5G Technology

When we think about 5G technology and what it is all about, the first thing that comes to our mind is that it has to be somewhat related to mobile networks. Our mind instantly tells us that it is getting to be an upper version of 4G LTE, which is indeed very true. But what the 5G technology is offering today and what it holds for us in the future is way beyond our imaginations. That it will serve as an enabler across various industries and numerous applications while giving birth to new use cases. Also, as everything has its pros and cons; the use of 5G New Radio technology is also believed to cause disruption.

5G technology is basically all about offering enormous capacity, high speed, low latency, IoT capability, and much more. With the invention of 5G Technology, various new capabilities of mobile networks and applications will be realized. It will provide a much better level of performance in contrast with what was being offered by the previous generations of wireless cellular technologies. The previous generations were more about what the latest technologies had to offer, whereas, specific applications drive the 5G technology and to provide connectivity for their uses exclusively. These applications can be as diverse as remote control feedbacks, huge video downloads, automotive, communications, along with low data rate applications as well, such as the Internet of Things and remote sensors.

These technologies are being developed to address the evolution that lies beyond the mobile internet. It is meant to provide huge data speed improvements, critical and new communication use cases and new Internet of things (IoT). The low targeted latency in 5G technologies will offer real-time interactivity for cloud services. This will serve as a key to the development and operation of self-driving cars. One, advantage is low power consumption that will enable the devices to operate for months without any human assistance.

The Standardization of 5G Technology

This technology for cellular systems is currently in a very early phase of development. Many companies and research centers are on the lookout for the technologies that can be made a part of this system. Various universities have also set up 5G research units that are also working to develop 5G related technologies.

The plan is to initially launch the this technology in the systems that are currently on 4G, and as with the passage of time, cellular systems will start formulating in the market more effectively, then these technologies will be incorporated into the cellular systems.

One major problem with the latest technology is the huge variations in demands and requirements: small data requirements for superfast downloads, no single system is able to meet such needs. Thus, it is said that this technology is more about providing ubiquitous data rates.

Requirements

The currently decided standards for this technology are defined below:

• Connection density: It is required that at least one million devices are connected per square kilometer to enable IoT support.
• Data rate: At least 10Gps uplink and 20Gps downlink are required per base station.
• Mobility: High-speed access from 0 km per hour to 500km per hour is required.
• Spectral efficiency: 15bits/Hz uplink and 30bits/Hz downlinks are required.
• Energy efficiency: The radio interfaced used in this technology must be energy efficient and able to operate under load while quickly able to switch to a low energy mode when are not being utilized.
• Latency: maximum latency of 4ms should be offered by the 5G Networks

5G Technologies

Various 5G techniques and technologies are under-discussion as well as under-development to be included in the standards of 5G. They will contribute to helping 5G to offer more dynamic and flexible services. Some of these technologies that are under-development are mentioned below:

• Waveforms: New waveforms are expected to be seen with the invention of 5G technologies. The OFDM that has been used in high data rate systems such as 4G LTE also possesses some limitations under certain circumstances. Some other waveforms that are under-discussion of this technology are Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC), Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM), and Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier (UFMC). However, it is expected that these technologies will use OFDMA as it offers amazing performance overall.
• Millimeter-Wave Communications: These technologies are supposed to use relatively higher frequencies in the spectrum that will provide wider channel bandwidth and more available spectrum. But this increase in frequencies is also presenting some challenges with respect to technology and circuit design. Also, how this system is going to be used is a challenge as such high frequencies cannot travel much far, and the obstacles present in their paths usually absorb them completely.
• Massive MIMO along with beam-steering: It is a known fact that MIMO is used in various applications such as LTE and WiFi, but the number of antennas being used is limited. However, with the utilization of microwave frequencies, it has become possible to use various antennas on one equipment. This enables the steering of beams, and overall performance is enhanced.
• Multiple Access: Various schemes are under-discussion of these technologies. This includes NOMA, MUSA, SCMA, IDMA, and OFDMA. The most likely scheme to be adapted is OFDMA to improve overall performance.
• Dense Networks: The reduced cell sizes lead to the available spectrum being utilized effectively. Hence, techniques that ensure the use of small cells in large macro-networks and their satisfactory deployment and operation are required.

Conclusion:

This technology is under rapid development, and it will become a technology for everyone in a very short time. Along with huge internet speeds, it will also accommodate the low data rate requirements that are expected of it. Many countries are working on this technology, as effective communication leads to economic growth.