Since the dawn of mobile communications in the early 1980s, businesses and consumers have adapted to new ways of sending and receiving information. While the 1st generation of technology in this era allowed people to make and receive phone calls via their mobile handheld devices, the 2nd and 3rd generation brought text and multimedia messaging to mobile phones. , and email services were added. The arrival of his 4G at the beginning of the last decade changed the mobile phone landscape. This paradigm shift allowed users to stream and download videos at three times the speed of his 3G. The Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards-based generation had two key features that set it apart from its predecessor.

4G multiplexing

With 4G-enabled mobile phones, people can make calls over the Internet instead of over the phone network. This generational evolution to 4G+ (LTE Advanced) offering download speeds of 200 to 300 Mbps has made it easier for people to connect and make calls over the Internet.

Second, 4G’s multiplexing feature, technically known as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), is a level of efficiency that allows multiple users to share a common channel while still achieving high data rates. provided. OFDM modulation schemes divide the channel into multiple subcarriers. These subcarriers are arranged orthogonally so that they do not interfere with each other without a guard band between them. “OFDM is ideal for mobile TV air interfaces. Works well in single-frequency networks such as those planned for TV. It is this aspect of 4G that allows people to use social media, download music on apps, and live stream videos on mobile devices.

lots of gadgets

Since the launch of 4G in the early 2010s, the number of smartphone users has increased significantly. According to data intelligence firm Statista, the total number of smartphone users worldwide has nearly doubled in the past seven years, from 3.7 billion in 2016 to 6.6 billion in 2022. This number is estimated to increase by another billion by 2027.

Not only users, but also the number of mobile devices in use is exploding. According to his Radicati, a technology market research firm, the total number of phones and tablets in use is expected to exceed 18.2 billion. Add billions more wearables and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to this combination, and the result is a world of data-hungry gadgets. As the number of connected devices grows, we rely on them to perform our daily tasks.

The number of internet-connected devices and things is not limited to the consumer world. Companies are also moving to digital channels, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), predictive maintenance, and other environmental condition monitoring sensors to optimize how tasks are performed. These devices need much better networks and connections to work in sync with several other applications, and LTE-based generations ten years ago were not capable of handling workloads of this scale and real-time data processing. is not ready to handle

5G introduction

The latest iteration of mobile connectivity offers low-latency, high-speed downloads coupled with the ability to connect multiple devices and exchange data in real time. 5G will build on its predecessor’s multiplexing technology and usher in a new standard called 5G New Radio (NR) that uses the best features of LTE. 5G NR will further save energy and enhance connectivity for connected devices. Separately, 5th generation mobile communications will use the high frequency millimeter wave (mmWave) band operating at wavelengths between 30 GHz and 300 GHz. For comparison, 4G’s LTE operates at wavelengths below 6 GHz.

5G has been around since the late 2010s, but it didn’t reach the ubiquity that its predecessors enjoyed until the mid-2020s. This is because there are fewer 5G-enabled devices on the market compared to his 4G, and delays in the auction and rollout of 5G airwaves are preventing people from using the service.

A 5G-based connected future is on the horizon. That means deploying services based on the latest generation in a world flooded with 4G-enabled devices. As such, he has two options for carriers and businesses looking to build services on 5G. You can build either a non-standalone (NSA) or standalone architecture.

The NSA framework allows operators to roll out 5G services using existing installed capacity and LTE architecture while implementing a new Radio Access Network (RAN). Operation in the core network is supported by LTE’s existing Evolved Packet Core (EPC). This short- to medium-term strategy will help operators reduce capital expenditures and operational costs that may be incurred by installing new core networks.

For example, Germany used the NSA model to roll out 5G services in 2019. Deutsche Telekom leveraged his LTE-based core to offer a service that wasn’t as fast as his pure 5G, but achieved its goal of providing massive nationwide coverage. percentage of the population and that too in a time-limited manner. The state-owned operator has now started testing his 5G SA architecture in some settings.

Standalone model

Conversely, the SA model is a pure 5G architecture, allowing operators to slice the network with the full range of 5G features available. In this architecture, RAN and core are completely new, and different network functions are clearly separated in line with 3GPP recommendations.

US-based Dish Network Corporation will roll out a standalone 5G network in 2021. The cloud-native company is said to be building an Open RAN-based network from scratch and is looking to run its services in the public cloud. In India, Chinese mobile phone maker Oppo will launch his 5G on one of the company’s premium smartphones under his SA network environment provided by Reliance Jio at his 5G lab in Hyderabad in July 2021. We conducted a test operation of the network. Reliance Industries Limited plans to expand its 5G network to “every town” in India by the end of 2023, according to company chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani. The company plans to implement a 5G SA architecture to offer better performance than NSA-based setups.

Different countries and companies are at different stages of 5G deployment. Switching to a pureplay 5G SA architecture is no longer a question of when and how. The operator will drive his 5G deployment towards a standalone future in the coming years. This simplifies network operations and improves user experience. Operators can also take advantage of network slicing opportunities by creating dedicated segments for specific users and use cases. Each slice potentially offers an opportunity for the operator to build a revenue stream. And just as the age of mobile-his device-based communications adapted people to new technologies 40 years ago, 5G has the potential to make consumers connect and exchange information in new ways.