The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance states that, “5G is an end-to-end ecosystem to enable a fully mobile and connected society. It empowers value creation toward customers and partners, through existing and emerging use cases delivered with consistent experience and enabled by sustainable business models.”
Essentially, LTE is the foundation of the 5G radio access network below 6 GHz while the frequencies from 6 GHz to 100 GHz will explore new technologies in parallel. 5G raises the bar to a massive multiple-input multiple-output technology, a large array of radiating elements that extends the antenna matrix to a new level and takes a leap of faith in wireless network speed and coverage.
The overall goals of 5G technology are to increase capacity by a thousand, support more than a hundred billion connections up to 10 GB/s speeds and keep latency below one millisecond.
The early blueprint of 5G pilot networks mostly comprises of beam-forming technology and small cell base stations. Companies like Nokia, Samsung and Ericsson have launched pilot projects and so far the results have been encouraging.
The wireless industry is broadly targeting 2020 for the widespread deployment of 5G networks.
