generations.
7.  Virtual networks.
8. Uses of 5G technology
9. When 5G technology is coming?
10. 5G Technology for All.
11. What are implications
12. What does it mean for consumers and operators?
13. What's the relation between 5G and satellites?
14.  5G boost the commercialization of IoT devices
15.  How does it work?
16.  5G is the answer to increasing data traffic
17.  Will 5G technology be secure?
18. Conclusion.

 

1-What is 5G and 5G TECHNOLOGY?

5G is a new generation of wireless communication. It lays the groundwork for new customer experiences such as augmented reality gaming, industrial machine networking and smart devices. This technology will also provide the basis for digitization in many areas of our lives. Not only cities, but also rural regions will benefit from the introduction of T5G: By the end of 2024, the mobile communication standard will reach 99% of the German population.

Digital connections between humans and machines are evolving at breakneck speed. This requires powerful networks and an appropriate infrastructure. Growing data volumes require faster data transfer.

What is 5G? 5G represents a new stage in the development of mobile communications. Above all, it will revolutionize mobile data transmission by providing higher capacities within individual cells of mobile radios. However, the new 5G features are not limited to better use of mobile data. The 5G network also offers a number of other options.

Let's see how 5G technology will change the world.

5G technology is groundbreaking.

The next generation of telecommunications networks (fifth generation or 5G) started on the market at the end of 2018 and will continue to expand worldwide.

In addition to speed improvements, the technology is expected to unleash a vast 5G IoT (Internet of Things) ecosystem where networks can serve the communication needs of billions of connected devices with the right trade-offs between speed, latency and cost.

2-5G 8 Technology Specifications:

I. Data transfer speed up to 10 Gb/s – > 10 to 100 times faster than 4G and 4.5G networks

II. 1 millisecond latency

III. 1000x bandwidth per unit area

IV. Up to 100x the number of connected devices per unit area (compared to 4G LTE)

V. 99.999% availability

VI. 100% coverage

VII. 90% reduction in network energy consumption

VIII. Up to 10-year battery life for low-power IoT devices

3- Speed ​​of 5G technology

5G speeds top out at 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). 5G is 10 to 100x faster than what you can get with 4G. According to communication principles, the shorter the frequency, the greater the bandwidth.

The use of shorter frequencies (millimeter waves between 30 GHz and 300 GHz) for 5G networks is why 5G can be faster. This high-bandwidth 5G spectrum provides the expected increase in speed and capacity, low latency and quality.

According to the February 2020 issue of Fortune Magazine, average 5G speed measurements taken on 3/4 quarter 2019 range from:

I.                     220 megabytes per second (Mbps) in Las Vegas,

II.                   350 in New York,

III.                 380 in Los Angeles,

IV.                 450 in Dallas,

V.                   to 550 Chicago,

 and more than 950 in Minneapolis and Providence approx. This is 10 to 50 times more than 4G LTE.

4- How fast will the 5G rollout be?

The expected adoption rate of 5G is significantly different from all previous generation networks (3G, 4G).

While the previous technology was driven by the use of mobile internet and the availability of "killer apps", 5G is expected to be mainly driven by new uses of the Internet of Things, such as connected and self-driving cars.

Globally, the number of 5G users worldwide is expected to explode from less than 200 million in 2019 to 1.02 billion in 2023 (Fortune February 2020).

Ericsson announced that there were 660 million 5G subscribers at the end of 2021.

• According to a November 2020 Ericsson report, 5G will reach 4.4 billion subscribers by the end of 2027, making it the fastest generation ever deployed globally.

5- Difference between 4G and 5G

The current mobile communication standard is known as Long Term Evolution (LTE). With network coverage and speed, this technology covers almost all consumer needs and offers sufficient data flow for various everyday applications, such as mobile streaming of sports content or data exchange via messenger applications.

Internet to massive IoT (Internet of Things) from 2019/2020.

Compared to today's 4G and 4.5G (aka LTE Advanced, LTE-A, LTE+ or 4G+), the main development is that in addition to improving data speeds, new IoT and mission-critical communications use cases will require a new level of improved performance.

I.                    Low latency, for example, provides real-time interactivity for services using the cloud: this is the key to the success of self-driving cars, for example.

II.                  5G vs 4G also means at least x100 connected devices. 5G must support 1 million devices per 0.386 square miles or 1 km2.

III.                Low power consumption is also what will allow connected objects to function for months or years without the need for human assistance.

6-5G and previous mobile generations.

In the past four decades, mobile phones, more than any other technology, have quietly changed our lives forever. Remember how much you loved your 2G Nokia 3310?

A. 1G, the first generation of telecommunications networks (1979), let's talk and be mobile

b. 2G digital networks (1991) allow us to send messages and travel (with roaming services)

C. 3G (1998) brought a better mobile internet experience (with limited success)

d. 3.5G brought the truly mobile internet and unleashed the mobile app ecosystem

E. 4G networks (2008) brought all-IP services (voice and data), fast broadband Internet with unified network architectures and protocols

F. 4G LTE (for Long Term Evolution), starting in 2009, doubled data speeds

G. 5G networks (2019) extend broadband wireless services beyond mobile Internet to IoT and critical communications segments

7- Virtual networks.

