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Fifth-generation wireless network technology, better known as 5G, is now being rolled out in major cities worldwide. It allows faster speeds and higher responsiveness when it comes to wireless networks.

How does it work?

Wireless networks are built from cell sites. These cell sites are divided into sectors that distribute data using radio waves. This new iteration of cellular technology, 5G, uses various small cell stations, located in infrastructures like rooftops or electricity poles, to transmit signals. For comparison, 4G demands enormous high-power cell towers to radiate signals over long distances. 5G eliminates this need thus, eliminating the burden of installation. 

New possibilities with 5G

Higher speed

The biggest highlight of 5G is its speed. It is roughly 10-100X faster than the average LTE speed. To put it into perspective, here’s a scenario. Imagine your traveling and want to download a movie to watch on the flight. With 3G this download would have taken you a day. 4G came and considerably reduced this to around 5-8 minutes. With 5G you can finish this download within 4 seconds. 

Lower latency

Latency is the transmission time for a packet of data.
One-way latency will be the time between when a packet is sent and when it’s received by the recipient. Roundtrip latency is the time between the transmission of a packet and the reception of acknowledgment.

When you’re watching a live event with a 4G connection, the video you’re seeing is slightly behind what’s actually happening on the field. This lag affects delivery as well as response time. With 5G users can transmit data quicker and allow recipients to respond faster as well. 

5G reduces this lag. This generation is expected to provide a 10X decrease in end-to-end latency . This can significantly improve the user experience. There are many current applications that need low latency. Moreover, new applications that will be developed in the next 3-5 years can leverage this to enhance their customer experience.

Increased data-carrying capacity

5G can carry huge amounts of data in terms of capacity. It is around 10,000 times more. A single 5G node can handle 10Tbs of data per second per square kilometer. This means that 5G will serve as a more economical solution. 

Increased energy efficiency

With adaptive array antennas and massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) support, 5G can bring in smarter beamforming and powerful steering capabilities, thus providing energy efficiency benefits. This will allow 5G nodes to find 5G devices more intelligently and ultimately reduce the energy consumption on the network side. 

Increased connectivity

5G has the ability to support a million connected devices within one square-kilometer. Each individual on average owns6 connected devices today
. By 2023, each person will own around 15 devices. Now a thing of metropolitan areas around the world. There are millions of people with numerous devices. With the proliferation of more and more connected devices – right from a security camera to door locks, there are so many devices. And to add to this number there are enterprises’ products as well. 5G’s capabilities to support machine-to-machine communication will be in high demand as it will make our lives much easier.

A new GSMA report reveals that the number of 5G connections will reach 1.4 billion by 2025, this means that 5G will account for 15% of the global mobile industry by 2025
. Furthermore, in markets like China and Europe, and around half of the US, 5G is predicted to account for around 30 percent of connections. However, there is still a long way to go before it reaches mainstream adoption, around the world.