Differences and Similarities Between 4G And 5G Networks (3)

Enter 5G

The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance defines 5G as follows:

5G is an end-to-end ecosystem that brings a fully mobile and connected device. It enhances value creation for consumer-facing collaborators through existing and new use cases with coherent experiences enabled by sustainable business models.

Basically, LTE-A is the foundation of the 5G radio access network (RAN) below 6GHz, while frequencies from 6GHz to 100GHz will be simultaneously explored for new technologies. Take MIMO, for example, 5G upgrades the technology to Massive MIMO, in which the antenna configuration jumps from 16x16 to 256x256, which will bring a leap in wireless network speed and coverage.

Early blueprints for the 5G pilot network consist primarily of beamforming technology and small cell base stations. Companies such as Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung have already launched pilot projects using both technologies, and the results obtained are encouraging.

The goals of 5G technology can be boiled down to the following numbers:

1000x capacity increase

100 billion+ connections supported

10GB/s top speed

Latency under 1ms