5G NETWORK: OPPRTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

I INTRODUCTION

Every generation of wireless standards has introduced new capabilities and decreased
latency. With the advent of 5G, data-carrying capacity is expected to increase
significantly. To truly understand how we got here, it’s useful to chart the unstoppable
rise of wireless standards from the first generation (1G) to where we are today, on the
cusp of a global 5G rollout.

The timeline and history from 1G to 5G took just over 40 years since the introduction of
wireless cellular technology. And a lot has changed since then.

 Cell phones have become smaller.

 Download speeds have become faster.
 Text messaging has come.
 Surfing the internet with phones became common.
 The steam of social media posting continues.
 And apparently, there’s an app for nearly everything now.

The timeline from 1G to 5G couldn’t have happened without creating and enhancing
each generation of telecommunications leading to what it is today. Roughly every 10
years since 1979, each newer generation has changed how we communicate with one
another, further improving our way of life.

1G NETWORK
The very first generation of mobile networks, also known as 1G, was launched in Japan
in 1979. The coverage and sound quality were both poor. Due to the success of the 1G, it
paved way for the development of 2G

2G NETWORK
The Cultural Revolution 2G The second generation of mobile networks,2G was
launched under the GSM standard in Finland in 1991. For the first time, calls could be
encrypted and digital voice calls were significantly clearer with less static and

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background crackling. With the 2G network, people can text messages, picture and
multimedia messages with their phones.

3G NETWORK
The 3G network was launched in 2001 by NTT Docomo. Compared to the 2G network,
3G has very high data transferring capabilities up to 2Mbps. This made video streaming,
video conferences, and live video chat possible. Emails also became another standard
form of communication over mobile devices. It has download speeds upto 6Mbps

4G NETWORK
4G was introduced in Norway in 2009 where it was used for commercial purposes. Due
to high data transfer speed compared to that of the 2G and 3G, 4G provides high-quality
video streaming/chat, fast mobile web access, HD videos, and online gaming. The 4G
network was originally not named ‘4G’ due to the fact that it didn’t meet the minimum
requirements of 12Mbps set by the International Telecommunication Union-Radio
communication sector,(ITU-R). In response to the amount of money that tech
manufacturers were putting into achieving this goal, the ITU-R decided that LTE (Long-
term evolution) could be labelled as 4G. But only if it provided a significant
improvement over 3G. (Timeline from 1G to 5G: A Brief History on Cell Phones -
CENGN, 2021).

THE LATEST (5G NETWORK)

With new technologies being introduced at a rapid pace, the world needs a faster
network. 5G provides just that. It was first offered by South Korea in 2019. The data

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transferring capabilities is way higher than that of the 4G network. In fact, the median
5G download speed in Canada is 169.46 Mbps. The 5G network isn’t just about faster
mobile internet nor the faster download speeds. 5G is a game-changer, revolutionizing
how we live and work in all industries – not just one. It will change almost every aspect
of our lives – how we drive to work in the morning, grow our food, and even root for
our favourite sports teams. While this generation is relatively new, it is intended to
provide a more unified experience for all. The superior connectivity offered by 5G
promised to transform everything from banking to healthcare. 5G offers the possibility
of innovations such as remote surgeries, telemedicine and even remote vital sign
monitoring that could save lives. (From 1G to 5G: A Brief History of the Evolution of
Mobile Standards | Brainbridge, 2021).

II OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES

The 5G Network Underlying Technologies

5G is based on OFDM (Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing), a method of
modulating a digital signal across several different channels to reduce interference. 5G
uses 5G NR air interface alongside OFDM principles. 5G also uses wider bandwidth
technologies such as sub-6 GHz and mmWave.

Like 4G LTE, 5G OFDM operates based on the same mobile networking principles.
However, the new 5G NR air interface can further enhance OFDM to deliver a much
higher degree of flexibility and scalability. This could provide more 5G access to more
people and things for a variety of different use cases.

5G will bring wider bandwidths by expanding the usage of spectrum resources, from
sub-3 GHz used in 4G to 100 GHz and beyond. 5G can operate in both lower bands
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(e.g., sub-6 GHz) as well as mmWave (e.g., 24 GHz and up), which will bring extreme
capacity, multi-Gbps throughput, and low latency.

