THE COMPLETE A TO Z OF 5G

5G is not just about mobile telephony, but it has the power to run entire Smart Cities. It is the one ring that will rule them all. Once implemented, it will take us to the next stage of Internet connectivity

- Sunil Rajguru

A for Automobiles

A big change when it comes to 5G will be the rise of connected vehicles. A connected car can send and receive information continuously and that’s not just about GPS and the Internet, but also communicating with traffic signals and the rest of the Smart City. It will be crucial for driverless cars too.

B for Bandwidth

This is what it is all about. We are always complaining about insufficient bandwidth. When certain 4G networks came, they talked of higher speeds of up to 100Mbps, though that has not practically happened in most cases. Similarly 5G talks of a whopping higher theoretical 10Gbps and maybe even if we achieve a fraction of that, it will be a giant leap.

C for Channel Coding:

In Coding Theory, Channel Coding relates to error detection and correction, which is a very important part of the telecom industry. Here also there will be a difference as 4G used turbo codes while 5G will rely on polar codes.

D for Devices:

When 2.5G came, you could only think of powering your mobile. While there was some expansion with 4G, when 5G comes, it will be able to cater to every device in your home, even the desktop. In an era of multiple devices, a single 5G connection can take care of them all.

E for Edge

Edge computing brings compute and data together and greatly reduces latency times. In an era of multiple devices and every building and vehicle becoming connected, the Edge is where all the action is. 5G is probably the most important aspect of the Edge going forward.

F for Frequency

5G uses higher frequencies. But they have a shorter range. That means smaller cells. That means more towers. That means more capital expenditure. That is one of the reasons why implementation is slow.

G for Global Warming