5G Mobile Technology: Everything You Need to Know

What is 5G?

5G, or fifth-generation wireless, is the latest iteration of  cellular technology, designed to greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks. With 5G, data transmitted over wireless broadband connections can travel at multigigabit speeds, with potential peak speeds as high as 20 gigabits per second (Gbps) by some estimates. These speeds exceed wireline network speeds and offer latency of below 5 milliseconds (ms) or lower, which is useful for applications that require real-time feedback. 5G networks and services will be deployed in stages over the next several years to accommodate the increasing reliance on mobile and internet-enabled devices. It will enable a sharp increase in the amount of data transmitted over wireless systems due to more available bandwidth and advanced antenna technology.

Importance of understanding 5G technology

5G technology is more than just faster internet speeds, it is a transformative technology that will connect virtually everyone and everything together. It will enable new use cases, applications, and business opportunities. It will also enable a more reliable, available and uniform user experience for more users. As 5G technology becomes more widely adopted, it will play an increasingly important role in our daily lives, in industry and in society as a whole. It's important to understand how it will impact different industries and how it will change the way we communicate and access information. Furthermore, It's also important to understand the technology's potential to drive innovation and economic growth. Understanding 5G technology is crucial to being able to fully leverage its capabilities and benefits.

Benefits of 5G Mobile Technology

• 5G uses higher frequencies than previous generations, which allows for faster data transfer rates and improved video streaming quality.
• 5G offers increased bandwidth compared to 4G, which means that more data can be transmitted at once, resulting in faster download and upload speeds.
• 5G technology is designed to enhance mobile broadband, which means that users can expect a better overall experience when using their mobile devices to access the internet, stream video, and play games.
• 5G technology offers a lower latency of 5 milliseconds or lower, which means that data can be transmitted and received more quickly, especially useful for applications that require real-time feedback such as virtual reality and gaming.
• 5G technology enables higher data rates, which will enable new technology options over 5G networks, such as 4K streaming or near-real-time streaming of virtual reality (VR).
• 5G networks can be made up of low-band, midband and mmWave frequencies, which offer different trade-offs between coverage and capacity, making it more flexible to adapt to different use cases and environments.
• 5G networks have been designed with improved reliability in mind, which means that users can expect fewer dropped connections and a more stable connection overall.
• 5G technology offers advanced security features that help to protect the network and user data from potential security threats.

How 5G Mobile Technology works

5G networks are built upon the foundation of 4G Long-term Evolution (LTE) wireless technology. The key difference between 4G and 5G is the use of multiple small cell stations, placed in places like light poles or building roofs, to transmit 5G signals. This is in contrast to 4G, which requires large, high-power cell towers to radiate signals over longer distances. The use of small cells is necessary because the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum that 5G relies on to generate high speeds can only travel over short distances and is subject to interference from weather and physical obstacles, like buildings or trees.

To overcome the limitations of mmWave, the wireless industry is also considering the use of lower-frequency spectrum for 5G networks. This spectrum reaches greater distances but has lower speed and capacity than mmWave. Lower-frequency spectrum is made up of low- and midband frequencies. Low-band frequencies operate at around 600 to 700 megahertz (MHz), while midband frequencies operate at around 2.5 to 3.5 GHz. This is compared to high-band mmWave signals, which operate at approximately 24 to 39 GHz.

One approach to getting around the issue of mmWave signal being blocked by physical obstacles is to use a combination of high-, medium- and low-band frequencies. MmWave may be used in densely populated areas, while low- and midband nodes may be used in less dense areas. The low-band frequencies can travel longer and through different objects. One low-band 5G node can stay connected to a 5G-enabled device for up to hundreds of square miles. This means that an implementation of all three bands will give blanketed coverage while providing the fastest speeds in the most highly trafficked areas.

5G will not only deliver faster, better mobile broadband services compared to 4G LTE, but it will also expand into new service areas, such as mission-critical communications and connecting the massive IoT. This is enabled by many new 5G NR (New Radio) air interface design techniques, such as a new self-contained TDD subframe design, which provide a much higher degree of flexibility and scalability. 5G will use OFDM (Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) which is similar to the technology used on 4G, but with the new 5G NR air interface that will further enhance OFDM to deliver a much higher degree of flexibility and scalability.

