What is 5G? Everything Explained About 5G

Sep. 3, 2022

After over a decade, a new mobile communication standard has arrived, and is all set to usher in a new era of digital connectivity. 5G is the buzzword everywhere and countries all around the world are deploying 5G as quickly as possible. India, being the latest one to auction the 5G spectrums, the telecom operators are ready to launch their 5G services which include Airtel 5G, Jio 5G, andVi 5G. In the US, 5G is already live with telcos likeAT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizonoffering their 5G services. In case, you are still unaware of 5G, you can learn about all the developments from this explainer. On that note, let’s go ahead and learn what is 5G and what are the benefits over 4G.

Here, we have explained everything about 5G including the new frequency bands, its practical speed, SA and NSA modes in 5G, benefits of 5G over 4G, and more. You can expand the table below and move to any section you want.

5G, as the name suggests, is a5th-generation cellular network standard, a successor to 4G-LTE. In technical terms, 5G corresponds to a set of technical specifications which is defined by 3GPP — an industry consortium that develops standards for mobile communication. Similar to how 4G brought better speed, latency, and wider capabilities over 3G, 5G ushers a new era of ultra-speed gigabit network where devices ranging from IoT to large machines — all can leverage its sheer power.

4G’s operational frequency band was limited to 600MHz to 2.4GHz. And now with 5G, the spectrum operates between600MHz to 52GHzwhich brings a massive difference. Due to higher frequency bands, 5G can deliver a much higher throughput and sub-10ms latency. To learn more about different types of 5G frequency bands, move to the next section.

5G frequency bands have been divided into two broad categories:sub-6GHz and mmWave. The sub-6GHz spectrum has been divided further into two segments: low-band and mid-band. Here, low-band refers to the frequency range between 600MHz to 2.4GHz, similar to 4G’s operational frequency band. Things get exciting as we move to the mid-band. It operates between3GHz to 6GHz, hence, the name sub-6GHz and it offers much better speeds than 4G, with a peak download speed of 1Gbps.

Moving higher on the frequency ladder, the mmWave spectrum operates between24GHz to 52GHz. This is an elite-tier frequency band that can deliver speeds up to 10-20Gbps. Having said that, as we know in telecommunication, the higher the frequency, the faster the speed. But with higher frequency, the penetration of radio signal drops significantly so the mmWave frequency band can only reach a few millimeters, hence the name mmWave.

Currently, telecom companies are going after the mid-band sub-6GHz frequency band as it can reach far and wide and yet offer better speed than 4G. The mmWave frequency band, on the other hand, requires cell towers every few blocks so its deployment is quite limited around the world. Telcos are selectively using themmWave frequency band in dense areasaround urban cities like stadiums, convention centers, attraction points, etc. So that was all about 5G frequency bands, now let’s go ahead and learn how fast 5G is both in theory and in practical usage.

As I mentioned above, 5G can theoretically deliver download speeds between 10 to 20Gbps. However, it will require the mmWave frequency band and an SA 5G network (more on this below), assuming there are no solid hurdles between your device and the cell tower. If we talk about 5G’s performance on the practical side, in the US, Verizon offered download speeds up to1.3Gbpson its mmWave network.

However, according to a recent OpenSignalreport, Illinois, and New York ranked on top averaging a peak 5G download speed ofaround 141Mbps. If we talk about5G development in India, Airtel reached a massive 3Gbps speed in one of the trials whereas Vodafone Idea pegged 5.92Gbps and Jio recently announced that it will be able to deliver 1Gbps download speed indoors over itstrue SA 5G network. It seems like, practically, 5G speeds will be around 100Mbps and can go up to 1Gbps if you happen to access the mmWave 5G network with not much traffic around.

SA 5G or Standalone 5G is a true end-to-end 5G network where all the components are based on 5G specifications. Starting from core to frequency bands and end devices, all must be based on thelatest 5G specs. This kind of network infrastructure coupled with the mmWave frequency band will give you the best 5G experience such as sub-10ms latency, over 1Gbps download speed, and more.

To make the transition to 5G quick, companies are currently using the NSA mode with the existing 4G core. However, telcos have affirmed that in a few years, all network gears will move to 5G giving an unparalleled performance. Some telecom operators are alsovirtualizing the 4G corevia software to get 5G benefits which is known as vEPC. To learn more aboutSA, NSA, and vEPC in 5G, move to our detailed explainer.

There are many benefits of 5G over 4G such as gigabit download speed, close to zero latency, power efficiency, and more. Go through the below points to understand the difference between 5G and 4G in detail.

Generally, youdon’t need a new 5G SIMcard. Your existing 4G or 3G SIM should work fine with 5G networks as the 5G standard is backward-compatible with 4G and 3G SIM cards. Having said that, some carriers in the US and UK have asked users to get a new 5G-compatible SIM card for a better experience. In such a case, you should upgrade to a 5G SIM card. You can learn in-depth information about carriers region-wise from our article onwhether you need a new 5G SIM cardor not.

Learn Everything About 5G in Detail

So that was everything about 5G and how it’s going to change our lives in the future. Apart from speed improvements, I like the fact that 5G is power-efficient and consumes less energy. Not to mention, it can also work with existing network infrastructure which makes for better utilization of old network gears. Anyway, that is all from us. If you want to learn aboutIndia’s 5Gi standard, head over to our detailed explainer. And tocheck 5G bands supported on your phone, click on the linked tutorial. For a list of all5G bands supported in India, go through our curated article. Finally, if you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.

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