What is 5G Network?
5G Network is the fifth-generation mobile network technology. It is the latest repetitive cellular technology to increase the speed and responsiveness of the wireless network. It will deliver new levels of performance in speed, capacity, and latency and will work in high efficiency that will empower new user experiences and connect new industries.
5G NR speed can be slightly higher than the 4G NR speed. With 5G, data will be delivering up to 20 Gigabits-per-seconds peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second average data rates.
How does 5G Network work?
5G technology will acquire its expected high efficiency using most modern modulation techniques and network terminologies.
1. Carrier aggregation:
This is the technique used in LTE to improve system efficiency. In this process carrier signals can be two or more and they are aggregated to support wider bandwidth that allows even up to 100MHz. Carrier aggregation uses three techniques to aggregate signals and they are -
a) Intra-band contiguous - In this technique, two carriers are transmitted at neighboring channels.
b) Intra-band non-contiguous - In this technique, two carriers are transmitted with channel spacing.
c) Inter-band - In this technique, different LTE bands are used for transmission simultaneously.
2. Small cell concept:
In this process to increase network efficiency, many cells are subdivided into micro and Pico cells. Spectrum reusability allows adding more users in a small geographical area and handles networks more efficiently.
3. MIMO concept:
It is the technology where multiple antennas are used for transmission and reception. If the number of antennas increases then the transmission and reception are also increases.
4. Wi-Fi off-loading:
Wi-fi off-loading is one of the main features of future networks. It allows the user to connect using the wi-fi network and the cellular network can be allocated to other users. It would be suitable for some places where the cellular network is very poor.
5. Device to device communication:
Device to device communication is a technique where a network authorizes two adjacent devices to communicate with each other directly.
6. Cloud – Radio Network Access:
This technology is used for effective communication with centralized information processing carried out remotely within the cloud system.
The signal is processed at a remote location and the base stations are connected with most efficient fiber-optic connections. It gives a lot of advantages in system performance, maintenance and highly efficient.
5G Network speed
Ideal 5G Network Speeds
Here an example of 5G network speeds in ideal conditions.
5G peak download speed - 20 Gbps (gigabits per second), or 20,480 Mbps (megabits per second).
5G peak upload speed - 10 Gbps (gigabits per second), or 10,240 Mbps (megabits per second).
Note - Remember that those speeds are identical, they’re just using a different unit of measurement. and Also, remember that bits are not the same as bytes (the above measurements are written in bits).
Because there are eight bits in every byte, to convert those 5G speeds into megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB), you have to divide them by 8.
Many measurements are in these units instead of megabits(Mbps) and gigabits(Gbps), so it’s important to understand both.
Here the same 5G speeds but in bytes instead of bits -
5G peak download speed - 2.5 Gbps (gigabytes per second), or 2,560 Mbps (megabytes per second).
5G peak upload speed - 1.25 Gbps (gigabytes per second), or 1,280 Mbps (megabytes per second).
Actual 5G Network Speeds
The above measurements are a reflection of 5G speeds in ideal conditions. Here is an actual 5G network speed shown by an example.
without examples, it can be difficult to reveal what you can do on a 5G network vs a 4G network, or any other slower connection. So let an example for better understanding -
Example - Let you are downloading a movie that is 3 GB in size, using 5G, 4G, 4G LTE, and 3G networks. Here's how long it might take to download the movie on those different types of mobile networks (using realistic speeds, not peak speeds)
3G - 1 hour, 8 minutes
4G - 40 minutes
4G LTE - 27 minutes
Gigabit LTE - 61 seconds
5G - 35 seconds
Note - Keep in mind that these numbers are only averages. If your 5G connection is so good and it was to reach speeds of 20 Gb/s, then the same movie could be downloaded in the blink of an eye, in just over one second.
5G network countries
The top countries are most likely to launch 5G network first.
South Korea
Two service providers in South Korea are competing to be the first to market with a 5G network. South Korea Telecom has acquired spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz frequencies in waiting of deploying 5G.
Meanwhile, peninsula telecommunication created a splash in early 2017 with its announcement that it might roll out an effort 5G network before the 2018 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
China
China is also expecting to be the fast-mover in 5G. The GSMA assumes that by 2025 China will represent 40 percent of global 5G connections.
China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and the research arm of the MIIT(Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) says that 5G could account for 3.2 percent of China’s entire GDP(Gross Domestic Product) in 2025, generate 8 million jobs, and add 2.9 trillion yuan in economic value by 2030.
Japan
Japan is mobilizing its communications industry in the hopes of being among the top 5G network players. They are also using 5G network technology to determine the effectiveness of the service in handling security for the opening ceremonies of the 2020 Olympics.
The experiment involved the use of artificial intelligence (AI), a drone with an HD 4K camera, and smartphones.
United States
The United States has some benefits within the 5G network race. Namely, the United States(U.S) already in leadership when it comes to existing 4G networks, thanks to spectrum holdings and the use of unlicensed spectrum.
The United States also conducts the way in spectrum efficiency, permitting the repurposing of broadcast spectrum for broadband.
However, the United States(U.S) also has disadvantages slowing it down in the 5G network race between countries.
Native and municipal governments hold zoning authority over cell towers and base stations, which can reduce authorization — a probably dangerous sign for 5G, which is able to be characterized by a dense network of tiny cells.
Dangers of 5G Network
There are two main reasons that the 5G cell towers are more dangerous than other cell towers. First, 5G is ultra-high frequency and ultra-high intensity.
Second, the shorter length millimeter waves (MMV) used in 5G do not travel as too much (or through objects), and the cell signal also not be dependable with our present number of cell towers. so to compensate many more mini cell towers will be needed.
It is estimated that they will need a mini cell tower each two to eight homes. This will comprehensively increase our RF Radiation exposure. 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G use between one to six gigahertz(1-6GHz) frequency.
According to Kevin Mottus from the California Brain Tumor Association, 5G will use between twenty-four to ninety gigahertz(24-90GHz) frequency. inside the RF Radiation portion of the spectrum, the upper the frequency the more dangerous it is to living organisms.
The scientists went on to say: "Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national tips."
These effects will embrace an increased cancer risk, genetic harm, structural and functional changes to the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, and neurologic disorders.
Dr. Moskowitz (professor of the University of California ) says the lower frequency millimeter waves used in 5G could cause major skin, eye, and nervous system problems.