How Fast is 5G?

5G is designed to deliver much faster download and upload speeds than previous generations of mobile technology. 5G download speeds can currently reach upwards of 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) or even up to 2.1 Gbps. This means that a user could start a YouTube video in 1080p quality on a 5G device without it buffering and downloading an app or an episode of a Netflix show, which may currently take up to a few minutes, can be completed in just a few seconds. Wirelessly streaming video in 4K also becomes much more viable with 5G networks. However, its important to note that these high speeds are currently only available in some areas and depend on the type of 5G network and the device you're using.

Low band 5G can stay locked at 5G over longer distances, and even though the overall speed of low-band 5G may be slower than mmWave, low band should still be faster than what would be considered a good 4G connection. Low-band 5G download speeds may be up to 30 to 250 Mbps. Midband 5G download speeds may reach up to 100 to 900 Mbps, and it is likely to be used in major metro areas.

It's important to note that 5G is not only about speed, it also provide much more network capacity by expanding into new spectrum, such as mmWave, much lower latency for a more immediate response, and an overall more uniform user experience so that the data rates stay consistently high—even when users are moving around. Furthermore, the new 5G NR mobile network is backed up by a Gigabit LTE coverage foundation, which can provide ubiquitous Gigabit-class connectivity.

Who invented 5G?

5G is not the invention of a single company or person, it is the result of collaboration and contributions from several companies within the mobile ecosystem. The development of 5G technology is driven by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an industry organization that defines the global specifications for 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies.

Qualcomm, a leading technology company, has played a major role in inventing the many foundational technologies that drive the industry forward and make up 5G. The company is at the heart of 3GPP, driving many essential inventions across all aspects of 5G design, from the air interface to the service layer.

In addition to Qualcomm, many other companies have also contributed to the development of 5G technology. These include infrastructure vendors, component and device manufacturers, mobile network operators, and vertical service providers. All of these companies have worked together to define the standards and specifications that make up 5G, and continue to drive its development forward.

4G vs 5G mobile technology

4G and 5G are different generations of cellular technology, each with its own set of capabilities and limitations. 4G, or fourth-generation wireless, is the predecessor to 5G and has been widely adopted in recent years.

One of the main differences between 4G and 5G is the data transmission speed. 4G can support up to 2 Gbps and is slowly continuing to improve in speeds, while 5G can be up to 100 times faster. This increased speed allows for new use cases and applications, such as high-definition video streaming and virtual reality, that were not possible with 4G.

Latency is another key difference between the two technologies. Latency refers to the amount of time it takes for a device to send and receive data over the network. 5G has much lower latency than 4G which makes it suitable for real-time applications like self-driving cars and remote surgery.

Another important difference is in the encoding methods used. 5G uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) encoding, similar to 4G, but it will use larger blocks of airwaves, 100-800 MHz channels, than 4G's 20 MHz channels bonded together at 160 MHz.

5G is also designed to be a unified, more capable platform than 4G, it natively supports all spectrum types, a wide range of deployment models and new ways to interconnect, like device-to-device and multi-hop mesh.

Lastly, 6G is currently being researched by companies like Samsung, it's not clear yet how fast 6G would be and how it would operate, but it is expected to operate in similar differences in magnitude as between 4G and 5G, using mmWave on the radio spectrum and may be a decade away.

Overall, 5G offers significant improvements over 4G, including faster speeds, more capacity, lower latency, and a more capable, unified platform. These improvements will enable new use cases and applications, and drive innovation and economic growth across industries.

Available 5G Smartphones

A 5G phone is a device that is specifically designed to support 5G networks, which means that it has the necessary hardware and software to connect to and utilize 5G networks. Unlike 4G phones, 5G phones cannot simply be upgraded via software to enable 5G capabilities.

There are a variety of 5G-enabled phones available on the market today from leading manufacturers such as Samsung, OnePlus, Motorola, Xiaomi, and Huawei. some examples of popular 5G phones include the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G, Samsung Galaxy A90 5G, OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Moto Z3, Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G, Huawei Mate X and Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G.

It's worth noting that in order to access 5G networks, users must have a 5G-enabled device, a carrier that supports 5G and be within an area that has a 5G node within range. Additionally, 5G coverage  is still being rolled out, so it may not be available in all areas.