Everything about the next-generation cellular standard 5G is complicated -- too complicated for average users, and guaranteed to confuse everyone except engineers once early 5G devices begin to hit shelves over the next few months.
But 5G is about to become one of the world's most important and transformative technologies, so it's worth understanding right now. As VentureBeat's resident 5G expert, that's where I come in.
To help you navigate the big picture concepts and jargon, I've put together a must-read "cheat sheet" that explains pretty much everything you need to know in one place. Rather than organizing everything in numeric or alphabetical order, I've clustered related concepts under a set of major headings.
Bear in mind 5G is an international standard, but like 4G, it's not done evolving. This list is just a start, and could evolve in the future as new terms appear.
Key radio frequencies and concepts
Hz/MHz/GHz
Short for "hertz," "megahertz," and "gigahertz," these terms all refer to the number of times something changes in one second. 1Hz is one time per second, 1MHz is a million times a second, and 1GHz is a billion times a second -- generally, the higher the number, the faster (and more complicated) something is.
Millimeter wave / 28GHz
Often abbreviated "mmWave," millimeter waves are ultra-high frequency radio waves in the 24GHz to 300GHz range, and are being brought to phones for the first time with 5G. Current 5G phones focus on the 28GHz band. These radio waves generally travel reliably for only short distances (around 1,000 feet), but can hold a lot of data -- currently 6 gigabits per second.
Sub-6GHz
Referring broadly to radio signals in the 3.3GHz to 6GHz range, this wide swath of radio spectrum has become the sweet spot for early 5G in many countries -- but not the United States (yet). Sub-6GHz radio waves can travel further than mmWave, and thus don't require as many cell towers, but only offer around 1/3 the bandwidth.
600MHz and 2.5GHz
Pre-5G cellular standards have used lower radio frequencies between 600MHz and 2.5GHz for data. Some carriers, including Sprint and T-Mobile in the United States, are already working to bring 5G to these frequencies, which are able to travel even further than sub-6GHz and mmWave radio signals, but with noticeably slower data speeds.
20MHz vs. 100Mhz (to 800Mhz) bandwidth
Picture each of the radio frequency bands above as a separate highway for cars full of data. On 4G networks, each user's phone may receive data in small 20MHz chunks akin to one car on a single highway lane. New 5G networks let devices receive data in 100MHz or 200MHz chunks, akin to five to ten cars linked together, with ultra-wide 800MHz highways to accommodate more cars at once.
Varied 5G goals
eMBB
At first, 5G will most commonly be used for "enhanced mobile broadband," specifically higher data bandwidth with improved but not peak latency (faster responsiveness) compared with 4G. 5G bandwidth will eventually get up to 20Gbps, with a guaranteed minimum of 100Mbps, and 5G networks will support 10,000 times the traffic of 4G networks.
mMTC
5G is also designed to support Massive Machine Type Communications, a way to bring billions of tiny connected devices and sensors online. The 5G standard supports an insane density of up to 1 million devices in a 0.38 square mile (or one square kilometer) area, with long range, low data rate radio signaling that can deliver 10-year battery life.
URLLC
Pushing 5G for purposes beyond 4G, the Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications specification is designed for specific 5G use cases such as full car automation, factory automation, and remote-controlled surgery where reliability and responsiveness are mandatory. A 5G network will respond to URLLC requests by delivering data so quickly and reliably that responsiveness will be imperceptibly fast -- 5ms end-to-end latency -- and transmission errors will be lower than 1 packet loss in 100,000 packets. But bandwidth will be limited to under 10Mbps.
Fourth Industrial Revolution
Many proponents of 5G have said that it will bring about a "fourth industrial revolution," following three prior major steps forward for production:
- The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam for power, mechanizing production.
- The Second Industrial Revolution used electricity for power, creating mass production.
- The Third Industrial Revolution used electronics and computers to automate production.
- The Fourth Industrial Revolution will use 5G networks and devices to enable wireless remote control and coordination of production from a distance. eMBB (high-bandwidth and holographic communications), mMTC (large-scale remote monitoring), and URLLC (control with immediate responsiveness) will be key enablers.
Summary
As everything above suggests, "5G" isn't a simple, fixed concept, but rather a large collection of ideas designed to improve over time. Just like 4G, where users saw speed and other benefits from updating phones every couple of years, 5G will go through a similar evolution over the next decade -- and then, most likely, become the support system for 6G networks. If all goes to plan, phones will only be a fraction of 5G devices: In the foreseeable future, virtually everything will be wirelessly connected.
If you've read everything above, you'll be well along the path to understanding the vast potential of 5G, as well as some of the key areas where it's likely to face challenges over the next year or two of early rollouts. Stay tuned to VentureBeat for the latest 5G developments, as we'll be reporting on them as they happen.