5 G SERVICES

Source: Indian Express

CONTEXT

Prime Minister will launch 5 G in select cities while inaugurating the sixth edition of the Indian mobile congress

ABOUT 5G

5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after the 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G network

5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users. Higher performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and connect new industries

GENERATIONS OF MOBILE NETWORK

• 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G all led to 5G, which is designed to provide more connectivity than was ever available before.
• 5G is a unified, more capable air interface. It has been designed with an extended capacity to enable next-generation user experiences, empower new deployment models, and deliver new services.
• With high speeds, superior reliability, and negligible latency, 5G will expand the mobile ecosystem into new realms. 5G will impact every industry, making safer transportation, remote healthcare, precision agriculture, and digitized logistics.

5G IN INDIA

• In 2017, the government set up a high-level forum of representatives from the industry, academia, government, and regulators to evaluate and approve the roadmap for rolling out 5G.
• The main aim of this forum is to keep India‘s roadmap aligned with global standards so that lack of homogeneity can be eradicated in telecom networks which were witnessed in services up to 4G.

FORUM’S REPORT

• Forum submitted its report in 2018
• It suggested a focus on the area including regulatory and spectrum policy, application, and use–case lab for developing locally –tailored solutions.

ROLLING OUT 5G

• The government has not specified the cities in which PM launch the first 5G services.
• But Reliance Jio, which was the top spender in the 5G spectrum auctions bidding, said that it would roll out high-speed mobile internet services on its 5G network by Diwali in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
• Bharti Airtel, which was the second biggest spender, has said 5G will be available on its network in all urban areas of the country by the end of 2023 and in towns and key rural areas by March 2024.

BENEFITS OF 5G

• Economic -5G can provide economic opportunities and societal benefits; it has the potential to transform Indian society. The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is expected to reach $450 billion by 2035.
• Speed –it can provide superior internet speeds and benefit from the low latency of 5G. Peak internet speeds on 5G could touch 10Gbps compared to 100 Mbps in 4G, while latency in 4G is between 10 and 100 milliseconds, in 5G it is expected to be fewer than 1ms.
• 5G uses a spectrum better than 4G-5G is also designed to get the most out of every bit of spectrum across a wide array of available spectrum regulatory paradigms and bands—from low bands below 1 GHz to mid bands from 1 GHz to 6 GHz to high bands known as millimeter wave (mmWave).
• LATENCY –it is the time it takes for a device to send packets of data and get a response. The smaller the latency, the quicker the response.
• 5G has lower latency than 4G.
• 5G has significantly lower latency to deliver more instantaneous, real-time access: a 10x decrease in end-to-end latency down to 1ms.¹
• Unified platform -5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G.
• While 4G LTE focused on delivering much faster mobile broadband services than 3G, 5G is designed to be a unified, more capable platform that not only elevates mobile broadband experiences but also supports new services such as mission-critical communications and the massive IoT. 5G can also natively support all spectrum types (licensed, shared, unlicensed) and bands (low, mid, high), a wide range of deployment models (from traditional macro-cells to hotspots), and new ways to interconnect (such as device-to-device and multi-hop mesh)

5G NETWORK MODES

• 5G networks are deployed mainly on two modes
• Standalone
• Non-standalone
• In the standalone mode, which Jio has chosen, the 5G network operates with dedicated equipment and runs parallel to the existing 4G network; Jio has omitted an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore for its standalone 5G network.
• In non –standalone mode, the 5G network is supported by the 4G core infrastructure.
• The non-standalone networks are built on existing infrastructure,the initial cost and rollout times are significantly lower
• Non –standalone networks are generally considered to be a stepping stone,and global precedent suggests operators who have launched non-standalone 5G networks eventually transition to standalone networks
• The biggest difference between the two architectures is the compatibility with existing device ecosystems.
• Most smartphones today have the capability to connect to non-standalone 5G networks –which are essentially 5G airwaves transmitted through 4G networks –and will require software updates by their OEMs to be able to connect to standalone networks.