5G
Fifth Generation mobile network technology providing enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communications, and massive machine-type communications.
Fifth Generation Mobile Network Technology
5G is the fifth generation of mobile network technology, designed to provide significantly faster data speeds, lower latency, and greater capacity compared to previous generations. It represents a major evolution in mobile communications, enabling new use cases and applications.
Key Features of 5G
5G technology introduces several key improvements over 4G LTE:
- Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB): Provides significantly higher data rates and improved user experience
- Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC): Enables applications requiring extremely low latency and high reliability
- Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC): Supports a massive number of connected devices for IoT applications
5G is designed to support three main use case categories, each with different requirements for data rate, latency, and device density.
5G Performance Targets
The ITU-R has defined the following performance targets for 5G (IMT-2020):
| Parameter | Target Value |
|---|---|
| Peak Data Rate | 20 Gbps (downlink), 10 Gbps (uplink) |
| User Experienced Data Rate | 100 Mbps (downlink), 50 Mbps (uplink) |
| Latency | 1 ms (URLLC), 4 ms (eMBB) |
| Connection Density | 1 million devices per km² |
| Energy Efficiency | 100x improvement over 4G |
| Spectrum Efficiency | 3x improvement over 4G |
5G Architecture
The 5G system architecture consists of:
- 5G Core (5GC): The core network based on service-based architecture
- 5G New Radio (NR): The radio access technology
- NG-RAN: The next-generation radio access network
- Network Slicing: Virtual networks tailored for specific use cases
5G Deployment Options
5G can be deployed in different configurations:
- Standalone (SA): 5G NR connected to 5G Core
- Non-Standalone (NSA): 5G NR connected to 4G EPC
- Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS): 4G and 5G sharing the same spectrum
5G Frequency Bands
5G operates in different frequency ranges:
- Sub-6 GHz (FR1): Provides wide coverage and good penetration
- mmWave (FR2): Provides very high data rates but limited coverage
- Mid-band: Balances coverage and capacity
5G Applications
5G enables various new applications and use cases:
- Autonomous Vehicles: Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications
- Industrial IoT: Smart factories and Industry 4.0
- Augmented/Virtual Reality: Immersive experiences
- Smart Cities: Connected infrastructure and services
- Remote Surgery: Ultra-low latency medical applications
- Massive IoT: Large-scale sensor networks
Related Terms
Related 5G concepts and technologies:
- 5G NR: 5G New Radio access technology
- 5GC: 5G Core network
- Network Slicing: Virtual network instances
- Edge Computing: Computing at the network edge
- Beamforming: Advanced antenna techniques
- Massive MIMO: Multiple-input multiple-output antenna systems