What is 5G? Big Tech Bang Explains

     During February,2019 the Mobile World Congress (MWC) is going on in Barcelona. The technologies that took away our minds are 5G and foldable smartphones. Many smartphone companies are also displaying their 5G mobile prototype. The world is moving on 4G technology everyone is waiting for the 5G technology to experience a much faster network.

     I have done research online about 5G and found many interesting things. So I like to share it with you guys. I will be giving an overview and technologies used to make 5G possible.

Evolution

• 1G: We can use 1G only for the voice call.
• 2G: This technology (2G) introduces data usage (internet). This allows users to make the voice call and use data.
• 3G: The speed of internet access and the quality of voice call improved in 3G technology.
• 4G: The technology now we using is 4G. As we all know that the speed of the internet has increased exponentially.
• 5G: The new technology about to come is 10 to 100 times faster than 4G and the technology is 5G.

credits: CNBC

     If we are downloading an HD quality 2 hours movie in 3G it will take around 26 hours and in 4G it will take around 6 minutes but in 5G it will take only 3.6 sec. 

5 things you need to know about 5G

1. 5G will be faster than the 4G network. Almost 10 - 100 times faster than 4G.
2. Unlike 4G which transmit signals in all direction, 5G will send concentrated beam directly to your phone.
3. It will be having a super quick server response time. This will help in autonomous car technology, the Internet of Things and a lot more.
4. It uses a new wave which is a parse of the Radiofrequency spectrum. This wave is never been used before. It will transmit millimeter waves.
5. More mini masks are required to transmit and receive the waves.

Technologies used in 5G

     There are various technologies used in 5G as follows;

Millimeter Waves

     The devices you use in your home and offices are mostly working under a specific bandwidth of 3 kHz to 6 GHz. Now, this bandwidth is getting crowded. So researchers are working to extend the bandwidth up to 300 GHz. 5G technology uses millimeter waves which cannot penetrate buildings and can also be absorbed by trees.

Small Cell

     Since the waves cannot penetrate buildings and can be absorbed by trees, there will be demand for more masks to transmit and receive waves. If you are behind trees or buildings these small cells will receive waves from the main cell and transmit to your device.

Without small cells, the waves are absorbed by trees

With small cells, the waves are correctly transmitted to the user

Massive MIMO

     MIMO means Multiple Input Multiple Output. Today's base stations have dozens of ports as MIMO. But in 5G we use 100s of ports. Massive MIMO comes with its own complications ie; there will be a great problem of interference since there is a number of ports.

Beamforming

     The above-mentioned drawback, interference can be overcome through this technology beamforming. The waves from every user will be distributed in air medium because of distraction by buildings and obstacles. These waves are sensed by different base stations. According to the time of waves generated and the user's unique IDs, the waves collected will be processed accordingly.

Full Duplex

     Those who use walkie talkie will be knowing that simultaneously both members can't talk. Each member should take their turn to talk because in that only one-way communication is possible. In 5G both transmission and reception can be done simultaneously. This way of communication is called full duplex communication.

When?

     According to certain research, 5G implementation will take time since it requires more constructions. In urban areas, the implementation is more complicated since there are more trees. By 2025, 50% of US will be experiencing 5G.

     5G cannot be done overnight and it is coming. Thank you guys for reading. If you need to know more about 5G technology or any other technology let me know in the comments section, I will try to cover that in upcoming posts. Subscribe to our blog and stay connected.