A 5G can hide many others. By bringing a large number of improvements, the mobile network standard should keep all the promises placed in it. From standalone 5G to private 5G, an overview of the different avatars of 5G.
We haven’t seen anything yet! While the launch of 5G more than two years ago in France did not fundamentally change our experience of mobile telephony, operators and their equipment manufacturers claim that the best is yet to come. As was the case for 3G and 4G, they point out that it is necessary to wait a few years before a new standard delivers all its advantages.
5G standalone: performance (finally) at the rendezvous
As such, 2023 should be a pivotal year in the development of fifth-generation mobile networks with the arrival of so-called standalone 5G (SA). While 5G antennas cover a large part of the territory, the core network of operators has remained partly in 4G.
This 4G/5G cohabitation, in the so-called non-standalone phase, has above all enabled operators to increase their network capacities and relieve traffic congestion in dense areas. 5G SA will offer the gains, announced prematurely during the commercial launch. That is a speed multiplied by ten and a latency time of the order of a millisecond.
Companies will also find their account. The virtualization of network infrastructures, required for the transition to 5G SA, will bring the technique of network slicing. Or the possibility of virtually cutting a network into “slices” and prioritizing certain uses by guaranteeing them a high quality of service and increased security. A key issue for emergency services or critical plant processes. At the last MWC, Orange showed different use cases made possible by 5G SA.
5G Advanced: the future of the standard
5G is not a fixed standard and 3GPP, the international standardization body, continues to develop it. Expected at best in 2024, 5G Advanced corresponds to version 18 and following of the standard. Still called 5.5G by Huawei, this 5G Advanced will bring a whole series of improvements in terms of speed, coverage, security and traffic management.
According to a post from Nokia and the infographic below, 5G Advanced will pave the way for truly immersive experiences, especially in metaverse or cloud gaming, with extended reality (XR) features combining the real and the virtual. Less energy-intensive, this pre-6G will also make it possible to extend the autonomy of terminals and connected objects. In February, Qualcomm presented a new modem compatible with the future standard.
5G NR Light: a standard dedicated to the IoT
5G also has its variations. From the penultimate edition (version 17) of the standard published by the 3GPP, 5G NR-Light (NR for New Radio) is specifically dedicated to so-called reduced capacity devices (RedCap for reduced capability).
The objective of this 5G NR-Light is to extend the 5G ecosystem to connected objects requiring higher speeds than those offered by wide area networks dedicated to the IoT, such as Sigfox or LoRA, while limiting their energy consumption. This may be the case, for example, of medical devices or surveillance cameras. Qualcomm – again – recently announced the world’s first compatible 5G NR-Light modem, which is not expected to go on sale before 2024.
5G NTN: satellite connectivity
An extension of 5G Advanced, 5G NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) aims to bring, this time, satellite connectivity to regions inaccessible to terrestrial networks, at the top of mountains, in the middle of the desert or in the middle of the ocean.
Unlike the sending of emergency messages offered by Apple’s iPhone 14, 5G TNT allows two-way communication between smartphones and satellites. At the last edition of the MWC, Samsung unveiled a compatible modem and the Taiwanese founder MediaTek a dedicated chip.
5G mmWave: the high end of the spectrum
This time it is not an evolution of 5G but an unexplored part of 5G. In France, the regulator has chosen to release the middle band of the spectrum (3.4-3.8 GHz), reserving the upper part of the spectrum – around 26 GHz – for experiments only.
According to the laws of physics, the lower the frequency, the more the radio signal spreads and passes through obstacles. Conversely, so-called millimeter waves (mmWave) at the top of the spectrum offer limited range but high performance in terms of speed and capacity. Ideal for covering a stadium, a shopping center or an industrial site.
At the last MWC, Ericsson announced the launch of the first commercial millimeter 5G mobile network in Spain, in association with local operator Telefónica and chipmaker Qualcomm.
Private 5G: a private network for businesses.
Private 5G is, in a way, industrial 5G. A company has its own private network by installing antennas and network equipment on its site. Autonomous from public 5G, it is assured of a guaranteed quality of service and increased security.
Private 5G, which provides an opportunity to monetize new mobile networks, was the unexpected star of MWC 2023. Operators, equipment manufacturers and cloud providers have multiplied announcements dedicated to this professional market. In France, Alcatel Submarine Networks and ArcelorMittal recently communicated on their first feedback on process digitization and predictive maintenance.