What Is 5G Technology?
5G technology has a theoretical peak speed of 20 Gbps, while the peak speed of 4G is only 1 Gbps. 5G also promises lower latency, which can improve the performance of business applications as well as other digital experiences (such as online gaming, videoconferencing, and self-driving cars).
While earlier generations of cellular technology (such as 4G LTE) focused on ensuring connectivity, 5G takes connectivity to the next level by delivering connected experiences from the cloud to clients. 5G networks are virtualized and software-driven, and they exploit cloud technologies.
The 5G network will also simplify mobility, with seamless open roaming capabilities between cellular and Wi-Fi access. Mobile users can stay connected as they move between outdoor wireless connections and wireless networks inside buildings without user intervention or the need for users to re-authenticate.
The new Wi-Fi 6 wireless standard (also known as 802.11ax) shares traits with 5G, including improved performance. Wi-Fi 6 radios can be placed where users need them to provide better geographical coverage and lower cost. Underlying these Wi-Fi 6 radios is a software-based network with advanced automation.5G technology should improve connectivity in underserved rural areas and in cities where demand can outstrip today’s capacity with 4G technology. New 5G networks will also have a dense, distributed-access architecture and move data processing closer to the edge and the users to enable faster data processing.
How does 5G work?
5G network architecture illustrates 5G and 4G working together, with central and local servers providing faster content to users and low latency applications.
A mobile network has two main components, the ‘Radio Access Network’ and the ‘Core Network
The Radio Access Network – consists of various types of facilities including small cells, towers, masts, and dedicated in-building and home systems that connect mobile users and wireless devices to the main core network.
Small cells will be a major feature of 5G networks, particularly at the new millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies where the connection range is very short. To provide a continuous connection, small cells will be distributed in clusters depending on where users require a connection which will complement the macro network that provides wide-area coverage.
5G Macro Cells will use MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennas that have multiple elements or connections to send and receive more data simultaneously. The benefit to users is that more people can simultaneously connect to the network and maintain high throughput. Where MIMO antennas use very large numbers of antenna elements they are often referred to as ‘massive MIMO’, however, the physical size is similar to existing 3G and 4G base station antennas.
The Core Network – is the mobile exchange and data network that manages all of the mobile voice, data, and internet connections. For 5G, the ‘core network’ is being redesigned to better integrate with the internet and cloud-based services and also includes distributed servers across the network improving response times (reducing latency).
Many of the advanced features of 5G including network function virtualization and network slicing for different applications and services, will be managed in the core. The following illustration shows examples of local cloud servers providing faster content to users (movie streaming) and low latency applications for vehicle collision avoidance systems.
Features Of 5G:–
The most-discussed 5G feature is increased speed and bandwidth. With a data rate of up to 10 Gbps, 5G will bring a 10 times to 100 times improvement over the exciting 4G LTE technology Cellular is now a potential technology for branch office automation because WAN connections finally have enough bandwidth. For businesses, the real benefit of 5G might not be the actual bandwidth, but the pressure that 5G exerts on market prices of incumbent WAN connectivity.
5G’s low latency, under 5 milliseconds, is the other key benefit of WAN usage. Customers are using MPLS or dedicated lines today primarily for low latency in line-of-business applications. 5G’s low latency may bring additional flexibility that lets businesses jettison some of their branch office MPLS infrastructure in favor of the less expensive and more flexible 5G connections to branches. This is especially true in retail or shared infrastructure or very remote environments.
5G density enables up to 100 times more connected devices in the same physical area that 4G LTE operates today while maintaining 99.999% availability. While this density may bring business advantages for mobile workforces, the real benefit is increasing the size of the mobile customer market. Mobile e-commerce is growing faster than retail and traditional computer-based e-commerce. More customers than ever use mobile technologies to shop online, so greater density increases the overall addressable market.
Security is always a concern for mobile devices and IoT devices because the latter lives on the edge of the corporate network. With 5G, stronger security than 4G LTE is available for designers, including hardware security modules, key management services, over-the-air, secure elements,s, and others. This will help ensure that the data transmitted over the 5G network is secure while also hardening network endpoints.
the real-world impact of 5G technology:
5G technology will not only usher in a new era of improved network performance and speed but also new connected experiences for users.
In healthcare, 5G technology and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity will enable patients to be monitored via connected devices that constantly deliver data on key health indicators, such as heart rate and blood pressure. In the auto industry, 5G combined with ML-driven algorithms will provide information on traffic, accidents, and more; vehicles will be able to share information with other vehicles and entities on roadways, such as traffic lights. These are just two industry applications of 5G technology that can enable better, safer experiences for users.
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