The 5G mobile communications
system provides a far higher level of performance than the previous generations
of mobile communications systems.The new 5G technology is not just the next
version of mobile communications, evolving from 1G to 2G, 3G, 4G, but it
provides a new approach giving ubiquitous connectivity.
5G technology is very different.
Previous systems had evolved driven more by what could be done with the latest
technology. The new 5G technology has been driven by specific uses ad
applications.5G mobile communications has been driven by the need to provide
ubiquitous connectivity for applications as diverse as automotive
communications, remote control with haptic style feedback, huge video
downloads, as well as the very low data rate applications like remote sensors
and what is being termed the IoT, Internet of Things.
5G is able to provide much greater
flexibility and therefore it is able to support a much wider range of
applications, from low data rate Internet of Things requirements through to
very fast data rate and very low latency applications.
5G standardisation
Like all widely used systems, the
5G mobile communications is governed by a series of standards. Building on 2G
GSM, 3G UMTS and then 4G LTE, the 5G standard come under the auspices of 3GPP -
Third generation Partnership Project.
3GPP has a number of different
work groups, each addressing different elements of the required standards. They
draw on industry expert who give of their time and are sponsored by relevant
mobile communications companies. In this way the standards are written and
developed.
By having a main industry
organisation that controls the standards, interested parties are able to
influence the standards to ensure that the required functionality is obtained.
Also as the standard are international not only can different companies work on
different elements of the system and know they will interoperate, but also for
the user, capabilities like roaming are available, and the cost of phones,
calls, etc are reduced as a result of the savings of scale, etc.
The 3GPP standards are updated as
specific releases - each release refining elements that have already been
described, and introducing new functionality. Previous releases contained the
standards for GSM, UMTS and LTE. As 5G started to be developed, it too was
incorporated into the standards.
The new releases also contain
updates for previous systems - Release 14, for example contained many new
elements of functionality for LTE as well as updates etc, for UMTS and GSM.
5G cellular systems
overview
As the different generations of
cellular telecommunications have evolved, each one has brought its own
improvements. The same is true of 5G technology.
- First generation, 1G: These phones were analogue and were the first mobile or cellular phones to be used. Although revolutionary in their time they offered very low levels of spectrum efficiency and security.
- Second generation, 2G: These were based around digital technology and offered much better spectrum efficiency, security and new features such as text messages and low data rate communications.
- Third generation, 3G: The aim of this technology was to provide high speed data. The original technology was enhanced to allow data up to 14 Mbps and more.
- Fourth generation, 4G: This was an all-IP based technology capable of providing data rates up to 1 Gbps.
- 5G technology: When 5G was being first postulated a number of use cases were put forwards: very high speed data transfer as video downloads become larger and more commonplace; remote control with low latency - examples of autonomous vehicles communicating with rad infrastructure to provide safe transport as well as the example of experienced surgeons being able to perform delicate surgery remotely using a 5G link both of these examples require very low latency mobile communications; more capability for general data communications; ability to accommodate the very low data rate and occasional communications for the Internet of Things, IoT where very long battery life is needed.
Rather than just offering more of
what was in the previous mobile communications generations, 5G technology
needed to offer new capabilities and ubiquitous connectivity. This would
require not only the use of exiting base stations which could be converted to
5G, but also many more small cells as well.
5G requirements
As the preliminaries for the work
for the new 5G mobile communications system, the outline requirements were set
in place. These were A defined by the ITU as part of IMT2020. Even now with 5G
as an active mobile communications system, it is useful to refer to these
requirements.
5G communications
system
The 5G mobile cellular
communications system is a major shift in the way mobile communications
networks operate. New network topologies, access networks and the like were
defined and implemented.
- 5G New Radio, 5G NR: 5G new radio is the new name for the 5G radio access network. It consists of the different elements needed for the new radio access network. Using a far more flexible technology the system is able to respond to the different and changing needs of mobile users whether they be a small IoT node, or a high data user, stationary or mobile.
- 5G NextGen Core Network: Although initial deployments of 5G utilised the core network of LTE or possibly even 3G networks, the network needed to move to a much flatter structure to provide the data capability and low latency needed.
5G technologies
5G also incorporates many
technologies, many of which are new, to enable the it to provide the very high
levels of performance required of it.
The technologies for 5G mobile
communications includes :
- Waveforms & modulation: One of the major discussions when 5G was being developed was based around the type of waveform to be used. In the end the scheme was based around OFDM, with actual modulation formats dependent upon the link and these include QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM and for the uplink when DFT-OFDM is used,
For the future,
other forms of waveform may be developed, but currently the waveform is based
around OFDM.
5G mobile communications
technology is rapidly developing and it is becoming the technology that
everyone is moving towards. Not only will it be able to accommodate the super
fast speeds required of it, but it will also be possible to accommodate the low
data rate requirements for IoT and IIoT applications. As such 5G mobile
communications will be able to encompass a huge number of different
applications, and accommodate very many different data types.
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