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The development of 5G standards and the ensuing cellular wireless technology has been heavily hyped as the advent of a new wireless age. The promise of 5G has been touted as a revolutionary new suite of technologies and capabilities for mobile and fixed wireless communications that will rapidly and forever change the face of autonomous systems, smart device user experiences, enterprise, automobile, travel, and more. This blog explores what has emerged from 5G since the introduction of 5G technologies in 2019. In looking at the first five years of 5G, we consider if it is just another overhyped technology or if we are truly on our way to the seamlessly interconnected future 5G can offer.
5G is the latest generation of cellular wireless technology, and it is specified to theoretically far exceed the capabilities of 2G, 3G, and 4G. 5G new radio (NR) began with the unveiling of 2GPP Release 15 in late 2017, also called “5G phase 1.” This release set out the initial specifications for 5G non-standalone (NSA), the fundamental architecture for 5G. NSA means that existing 4G LTE networks were needed for 5G radio systems to work. Hence, this release also included enhancements for LTE, specifically the evolved packet core (EPC), to set the stage for future 5G. 2GPP Release 15 addressed the three prominent use cases planned for 5G: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC).
Release 15 also involved some of the necessary pieces to investigate non-terrestrial radio access systems, including satellites, airborne base stations, and maritime applications (e.g., ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore). Furthermore, this release included progression in the work being done on professional mobile radio (PMR) functionality for LTE, which included enhancing railway-oriented services that started with GSM radio. The second phase of Release 15 in June 2018 amounted to the first full set of 5G standards and introduced 5G standalone (SA) capabilities. This enabled 5G systems to be deployed without the need for a legacy LTE core.
Then, 3GPP Release 16 dropped in 2020 and provided some enhancements to Release 15, including efforts to enhance capacity, latency, power, mobility, ease of deployment, and reliability. The main enhancements were LTE-based 5G terrestrial broadcast, NavIC Navigation Satellite System for LTE, downlink (DL) multi-input multi-output (MIMO) for LTE, and LTE speed performance in high-speed scenarios.
In 2022, 3GPP Release 17 deployed and included many vital advancements. A few significant areas to consider are the efforts toward improving positioning and timing capabilities for 5G and the advent of non-terrestrial network (NTN) technologies that will enable satellite-to-user equipment (UE) or airborne platforms-to-UE in the near future. Other exciting advancements are the potential to integrate machine learning/artificial intelligence (ML/AI) technologies with 5G UE and base stations that can enable cognitive radio features. These features could allow for the UE and base stations to rapidly adapt to the environmental conditions and adjust accordingly to optimize service in real time.
According to GSMA Intelligence, there were over 1.5 billion 5G connections by the end of 2023.[1] This makes 5G the fastest-growing mobile broadband technology to date. However, the vast majority of these 5G connections are not likely to be the type of connections that exemplify the potential of 5G. Most of these connections are mid-band/FR1 (greater than 1GHz but below 7.125GHz), formerly called sub-6GHz. These are more like a small step forward from 4G LTE, and, in some cases, actually worse performing than existing 4G LTE deployments. 5G has had substantial success in fixed wires access (FWA) deployments that use both mid-band and high-band/FR2 (above 24.25GHz to 71GHz). It has been reported that FWA services have reached a 5 percent adoption rate in many major markets, such as the US, Germany, and Australia, as well as other markets, like Austria, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.[2]
Some of the successes of 5G adoption could be attributed to the large number of regions and select portions of areas with 2G and 3G services discontinued, which may have artificially forced the transition to 5G for some users. Other observed benefits of 5G service plans have included more affordable data plans per gigabyte than 4G LTE, while users in certain areas where the latest 5G systems have been deployed have experienced download speeds far beyond that of 4G LTE rates. Most of the new 5G deployments have occurred in high-income and urban regions of countries, leading to concerns about a new digital divide. Some of these concerns could be alleviated by NTN technologies that could more readily deliver 5G services to rural and sparsely populated areas where traditional terrestrial 5G deployment architectures may not be viable.
It is essential to remember that 5G is still in the early phases of deployment—a process that will likely continue for 15 to 20 years. Many of the advancements for 5G, such as mMTC, URLLC, NTN, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X), are so new and different from previous mobile broadband use cases that these technologies are naturally taking some time to be developed and gain traction. 5G is also beginning to appeal more toward private network applications, which was only a very small part of previous mobile broadband deployments. 5G services are also beginning to support users beyond smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, and more connections will likely emerge as V2X and IoT deployments and technologies become more available.
Sources
[1] https://data.gsmaintelligence.com/5g-index [2] https://data.gsmaintelligence.com/api-web/v2/research-file-download?id=79791087&file=210224-The-State-of-5G-2024.pdf.
Principal of Information Exchange Services: Jean-Jacques DeLisle Jean-Jacques (JJ) DeLisle attended the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a BS and MS degree in Electrical Engineering. While studying, JJ pursued RF/microwave research, wrote for the university magazine, and was a member of the first improvisational comedy troupe @ RIT. Before completing his degree, JJ contracted as an IC layout and automated test design engineer for Synaptics Inc. After 6 years of original research—developing and characterizing intra-coaxial antennas and wireless sensor technology—JJ left RIT with several submitted technical papers and a US patent.
Further pursuing his career, JJ moved with his wife, Aalyia, to New York City. Here, he took on work as the Technical Engineering Editor for Microwaves & RF magazine. At the magazine, JJ learned how to merge his skills and passion for RF engineering and technical writing.
In the next phase of JJ’s career, he moved on to start his company, RFEMX, seeing a significant need in the industry for technically competent writers and objective industry experts. Progressing with that aim, JJ expanded his companies scope and vision and started Information Exchange Services (IXS).