5G will support all communication needs from a low power local area network (LAN) - such as home networks such as Wide Area Networks (WAN) with the right latency/speed settings. Today, this need is addressed by the aggregation of different communication networks (Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, LoRa, 3G, 4G, etc.) and 5G is more innovative.

5G is designed to enable simple virtual network configurations to better align network costs with application needs. This new approach will enable 5G mobile network operators to capture a larger piece of the IoT market pie by providing cost-effective solutions for low-bandwidth, low-power applications.

8-What is the real use of 5G?

Each new generation wireless network came with a new set of new uses.

The next upcoming 5G will be no exception and will focus on IoT and mission-critical communications applications. Regarding the schedule, we can mention the following use cases over time: Fixed wireless access (from 2018-2019 onwards)

Enhanced mobile broadband with 4G redundancy (from 2019-2020-2021) Massive M2M / IoT (from 2021-2022) Very low latency critical IoT communication (from 2024-2025)

Some critical applications, such as self-driving cars, require very aggressive latency (fast response time) while not requiring fast transfer rates.

9-When is 5G technology coming?

According to GSMA Intelligence, 170 mobile operators have launched commercial 5G services as of November 2021, with a population penetration of 7% at the end of 2021. The study predicts 25% of global connections by the end of 2025. North America 5G was available in some locations in 2019. In most areas, launched in 2020.

In the US, more precisely, ATT announced nationwide coverage in the first half of 2020. Verizon 5G was the first operator to roll out 5G.

Deutsche Telekom launched 5G in Berlin, Darmstadt, Munich, Bonn and Cologne in September 2019. In December 2021, large cities (53% of the territory) are now covered by 5G services. Telcos in France have announced 5G offers until the very end of 2020, with real availability in 2021. In the UK, many cities saw 5G in 2019 and more in 2020. EE, Vodafone and O2 have been actively deploying 5G since mid-2019.

India Telcos are preparing to roll out 5G in 2022. China Unicom set up 5G in several locations in 2019. China Mobile said it had deployed more than 560,000 5G base stations as of November 2021. GSMA expects 460 million 5G connections in China by 2025.

Find more resources: worldwide 5G availability as of January 24, 2022 or view Ookla's interactive weekly updated 5G map. In short, 2019-2020 is when 5G takes off, and 2021 and 2022 are when 5G networks and 5G phones are widely available.

10-5G Technology for all

By early 2022, 1,250 5G devices from 180 vendors have been announced. Phones account for nearly 50% of announced 5G compatible devices (GSA report). ATT launched fifteen 5G phones in October 2020 in the US. We can count on twenty 5G devices from Verizon. Some are priced under $600.

At the Consumer Electronics Show, at least two companies unveiled new 5G phones that will cost less than $500. These cheaper phones will help make 5G more affordable for many of us. Similarly, Samsung released its new line of Galaxy S phones in San Francisco. These new devices will likely be priced lower than the company's current 5G phone lineup.

On October 13, 2020, Apple released its long-awaited 5G-compatible iPhone. All four iPhone 12 models support 5G. These four models support three types of 5G services based on different frequencies: "lowband", "midband" and mmWave (millimeter wave, the fastest).

 11-What are the implications of 5G for mobile operators?

1. 5G is still a mobile broadband technology and it is a network of networks.

2. PMS expertise and knowledge in building and operating networks will be key to 5G success.

3. The implementation of 5G networks while maintaining the operation of 3G and 4G networks is likely to create a new challenge for mobile network operators in terms of spectrum frequency options (especially if the expected massive IoT volume occurs).

4. Mobile network operators will need to operate new spectrum in the range of 6 to 300 GHz (typical 5G bandwidth), which means extensive investment in network infrastructure.

5. 5G networks are planned to support virtual networks such as low-power, low-throughput (LPLT) networks for low-cost IoT on the cost-saving side. Unlike today

12-5G for consumers.

For consumers, 5G does not only mean faster mobile internet, but mainly internet connection in many more objects than you see today.

The car and the home are two examples of the big IoT revolution that is coming, supported by 5G networks.

Samsung and other Android OEMs introduced the first 5G smartphones in 2019. According to an October 2020 GSA report, 148 5G phones are already commercially available.

5G SIM cards debuted in 2019 and 2020.

Discover the defining benefits of 5G SIM for virtualized 5G networks.

13-What is the relationship between 5G and satellites?

5G satellite communications - directly from the sky to the device - will soon become a reality.

Indeed, the next generation of satellites will bring 5G capabilities on board to ensure full 5G coverage of the Earth, in addition to 5G terrestrial mobile networks.

Specifically, for space systems, 5G will offer higher availability, reliability and resilience, along with broadcast and multicast capabilities.

We expect 5G to support a wide range of applications (e.g. agriculture, logistics, public safety) so that everyone in the world can connect.

Thales Alenia Space, together with manufacturers of space equipment and mobile phones, supports the 3GPP efforts to develop solutions that include the vision of a single global space network fully integrated with the networks of 5G mobile operators.

