What is 5G?

5G is the next generation of wireless network technology that’s fueling innovation, and transforming how people live, work, and play with unmatched data speeds, greater network capacity, ultra-low latency, and higher reliability.

How Fast is 5G?

Operators performing 5G speed trials have reported speeds of up to 70 Gbps. Industry-sponsored simulations have also produced impressive results with data speeds increasing from 71 Mbps for 4G users to 1.4 Gbps for 5G users in the millimeter wave.

Accompanying the significant uptick in speed is the dramatic decrease in latency. This is an important factor for new technologies such as self-driving cars and “virtual” robotic surgery that rely on instantaneous communication. With 5G, latency in the 1 millisecond (ms) range can be expected, whereas latency of around 20 ms is typical for 4G.

5G Range

• Testing of 5G service range in mmWave has produced results approximately 500 meters from the tower, meaning a huge propagation of MIMO-enabled antenna arrays would be required for pure standalone 5G deployment. In addition, the inability of millimeter wave signals to penetrate obstructions further limits the range potential because these obstructions would need to be factored into network designs for mobile users. 
• The range constraints of 5G technology have motivated a trend towards more flexible architectures in 5G with the decomposition of the base station into new logical elements. These facilitate the network to be deployed flexibly using the available real estate with local aggregation of some functions with minimal space footprint and other requirements needed for radio sites where this is limited.
• With these prescient range concerns in mind, anchoring with LTE or low-band 5G may remain a component of 5G networks for the foreseeable future, with only users close to the antennas reaping the full benefits. Small cell technology and other creative alternatives to the traditional cell tower can be utilized effectively to make standalone 5G networks viable. 

The Impact for Consumers and Businesses

• Many users remain unaware of the impact 5G will have on their everyday lives in the coming years.

• The most noticeable and immediate impact on consumers is exponential faster streaming capability. Traditional home Wi-Fi systems connected to the internet by wire or cable may in some cases become connected to direct 5G connections as speeds will be on par with most fiber optic networks.
• The long-term impact on the business world will be massive. Chip, modem, and phone manufacturers are already tooling up for the inevitable conversion. Other industries, such as banking, automotive, and agriculture will see a significant impact from the evolution of the IOT(internet of things). Everything from ATMs to irrigation equipment could eventually become part of the vast network of “smart” products.
• The healthcare industry may see the biggest impact, with billions of wearable devices streaming data to doctors and clinicians and the improved transmission of large data files from one provider to another.

The Impact for Service Providers

• While service providers race to build the infrastructure necessary to support 5G, it may very well be a case of “hurry up and wait”, with phone manufacturers lagging behind in their expected 5g rollouts.
• Some providers are leveraging massive MIMO deployment on existing towers as a bridge between LTE and 5G. The shorter range of 5G in mmWave and increased antenna quantity drive both competition and cost-cutting innovation among providers during deployment.
• The IoT is changing how service providers interact with customers. For example, some applications may require lower bandwidth across multiple devices, meaning the focus may shift from quantifying data usage to overall quality of experience. For industrial applications such as factory robotics, reliability of service may be the driving value factor for customers.

What are the Benefits of 5G? 

As with almost any major advancement in technology, the obvious benefits are sometimes at least partly offset by some negative consequences. While diligent testing of 5G has been ongoing for several years, the true advantages and disadvantages may not be fully quantifiable until the transition is well under way.

5G Advantages

The speed and latency improvements that 5G brings are an obvious and significant advantage over 4G as well as all the previous standards that preceded it. Another advantage is the inherent up-swing in device support facilitated by the smaller size and more precise directional signal delivery of the MIMO antenna arrays which accompany 5G.

The improved network architecture of 5G make handoffs smoother when users move from cell to cell. This improves the overall user experience by limiting data transfer interruption and lost signals.

5G Drawbacks and Dangers

• Much like the inherent advantages of 5G, many of the obvious drawbacks also stem from the shift to higher frequencies and the behavior of radio signals in the millimeter wave. Shorter range and increased susceptibility to obstructions are the most obvious disadvantages in this category.
• In addition to obstructions like buildings and trees, high frequencies are also more susceptible to humidity and rain, so the already-limited range is further challenged by suboptimal weather conditions. If more antennas are the obvious solution to limited range, the aesthetic and environmental issues related to this propagation become another potential concern.
• Other 5G technology drawbacks relate to cost. The antenna arrays are just one aspect of the deployment costs. These arrays require maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting proportional to the larger volume of hardware. Although the millimeter wave antennas for devices have already been developed, their complexity may render economies of scale ineffective in driving down prices which in turn are passed on to consumers in increased phone cost.
• The concepts of beams and smaller cell size in 5G breaks down the fundamental unit of coverage into much smaller parcels than in older technologies. These have interactions and need to be configured and optimized to support coverage whilst maintaining capacity while also supporting mobility in appropriate scenarios.
• The planning, deployment, management, operation, and optimization of a more flexible network architecture on virtualized infrastructure challenges operators in new ways and require new expertise.