Since the release of news about 5G, it has been a sensation ever since. If you are an enthusiast and want to learn about 5G, then you are in the right place. In this topic, we will cover everything to know about 5G technology. Read the topic to the end and find out interesting things about 5G.

What is 5G Technology?

Over the years mobile network technology has got matured. And now there are talks about 5G. So you may be wondering what is 5G and what is it does? 5G networks are the next generation of mobile connectivity technology. It will offer faster internet with a super-fast that you may not have heard before. And it will play a vital role in the upcoming as compared to all the mobile network generations in the past. This 5G technology will not only interconnect people but it will also connect you to the machines and devices and let you control them easily. It will give the user a new level of performance and efficiency that has never been seen before.

People working on 5G say that it will provide multi-Gbps peak rates, low latency, a more uniform user experience, and massive capacity. So this cutting-edge technology will open the doors of opportunities for a new world, a better world. A world that is more efficiently connected via this technology. People are talking about the Internet of Things that will connect to you different infrastructure.

How Does 5G Work?

Now as you have some idea what is 5G, now let’s see how does it work? What does it do to be this special? In order to understand it, let’s talk about 4G LTE and what is a spectrum and how does it affect 5G? Unlike LTE, 5G operates on three different spectrum bands. As trivial as it may seem, it is quite important to understand if you want to understand 5G as it will have a great effect on the everyday use of 5G.

Low-band Spectrum

Tech experts also call it the sub 1GHz spectrum. It is the primary band that is used by most of the carriers in the US for LTE. The low-band spectrum is important in the mobile network technology as it covers a great area and is capable of penetrating walls quite effectively. But it also has a major drawback. The peak data speed of this band spectrum reaches its limit around 100Mbps. And that is not a good thing if you want to achieve high data speeds.

T-Mobile took the initiative and bought a 600MHz spectrum at a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction in 2017. T-Mobile used it to quickly build its nationwide 5G network.

Mid-band Spectrum

This band will provide faster speeds and lower latency than the low-band. So you can expect to get up to 1 Gbps peak speeds at the mid-band, which is quite a leap from the low-band spectrum. But it also has a drawback. It cannot penetrate walls and buildings. Not like the low-band spectrum which can be quite a problem.

Sprint has a larger chunk of unused mid-band spectrum in the U.S. The carrier is using Massive MIMO to improve penetration and coverage area on the mid-band. If you don’t know what Massive MIMO is, then Massive MIMO groups multiple antennas onto a single box, and at a single cell tower. In this way, multiple simultaneous beams are created that will facilitate different users. Sprint will also use Beamforming to bolster 5G service on the mid-band. This sends a single focused signal to each and every user in the cell, and systems using it monitor each user to make sure they have a consistent signal.

High-band Spectrum

It is the vital spectrum in the performance of 5G. The high and best performance of 5G is dependent on this band. This band is also known as mmWave. High-band offers high peak speeds that are unmatched. It offers around 10Gbps peak speeds. And in addition to that, it has extremely low latency. But just like the other two band spectrums it also has drawbacks. And two of them. One, it has a very low coverage are and second it has a poor building penetration.

Since the high-band spectrum sacrifices building penetration and coverage area for high speed, it will rely on many small cells. These are low-power base stations that cover small geographic areas and can be combined with Beamforming to bolster coverage.

However, the new 5G NR (New Radio) air interface will further enhance OFDM to deliver a much higher degree of flexibility and scalability. Not only 5G will deliver faster, better mobile broadband services compared to 4G LTE, but it will also open new doors for us and expand into new service areas, such as mission-critical communications and connecting the massive IoT. This is enabled by many new 5G NR air interface design techniques, such as a new self-contained TDD subframe design.

When Will 5G be Available?

It is no more a matter of “when will” as 5G is already available in some major parts of the US. Verizon surprised most of the world by launching its 5G network at the start of April 2019, making it the first network in the world to offer the next-generation network. And by the end of 2019, Verizon 5G has gone live to major parts of 31 cities in the US. Starting with Chicago and reaching Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Dallas, etc. It has even reached to smaller cities like Memphis, Columbus, and Grand Rapids.

And obviously it will expand to other cities in 2020. Verizon’s 5G network works with four built-for-5G handsets – the LG V50 ThinQ 5G, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G, and three Motorola phones (Moto Z4, Moto Z3, Moto Z2 Force) that can be used on the new 5G network. The speed tests conducted in the city of Chicago, Verizon 5G has managed to obtain speeds of up to 1.4Gbps, which is massively faster than 4G’s theoretical top speed of 300Mbps. Although average speeds tend to be below 100Mbps.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, opted for a different strategy. Due to its merger with the Sprint, another rival telecom, T-Mobile put all its focus on the successful negotiations. Just like Verizon, T-Mobile also uses 28 GHz mmWave frequencies. It also includes sub 600 Mhz frequencies that reach much farther to provide for suburban and rural communities but deliver lower speeds. So T-Mobile’s mmWave coverage went live in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Las Vegas in June 2019 and it has some bigger plans for the next year. The only phone that could harness 5G was, unsurprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.

How Fast is 5G?

Well, it is a difficult question to answer as the speed varies between locations, countries, carriers, and devices. But on the whole, the 5G speed is way better than the 4G speed. Speed tests conducted in the US, UK, and Australia, etc shows mixed results. But Verizon in the US provided over 1 Gbps speed. As the technology is new, some results are shaky than the others as 200 Mbps have also been seen. Which is not good but still better than the 4G speed.

These are some of the main and best things that will answer your question what is 5G and how does it work? Also, the time will bring some new advancements in technology and will reshape it. Only time will tell.