5G is designed to not only deliver faster, better mobile broadband services compared
to 4G LTE, but can also expand into new service areas such as mission-critical
communications and connecting the massive IoT. This is enabled by many new 5G NR
air interface design techniques, such as a new self-contained TDD subframe design.
(What is 5G | Everything You Need to Know About 5G | 5G FAQ | Qualcomm, no date)

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 III OPPORTUNITIES

The future depends on connectivity. From artificial intelligence and self-driving cars to
telemedicine and mixed reality to as yet undreamt technologies, all the things we hope
will make our lives easier, safer, and healthier will require high-speed, always-on
internet connections (5G - Advantages & Disadvantages - Tutorialspoint, no date)

To keep up with the explosion of new connected gadgets and vehicles, not to mention
the deluge of streaming video, the mobile industry has introduced something called 5G
—so named because it's the fifth generation of wireless networking technology (5G -
Wikipedia, no date)

In telecommunications, 5G is the fifth generation technology standard for broadband

cellular networks, which cellular phone companies began deploying worldwide in 2019,
and is the planned successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most
current cellphones

Due to the increased bandwidth, it is expected the networks will increasingly be used as
general internet service providers for laptops and desktop computers.

2.2 PERFORMANCE

SPEED

The promise is that 5G will bring speeds of around 10 gigabits per second to your
phone. That's more than 600 times faster than the typical 4G speeds on today’s mobile
phones, and 10 times faster than Google Fiber's standard home broadband service—fast
enough to download a 4K high-definition movie in 25 seconds, or to stream several at
the same time [2].

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LATENCY

This is how long it takes a device to respond to other devices over a network. Faster
response time is a big promise of 5G, which could be critical for things like emergency
alert systems or self-driving cars.

RANGE

This is the bandwith it has on the EM spectrum and also the amount of data that can be
transfer in a second of which this technology promises to offer as high as 10
gigabits/secs.

FLEXIBLE NUMEROLOGY

This is its ability to be able to reduced it bandwidth for devices that doesn't need large
band with for communication.

2.2.1 ADVANTAGES

- Parallel multiple services, such as you can know weather and location while talking
with other person.

- You can control your PCs by handsets.

- Education will become easier − A student sitting in any part of world can attend the
class.

- Medical Treatment will become easier & frugal − A doctor can treat the patient located
in remote part of the world.

- There are several advantages of 5G technology which include -

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- High resolution and bi-directional large bandwidth shaping.

- Easily manageable with the previous generations.

IV CHALLENGES

Though, 5G technology is researched and conceptualized to solve all radio signal

problems and hardship of mobile world, but because of some security reason and lack of
technological advancement in most of the geographic regions, it has following
shortcomings −

- Many of the old devices would not be competent to 5G, hence, all of them need to be
replaced with new one — expensive deal.

- Developing infrastructure needs high cost.

- Security and privacy issue yet to be solved.

- Technology is still under process and research on its viability is going on.

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 V. CONCCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

In this paper, we have reviewed the opportunities and challenge inherent in the
deployment of 5G technology on global and local levels. To appreciate the prospects for
data transmission revolution, we explored the evolution of wireless communication
systems from the advent of 1G technology. While the opportunities are numerous that it
presents, 5G technology faces the challenge of infrastructures inadequacy for
deployment. Since its operation is hinged on the mmWaves band breadth and frequency
spectrum, numerous cell sites have to be installed around street poles and building roofs
to enable the promised reliable and ultra speed data transmission. 5G's core technology
of parallel multiple network will enable dedicated network functions for industries and
businesses. While 5G holds the prospect of unparalleled data transmission and
efficiency, it is still a technology under heavy scientific research. For 5G technology, the
possibilities are endless for a world of unlimited, uncongested, and unrestricted data
streaming.

REFERENCES

5G - Advantages & Disadvantages - Tutorialspoint (no date). Available at:

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/5g/5g_advantages_disadvantages.htm (Accessed: 8 July 2021).

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5G - Wikipedia (no date). Available at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G (Accessed: 8 July 2021).

From 1G to 5G: A Brief History of the Evolution of Mobile Standards | Brainbridge (no date).
Available at: https://www.brainbridge.be/en/blog/1g-5g-brief-history-evolution-mobile-standards
(Accessed: 8 July 2021).

Timeline from 1G to 5G: A Brief History on Cell Phones - CENGN (no date). Available at:
https://www.cengn.ca/timeline-from-1g-to-5g-a-brief-history-on-cell-phones/ (Accessed: 8 July 2021).

What is 5G | Everything You Need to Know About 5G | 5G FAQ | Qualcomm (no date). Available at:
https://www.qualcomm.com/5g/what-is-5g (Accessed: 8 July 2021).