Who defines what 5G actually does?
Have you ever thought about how easy it is to use a mobile phone these days, even when traveling abroad? This is as a result of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which sets global information and communication technology guidelines and requirements. Thanks to a well-known United Nations working group (no joke).
For the continued development of 5G, the ITU has approved standards and specifications developed by another international working group, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). This is a complex relationship, but it helps to think of it this way. ITU sets guidelines, 3GPP creates technical standards, and the two work together to advance standards.
From there, eMBB, URLLC, and mmTC started. These are his three major innovations in 5G that were first classified by the ITU. These are inherently overarching concepts that work together to provide a more complete picture of what 5G is capable of.
Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB): Faster speeds on the go
eMBB is a concept focused on speed, capacity, and mobility that enables new mobile applications such as high-definition video streaming and immersive augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) on the go.
When we talk about 5G, we expect high speed. However, capacity and mobility may or may not always be necessary. For example, many people at a particular venue may be connected to his 5G network. In that situation, capacity needs are especially high to maintain a high-speed experience, but mobility needs are low. However, moving vehicles, especially trains and planes, require high maneuverability to maintain a high-speed experience.
Next time you want to stream high-definition movies on your device while on the go? Well, 5G eMBB makes it possible.
Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC): Stay connected with low latency
It’s useful to think of this concept as a way to support mission-critical communications for services like self-driving cars or remote surgery. In these situations, data transfer delays must be as low as possible and connections must be as reliable as possible.
5G URLLC guidelines address these needs with up to 99.999% reliability and low single-digit millisecond latency. As described by 3GPP, this is an improvement of up to 75% compared to 4G LTE latency.