In early 2021, South Korean operator KT SAT, a subsidiary of the world's first commercial 5G service provider Korea Telecom, led a 5G satellite demonstration using the Koreasat 5A geostationary telecommunications satellite to provide 5G network to remote areas. Recently, Hellas Sat conducted a successful 5G demonstration in Greece.

14-Security of 5G technology

4G networks use the USIM application to perform strong mutual authentication between the user and their connected device and networks.

The entity hosting the USIM application can be a removable SIM card or an embedded UICC chip. This strong mutual authentication is essential to enable trusted services.

Security solutions today are already a mix of security at the edge (device) and security at the core (network). In the future, multiple security frameworks may co-exist, and 5G will likely reuse existing solutions used today for 4G networks and the cloud (SE, HSM, certification, over-the-air provisioning and KMS).

The standard for strong mutual authentication for 5G networks was finalized in 2018. The need for 5G security, privacy and trust will be as strong as 4G, if not stronger, with the increased impact of IoT services.

Local SEs in devices can secure network access and support secure services such as emergency call management and IoT virtual networks.

In order to accommodate this new paradigm in data delivery, 5G infrastructures are being built.

15- 5G supports the commercialization of IoT devices.

Wi-Fi wireless is a "Local Area Network" technology with limited operating range and very limited speed and latency.

Many IoT services require more ubiquity, greater mobility, and faster performance and response time. 5G will truly unleash a vibrant IoT ecosystem.

The "perception" of speed, instant response time and IoT performance will become a reality with 5G. For example, the expected success of self-driving cars will only be possible when 5G networks are available.

16- 5G is the answer to growing data traffic.

Data traffic continues to grow worldwide. Network operators face a huge challenge to meet the demand for fast and ubiquitous data connections by providing faster and larger wireless networks.

Now that people around the world are connected by default, we are taking another step into the future: Communications are expanding to include machines and devices connected to the Internet of Things.

A number of services will focus, for example, on the requirements of industry. Production processes will be automated. Innovative applications such as smart home technologies and entertainment solutions based on virtual reality will make our private lives more convenient and secure.

The basis is 5G technology, which opens almost endless possibilities for new uses. This means that formulating a single definition of 5G is not easy. 5G enables people and companies to participate in digital progress. For Deutsche Telekom, this is both an incentive and a challenge.

17- 5G-How does it work?

5G technology achieves the expected high efficiency using advanced modulation techniques and network terminologies such as:

1. Aggregation of operators

Carrier aggregation is a technique used in advanced LTE to improve system efficiency. In carrier aggregation, two or more carrier signals are aggregated to support a wider bandwidth, allowing even up to 100 MHz.

CA uses three techniques for aggregation: in-band contiguous: two carriers are transmitted on adjacent channels (as shown).

In-band discontinuous: two carriers are transmitted channel-spaced. Cross-band: In this technique, different LTE bands are used simultaneously for transmission.

2. Millimeter waves

Millimeter waves are one of the effective solutions for dealing with data transfer rates. It has more bandwidth for simultaneous transmission and reception of data from the base station and the UE (telephone). Future 5G deployments will use 5G-NR spectrum capable of gigabit/s data transmission.

5G technology allows phones to automatically switch to faster internet only when needed and keeps data activity lower when no apps are in use. This method significantly saves battery life. For example: checking email does not require more bandwidth.

3. Small Cell Concept

To increase the efficiency of the network, the cell is divided into micro and Pico cells. The reusability of the spectrum makes it possible to add more users in a small geographical area and work with networks more efficiently.

A mobile network typically used a single base station to cover a large geographic area (2-10 km circle) using low-frequency spectrum. Since 5G uses more spectrum, the waves will be distorted when traveling a longer distance. The typical cell concept is that 5G will cover a very small area compared to third and fourth generation networks.

4. The OUTSIDE concept

MIMO is a transmission technology using multiple antennas for transmission and reception. Using this technology, simultaneous data transfer is possible and thus offers an efficient transfer rate. The more antennas, the more transmission and reception can be done.

5. Wi-Fi load

Reducing Wi-Fi load is one of the main functions of future networks. It allows the user to connect using a wi-fi network and the cellular network can be assigned to other users. It would be suitable for some places where the cellular network quality is poor and users still have the option to connect to the network without cellular reception.

6. Communication between devices

 D2D communication is a technique where a network authorizes two neighboring devices to communicate directly with each other. The network will have control over the devices and allow the operator to determine the routing of traffic between direct and network paths. While not on the network, one device can connect to another device.

7. Cloud - access to the radio network

C-RAN is a network technology used for effective communication with centralized information processing performed remotely within a cloud system. The signal will be processed at a remote location and the base stations will be connected by the most efficient optical connection. It provides many advantages in system implementation and maintenance and is highly efficient.

18- Conclusion

As an improved version of LTE - 4G technology, 5G technology allows us to connect everything with higher speed, lower latency and higher security. By the end of 2022, global 5G subscribers are expected to be around 580 million, a small percentage of the world's population. It requires upgrading base station capabilities, licensing, spectrum distribution, cooperation between network operators and equipment upgrade.