5G (short for 5th generation) is an umbrella term that describes the collection of standards and technologies that define the current generation of wireless network connectivity. First deployed in commercial applications in 2019, 5G promised significant increases in network speeds and reduced latency compared to 4G LTE networks.
Initially, many carriers offered 5G-branded services, which were a mix of 4G and 5G technologies, and actually offered speeds closer to the former. However, 5G is nearly ubiquitous in the US and most developed countries, and nearly every new cellular wireless device you buy today is 5G-enabled.
Among the general public, 5G is primarily associated with mobile phones, which remain the most widespread use case. But 5G is also the first wireless technology that carriers are using to compete with cable and fiber for fixed home internet access. It also has many industrial uses. 5G does all this securely. Everything written about the dangers of 5G is wrong.
How does 5G work?
At a fundamental level, 5G operates on the same principles that have defined mobile networking since its inception in the late 1970s. A physical base station, in the form of an antenna or set of antennas, broadcasts radio waves to nearby devices and receives responses from those devices, allowing them to send and receive information. The range within which radio waves from one base station can reach is called an “area.” cell, That’s why we mention cellular networking and mobile phone.
These base stations are connected to each other and (usually) to the Internet backbone. This usually takes the form of a high-speed physical connection, but sometimes the remote base stations themselves connect wirelessly. Either way, the purpose of each base station is to connect all devices within its cell to a broader network.
Underlying 5G technology
This high-level overview can also be applied to previous generation cell networks. However, a combination of numerous advances to wireless technology has made 5G different and faster than previous network standards, such as 4G.
- Millimeter wave. Although there are many slices of the radio spectrum available for 5G, 5G signals are typically between 30 and 300 GHz, a higher frequency band than that used by previous generations. The radio wavelengths of these frequencies range from 1 to 10 millimeters, hence the name. These high-frequency signals can carry more information per unit of time than low-frequency signals, giving 5G an advantage.
- small cells. Millimeter wave technology has traditionally been expensive and difficult to implement because these high-frequency signals decay faster and are more susceptible to interference from physical objects. 5G tackles this problem using a different type of base station. For years, giant antenna masts have dotted the landscape, delivering pre-4G signals to devices up to a mile away. In contrast, 5G base stations are much smaller, only 250 meters apart in populated areas, creating much smaller cells. These 5G base stations have much lower power requirements and are physically much smaller than previous generations of wireless networking equipment, allowing them to be mounted relatively discreetly on buildings or existing utility poles.
- Massive MIMO. However, don’t let the small size of these base stations fool you. many individual antennas working together in a manner known as multiple-input multiple-output, or MIMO. Massive MIMO can handle multiple two-way conversations simultaneously on the same data signal. This means that 5G networks can handle 20 times more conversations than comparable 4G networks. This will allow individual his 5G base stations to communicate. a lot This has implications for IoT and industrial applications. One way 5G base stations can focus on individual devices and establish the best possible connection is by using beamforming. This is a set of techniques that uses constructive and destructive radio interference to focus signals in a specific direction. This has the effect of increasing signal strength, which helps base stations get better connectivity with less power consumption.
- Virtualization of network functions. The backbone of pre-4G networks is typically built from specialized network equipment, with each component performing a single role. If you need to redesign your network, extensive physical work will be required. Take advantage of 5G networks virtualization of network functions, NFV abstracts much of the work traditionally done by networking hardware into software that can run on standard server platforms. This means he can change the 5G network on the fly to respond to changing conditions.
- network slicing. One of the capabilities that NFV brings is: network slicing, This allows multiple logical networks to run on the same physical infrastructure and radio frequency bands. This is a wireless version of a virtual network with all the benefits.
On their own, each of these technologies is more evolutionary than revolutionary, but in combination, 5G is far superior to its predecessors. Typical download speeds for 5G networks are around 1 Gbps, which is faster than 4G and comparable to or faster than traditional cable internet services. This protocol can theoretically achieve 20 Gbps. 5G will also reduce his 4G latency by 60-120 times.
What will 5G be used for?
Current 5G networks primarily support mobile phones and similar devices, and while they offer network speeds that exceed 4G, they often fall short of the technology’s full potential. This is all good. Everyone uses a mobile phone, 5G can support more devices per base station, and people prefer faster download speeds. Therefore, 5G will benefit consumers.
One of the new features that 5G brings to the consumer market is wireless home internet. In the United States, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Starry all offer this service at speeds and prices comparable to cable Internet. A 5G home internet customer connects to his 5G network, the same that his mobile phone uses, through a dedicated wireless modem. The service is only available in select markets because carriers want to ensure they have the ability to provide data at the levels that home Internet users expect. Unlike most cell phone plans, his current 5G home internet service has no data caps.
Some exotic technologies that were supposed to be enabled by 5G’s faster download speeds and lower latency, such as augmented reality and remote-controlled robots, are not yet on the market and may not be for years. But other applications of 5G in industrial settings are starting to move from hype to reality.
Industrial 5G: IoT and beyond
Wi-Fi has been the go-to technology for building and campus-level wireless networking for so long that most people have never even considered alternatives. However, organizations may benefit from setting up a private local 5G network instead. The “small cell” nature of 5G means that networks can be set up to cover relatively small areas. Massive MIMO also allows 5G to support connections from a huge number of devices, making it ideal for industrial environments where IoT sensors are deployed. For example, local 5G helps Del Conca USA automate its factories, and the integrated company is increasingly adding 5G to its toolkit when supporting its customers’ wireless connectivity needs.
Is 5G safe?
Finally, let’s touch on some rumors regarding the potential negative effects of 5G signals. Perhaps these concerns arose from the proliferation of 5G networking equipment, which to some seemed to mysteriously appear in major cities overnight.
For example, we hope that some of the concerns that 5G is the real cause of COVID-19 can be easily dispelled. (The new coronavirus is a disease caused by a virus, not radio waves.) Something a little closer to reality is the concern that high-frequency radio waves, such as those used in 5G, may have a negative impact on the human body. . However, as mentioned earlier, one of the challenges with using millimeter waves is that they are very weak and have difficulty penetrating solid materials. One of the benefits of 5G is that you can get a lot of signal coherence from very low signal coherence. -Powered Broadcast. Someone could shine a mmWave signal onto his skin at power levels many times higher than those used in 5G, and at most it would feel only slightly warmer.
More specific concerns revolve around the so-called C-band, a spectrum block that represents the so-called “Goldilocks” range that balances data throughput and long-distance propagation capabilities. The C-band signal is close to (but does not overlap) the frequency used by radio altimeters used in some aircraft to measure height above the ground. Due to concerns from airlines and the FAA, wireless carriers have agreed to delay the rollout of C-band service until July 2023 and not use it near airports at all. Airlines have similarly agreed to retrofit their altimeters to use different frequencies.
