The evolution of wireless (that is, cellular) capability has promised more than its predecessor. At a high level, 2G transitioned from analog to digital modulation and added modest data to voice capability, 3G added a faster but still iffy data rates, and 4G (LTE) represented a massive improvement in speed with data rates adequate for streaming video without hiccups. In between these single-number advances were “3.5G” that increased data rates a bit, and now 4.5G (better known as LTE-Advanced) will increase them further while advancing Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and other technical improvements. Unlike its predecessors however, 5G (now called IMT-2020 by the International Telecommunications Union) is the truly the Next Big Jump in wireless, which is why even through 5 years away it is getting lots and lots of attention. At Mobile World Congress in February, any manufacturer not mentioning 5G must have missed the email.
5G is different because at least at its current planning stage, it will attempt to provide something for everyone, from a 100-fold increase in data rates (great for gaming, ultra-high definition video, and virtual reality), a low-power way to facilitate man-to-machine communications with an eye toward the infrastructure required for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications required for autonomous vehicles, and even possibly a competitor for cable and fiber-delivered broadband and entertainment.
No previous advance has attempted to deliver as full a plate of benefits as IMT-2000, and not surprisingly it is an immensely complex task. A good example is the fact that it will breach the 3 GHz barrier, utilizing frequencies well into the millimeter-wave region at perhaps 29, 39, and 60 GHz, and others. This is a huge challenge as while this Wild West portion of the spectrum offers the massive amounts of bandwidth required to deliver very-high-speed data, its propagation characteristics are far, far less desirable for traversing even modest distances than those at the current region between about 700 MHz and 2.6 GHz.
In short, signals just don’t travel very far and can be obstructed by precipitation, foliage – basically anything within the line of sight between the base station and end user. This means that the highest frequencies will probably be dealt with last, as the technology to use them is more difficult and expensive to build, and much more infrastructure will be required to serve a given area. That said, it is very well suited for short-range communication required by IoT, which is an integral part of 5G.
In short, although there are many technologies and applications vying for the title, 5G really is one at least “a” next big thing because it is so all-encompassing in its mission, which goes far beyond simply delivering more speed, capacity, and spectral efficiency than its predecessor. No, 5G seeks to encompass far-flung applications at unexplored frequencies. Developments over the next five years should be required reading.
Barry Manz is president of Manz Communications, Inc., a technical media relations agency he founded in 1987. He has since worked with more than 100 companies in the RF and microwave, defense, test and measurement, semiconductor, embedded systems, lightwave, and other markets. Barry writes articles for print and online trade publications, as well as white papers, application notes, symposium papers, technical references guides, and Web content. He is also a contributing editor for the Journal of Electronic Defense, editor of Military Microwave Digest, co-founder of MilCOTS Digest magazine, and was editor in chief of Microwaves & RF magazine.