CURRENT PERSPECTIVES
SILICON VALLEY DISPATCHES: THE CURRENT STATE OF 5G By David Witkowski [Editor’s Note: David Witkowski is a columnist and RCA member who offers his perspectives on the current state of play in the wireless industry.]
reality, fixed broadband, vehicular systems, and ultraaccurate positioning. In short, 5G is not just about faster smartphones; it is a foundation for building entirely new markets and opportunities. The IMT-2020 reflects this expansion of scope by defining usage scenarios which include Enhanced Mobile Broadband (for smartphones and consumer devices), Massive Machine Type Communications (for the Internet of Things), and UltraReliable Low-Latency Communications (for mixed reality and vehicular applications.)
As we near the mid-point of 2022, we are beginning to see acceleration in deployment and use of 5G. It is likely many of you have seen 5G in news stories, or mentioned on social media — coverage that is perhaps not necessarily flattering. As a member of the Radio Club of America, you are likely a person that your coworkers, neighbors, family and friends may turn to for insights on 5G, so let us dive into what 5G is, what it is not, and where we are in the rollout of this new technology.
OTHER STANDARDS We often think of 4G and LTE as the same thing, but in fact, they are not interposable terms. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, a body of standards created by the Third Generation Partnership Project. 3GPP Release 8 was the first standard intended to meet the IMT-2010 standard for 4G. However, not many people know that there are other 4G technologies, including those in the IEEE 802.16 family trademarked as WiMAX. In fact, there was a time in the early 2010s when Sprint deployed some 4G networks using WiMAX. 3GPP Release 15 was the first to meet the IMT-2020 standard for 5G’s Enhanced Mobile Broadband usage scenario, and defined the term New Radio as the successor to LTE. Release 16 added support for vehicular applications, Internet of Things, time-sensitive networking, and positioning. In late March 2022, 3GPP took the final steps towards extending the features in EMBB, MMTC, and URLLC via Release 17. However, 3GPP NR is not the only 5G technology. 5Gi, submitted by Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI), is an accepted 5G standard. DECT 5G-SRIT is also an accepted 5G standard.
5G STANDARDS First off, let us review the process for defining and creating cellular technologies. What we popularly refer to as 3G, 4G, 5G, etc. are the candidate technologies that meet or exceed the International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunication Sector’s (ITU-R) performance metrics for cellular networks, as published in the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) specifications, and which derive from recommendations from Task Groups working under the ITU-R. IMT-2000 defined 3G cellular and enabled the proliferation of feature phones, connected personal digital assistants, and some limited machine-to-machine use cases. IMT-2010 (later revised to IMT-Advanced) defined 4G cellular, the network we mostly use today for smartphones, mobile broadband connections, machineto-machine uses, and (in limited cases) fixed broadband for homes. IMT-2020 defines 5G cellular, and is the first generation of cellular specifically defined to support not only connected personal devices but also other use cases such as machine-to-machine, low power sensors and actuators, mixed (augmented and virtual)
Evolution of 5G: 3GPP Release Roadmap.
SPRING 2022 PROCEEDINGS
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