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“With 5G, users should be able to download a high-definition film in under a second” — IEEE Spectrum

“The new 5G technology is not just the next version of mobile communications, evolving from 1G to 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G. Instead, 5G technology is very different.” — Electronic Notes

“5G will connect everything, and benefit all walks of life.” — Huawei

The hype over 5G might seem overblown. After all, not many of us are complaining about internet speeds. While much of the focus is on the faster speeds offered by this new standard, speed is only one among the many breakthroughs.

Tech Behind 5G

The definition of “What is 5G?” is constantly evolving, but here are some of the technologies that are thought to be essential to this standard:

1. Millimetre Waves

What is it?

The previous generation wireless networks use radio-frequency spectrum bands below 6 GHz, which has now become congested because of the explosive growth in mobile device users and data consumption. By using millimetre waves, service providers can utilise frequencies greater than 24 GHz.

Benefits

By opening up this vast spectrum of high-range frequencies, service providers can provide users with larger bandwidth, faster speeds and lesser dropped connections.

Disadvantages

Unlike sub 6 GHz frequencies, millimetre waves cannot travel through buildings or obstacles and can be disrupted by rain and plants.

2. Small Cells

Small Cells Creating a Dense Network — RCR Wireless

What is it?

As the name suggests, small cells are mini base stations. They help overcome the range problem of millimetre waves. These cells are the size of encyclopedias and can be placed throughout a city to form a dense network of antennas.

Benefits

Users can enjoy the benefits of millimetre wave without worrying about signal loss. There is also a more efficient use of spectrum because different cells can use the same spectrum to serve different customers.

Disadvantages

A large number of such cells need to be deployed to cover all areas of a city. This is much harder to implement in rural areas. In such areas, and in areas with fewer obstructions, since congestion isn’t the biggest problem, 5G is expected to be delivered using sub-6 GHz frequencies. The cost of deploying 5G using sub-6 GHz is also cheaper and easier to implement.

3. Massive MIMO

What is it?

Currently, 4G base stations have 12 ports to handle all cellular traffic. There are eight transmitters and four receivers. This is known as multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO). With 5G base stations, there can be about 100 ports, hence, massive MIMO.

Benefits

The capacity of the mobile network increases by a factor of 22 or greater. The increased capacity also contributes to higher downlinks and uplinks.

Disadvantages

The issue with multiple antennas is interference from one another. To solve this, researchers have come up with a technique called beamforming.

4. Beamforming

What is it?

It is a mechanism by which a cellular base station identifies the most efficient route to a user. In massive MIMO, this means plotting a path to the end-user that has least interference, thus increasing spectrum efficiency. When used along with millimetre wave, beamforming allows base stations to focus energy on a single user rather than broadcasting in many directions at once.

Benefits

Beamforming allows users and base stations to exchange much more data at once by reducing interference. It increases the chances of the signal arriving intact and reduced the chances of signals being blocked by walls or foliage

Disadvantages

Beamforming requires multiple new hardware that is expensive. This makes it more likely to arrive at a later stage of 5G deployment.

5. Full Duplex

What is it?

Existing base stations have to take turns to transmit and receive data when operating on the same frequency or switch to different frequencies to do both at the same time. With 5G, base stations can transfer and receive data at the same time, on the same frequency.

Benefits

Full duplex doubles the capacity of wireless networks and reduces latency drastically. Latency is the time it takes to get a response for a request. The reduced latency is essential to many of the planned applications of 5G.

Disadvantages

When an antenna tries to transmit and receive at the same time, there is a lot of signal interference. This creates echos that can only be avoided by special echo-cancelling technologies.