5G is the next proposed telecommunications standards beyond the current 4G or IMI advanced standards.
An initial chip design by Qualcomm in October 2016, the Snapdragon X50 5G modem supports operations in the 28GHz band. It aims at higher capacity than current 4G, allowing higher density of mobile broadband users, and supporting device to device, ultrareliable, and massive machine communications.
5G planning also aims at a higher latency than 4G equipment and lower battery consumption, for better implementation of the internet of things.
The next generation mobile network alliance defines the following requirement that a 5G standards should fulfil.
- Data rates of tens of megabits per seconds for tens of thousands of users
- Data rates of 100 megabits per seconds for metropolitan areas
- 1Gb per second simultaneously to many workers on the same office floor
- Several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections for wireless sensor
- Spectral efficiency significantly enhanced compared to 4G
- Improved coverage
- Signalling efficiency enhanced
- Latency reduced significantly compared to LTE
We believe 5G would be rolled out by 2020 to meet business and consumer demands.
Assuming the same “every 10 years” pattern as previous generations holds through. LTE began to roll out in around 2010-2011. So, some simple math shows that we should expect 5G in 2021. However, Qualcomm plans to make its early. 5G products will available in public as soon as the 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea. While we try to figure out details of next-gen mobile network – 5G or beyond, one thing we can say for certain is “the future will be fast”.