An Engineers’ Guide to 5G
Since its launch at the end of 2018, the 5G roll-out has gathered momentum, and, as of May 2021, 443 Mobile Network Operators, (MNOs), in 133 countries were investing in the new networking technology. Already in the fifth year of its roll-out, the penetration of 5G is expected to overshadow that of any previous cellular generation, with analysts forecasting 2.7 billion connections by 2025.
With 4G/LTE networks beginning to feel the pressure from an exponential growth in demand for bandwidth and in the numbers of connected IoT devices, 5G brings a step change in network performance. Throughputs of 10 Gbps are 100 times faster than those of 4G, ultra-low latencies of around 1 mSec enable near real-time responsiveness, and connection densities of 1000 devices per square kilometre will support over 100 times more connected devices than 4G.
Even prior to its launch, expectations were running high over the impact that 5G would have on the global economy. Its enhanced networking capabilities have the potential to transform our lives by enabling emerging and new applications across multiple sectors. Already many 5G-enabled devices are appearing on the market supporting applications as diverse as telesurgery, autonomous automobiles and industrial automation. The challenge increasingly faced by engineers in this innovative and rapidly evolving environment is to develop the necessary 5G capability, which can be cost-effectively integrated in hardware, optimised for power efficiency, size and cost. Recognising this challenge, Avnet Silica has created “An Engineers’ Guide to 5G”, an eBook available for download here.
This eBook provides a comprehensive overview of 5G, containing a wealth of information on its origins, capabilities, and applications. The key standards and technologies behind this latest mobile networking generation are described and its transformational power is illustrated through references to typical use cases along with details of current and emerging applications.
Starting with an overview of the various generations of cellular technology, the pressures on existing 4G/LTE networks are described, highlighting the drivers behind 5G’s development. Reference is made to the 3GPP standards process which governs the ongoing evolution of 5G and the reader is pointed to valuable sources of information on these standards.
The guide offers an insight into a 5G-enabled future, demonstrating how the core capabilities of Enhanced Mobile Broadband, (eMB), Massive Machine Type Communications, (MMTC), and Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications, (URRLC), map on to a wide range of use cases. The transformative potential of this new networking technology is further illustrated through a description of a range of existing 5G enabled applications – in autonomous vehicles, remote telesurgery and the IoT.
Prior to 5G, each cellular network generation was an evolution of its predecessor. The ambitious 5G specifications, however, demanded that engineers adopted a revolutionary approach to its design. Carrier frequencies in the mmWave spectrum are used to access increased amounts of bandwidth and innovations such as Massive MIMO, Beamforming, and Advanced Antenna Systems, (AAS), are critical to 5G’s enhanced performance. An overview of these technologies is given in the later sections of this report, enabling the reader to understand how 5G is delivered and to gain insight into the challenges of designing 5G-ready equipment.
The outbreak of the global pandemic in early 2020 initially threatened the 5G deployment, and many analysts feared that the roll-out – and consequent economic value - would be compromised. Section three of this guide describes how these concerns were mainly unfounded as Covid restrictions obliged society to adopt virtual methods of communicating and interacting, both at work and in our leisure time. Although the Covid restrictions may ease in future, many of the changes to our working and living practices are here to stay, further driving the business cases for a wide range of 5G-enabled applications.
5G’s substantial potential to deliver economic growth is dependent upon the continued emergence of innovative applications. To leverage 5G’s power these applications must integrate increasingly complex RF front-end designs along with sophisticated signal and data processing capabilities. The Avnet Silica Engineers’ Guide to 5G provides a valuable reference point for embarking on your 5G journey.
Follow Avnet Silica on LinkedIn
About Author
Itamar Kahalani
Itamar Kahalani is Xilinx Product Line Manager at Avnet Israel....
silica content library/articles/an-engineers-guide-to-5g
An Engineers’ Guide to 5G | Avnet Silica
