Article

Next Generation Mobile Wireless Networks: 5G Cellular Infrastructure

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Abstract

The requirement for wireless network speed and capacity is growing dramatically. A significant amount of data will be mobile and transmitted among phones and Internet of things (IoT) devices. The current 4G wireless technology provides reasonably high data rates and video streaming capabilities. However, the incremental improvements on current 4G networks will not satisfy the ever-growing demands of users and applications. The next generation of mobile telecommunication standards, 5G, promises not only ten-times the available spectrum, ten-times the download speed, but also ten-times the number of devices with a fraction of the latency. Several 5G networks have already been built for testing and early deployment. In this paper, the evolution of mobile networks from 1G to 4G is reviewed. 5G wireless and its key features are discussed. Examples of 5G applications include enhanced mobile broadband, robotic surgery, smart cars, virtual reality/augmented reality, and Internet of Things (IoT). Beamforming and small cells are the pivotal technologies that allow 5G to be implemented. Beamforming reduces signal propagation loss with antennas continuously tracking signals spatially and steering the beams in a certain direction. This along with small cells which are low-power, short-range wireless transmission systems in a geographical region, are set to catapult 5G into the 6-300GHz spectrum. We also compare 5G to Wi-Fi 6 and analyze the opportunities that new wireless technologies bring to our engineering and technology students.

Keywords: mobile networks|5G wireless|internet of things|millimeter waves|beamforming|small cells|Wi-Fi 6

How to Cite:

Bai, R., Chandra, V., Richardson, R. & Liu, P. P., (2020) “Next Generation Mobile Wireless Networks: 5G Cellular Infrastructure”, The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering 36(3).