New posting category for 5G communications

I have created a new category for 5G telecommunications technology topics. New postings related to 5G technologies will be posted under this category.

I have also tried to tag older postings related to 5G to this 5G category.

5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems, abbreviated 5G, are the proposed next telecommunications standards beyond the current 4G/IMT-Advanced standards.

5G planning aims at higher capacity than current 4G, allowing a higher density of mobile broadband users, and supporting device-to-device, ultra reliable, and massive machine communications

The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance defines the following requirements that a 5G standard should fulfill:^[2]

• Data rates of tens of megabits per second for tens of thousands of users
• Data rates of 100 megabits per second for metropolitan areas
• 1 Gb per second simultaneously to many workers on the same office floor
• Several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections for wireless sensors
• Spectral efficiency significantly enhanced compared to 4G
• Coverage improved
• Signalling efficiency enhanced
• Latency reduced significantly compared to LTE.

In addition to providing simply faster speeds, they predict that 5G networks also will need to meet new use cases, such as the Internet of Things (internet connected devices), as well as broadcast-like services and lifeline communication in times of natural disaster. To get idea for 5G use cases, read The 5 best 5G use cases article.

It is expected that new generation of 5G standards may be introduced in the early 2020s. The 5G standards are far from ready. And in additions there is still discussion going on  what exactly is 5G. To be able to handle the use cases promised, new radio layer technologies and networking technologies are needed. Many industry players believe that the next generation telecom networks (5G) will hit the market by 2020. ​Beyond just speed improvements, 5G is expected to unleash a massive IoT ecosystem where networks can serve communication needs for billions of connected devices, with the right trade-offs between speed, latency and cost. The following video gives overview migration from 4G to 5G to reach high speed, low power and low latency for massive IoT, tactile internet and robotics deployment.

For more technical information on networking challenges, read Want 5G? It’s going to take an IP anyhaul overhaul posting.