5G Wireless Technology

           The search engine major Google has already confirmed that the smartphone user base has surpassed the desktop userbase. If we go back a few years, the maximum RAM in a smartphone was in a few MBs only but now, even the smartphone configurations are competing with personal computers. It is evident that smartphone usage without the internet is barely minimum. With the increased dependency on IoT, internet speed plays a pivotal role. 

The majority of companies think of future needs, innovations, services that could give a better life to mankind. Keeping this in mind, 5G thoughts were rolled a decade back even before the 4G technology was in place. Of course, the 4G has been a base to implement 5G. We will discuss countrywide 5G rollout further in this article.

           5G simply refers to the next and newest mobile wireless standard based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard of broadband technology. Rather than faster Internet connection speeds, 5G aims at a higher capacity than current 4G LTE, allowing a higher number of mobile broadband users per area unit, and allowing consumption of data quantities in gigabyte per second. This would make it feasible for a large portion of the population to consume high-quality streaming media many hours per day on their mobile devices, also when out of reach of wifi hotspots. 5G research and development also aim at the improved support of machine to machine communication, also known as the Internet of things, aiming at a lower cost, lower battery consumption, and lower latency and to increase the security and connectivity for a large community. 

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The following are the key takeaways of the 5G network:

• High & increased peak bit rate (Up to 10Gbps connections to endpoints in the field)
• Larger data volume per unit area (i.e. high system spectral efficiency)
• High capacity to allow more devices connectivity concurrently and instantaneously (100 percent coverage)
• More bandwidth
• Peak rate of 10 Gb/s
• Lower battery consumption
• Better connectivity irrespective of the geographic region where you are in
• A larger number of supporting devices (10 to 100x number of connected devices)
• Lower cost of infrastructural development
• Higher reliability of the communications (One millisecond end-to-end round trip delay)

          With a huge array of innovative features, now your smartphone would be more parallel to the laptop. The significant features that fascinate people are more gaming options, wider multimedia options, connectivity everywhere, zero latency, faster response time, and high-quality sound and HD video can be transferred to another cell phone without compromising the quality of audio and video.

                 The most distinguishing feature of 5G Network is that the network will be based on User experience, System Performance, enhanced performance, business models, and Management & Operations. 5G will utilize advanced access technologies such as Beam Division Multiple Access (BDMA) and Non and quasi-orthogonal or Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC) Multiple Access. The new advanced technology called Fog Computing is going to support the 5G development, this will help in achieving low latency, high mobility, high scalability, and real-time execution. Follow the link to read about the Applications of 5G in detail.

How to experience 5G?

Even though carriers have implemented 5G infrastructure which nearly took almost a decade of time, the users are required to upgrade their handsets to enjoy the 5G network. Smartphones powered by the Snapdragon X55 or Snapdragon X60 Modem-RF System are 5G compatible.

Samsung Galaxy S20 launched on March 6, 2020, became the first-ever all-5G smartphone. Followed by which Nokia 8.3 was launched in the next month which claims to support all 5G bands from 600 MHz to 3.8 GHz. Motorola Edge Plus and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro are few other devices supporting 5G.

How does 5G work?

In 5G, the network service area is divided into small geographical areas called cells. All the 5G wireless devices in a cell communicate by radio waves with a local antenna and low-power automated transceiver (transmitter and receiver) in the cell. The local antennas are connected to the telephone network and the Internet by a high-bandwidth optical fiber or wireless backhaul connection. The new 5G wireless devices include 4G LTE support as well to establish a connection with the cell and to connect to the internet at locations where 5G access is not available. 5G can support up to a million devices per square kilometer, while 4G supports only up to 100,000 devices per square kilometer.

5G operates on 3 different spectrum bands.

1. Low-band spectrum – Expect peak speeds up to 100Mbps
2. mid-band spectrum – Expect peak speeds up to 1Gbps
3. high-band spectrum – Expect peak speeds up to 10Gbps

Where is 5G being used?

5G is meant to bring revolutions in many fields. Some of the areas where  5G is being used are:

• Internet of Thongs – IoT
• Health care
• Public safety and infrastructure
• Autonomous vehicles
• Manufacturing
• Entertainment/Gaming
• Supply-chain management
• Energy

Worldwide deployment of 5G

South Korea was the first country to implement 5G in April 2019. Following this Verizon launched its 5G services in the United States. The Philippines was the first country in Southeast Asia to start a 5G network after Globe Telecom commercially launched its 5G data plans to customers in June 2019. China, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States have also implemented the 5G network.

Below are the statistics for the top 10 countries using the 5G network as per statista.com in 2022

• China

China launched its 5G network and started commercial operation on November 1, 2019. It was called the world’s largest 5G network by Chinese state media. Currently, China is leading all others in the 5G network. According to data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), there are more than 10,000 5G applications in various areas.

• The United States of America:

The USA is just behind China in using the 5G network. The 4 major carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon launched low-band spectrum 5G services at the end of 2019 across several states with mid-band spectrum on cards in the coming years. With the recent reports in 2022, T-Mobile has beaten other carriers in reliability, coverage, and speed.

• Japan:

All four major mobile operators in Japan – NTT Docomo, KDDI, Softbank, and Rakuten have launched 5G mmWave. 

• India:

            Internationally India has gained a remarkable name in providing IT services. Major telecom companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have already launched 5G in most of the big cities in India and further, the rollout is planned for all tier 2 cities in 2023. 

• Canada:

Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility, and Videotron network providers have already launched 5G in more than 84 cities in Canada.

• Australia:

The largest mobile network carrier in Australia, Telstra has rolled out the 5G network in more than 30 cities in Australia and the expansion to other cities is continuing.

Conclusion

5G Wireless Technology is more intelligent technology, which will interconnect the entire world without limits. It is designed to provide unbelievable and extraordinary data capabilities, unhindered call volumes, and vast data broadcast. Our world would have universal and uninterrupted access to information, communication, and entertainment that will open a new dimension to our lives and will change our lifestyle meaningfully. Moreover, governments and regulators can use this technology as an opportunity for good governance and can create healthier environments, which will definitely encourage continuing investment in 5G, the next-generation technology.