Compared to 4G/LTE, 5G promises higher throughput, higher capacity, higher network efficiency, lower latency, and more.
Broadly, it covers three main use cases: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC) and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC).
The radio access part of 5G is called 5G New Radio (5G NR). It’s main design principles have been flexibility, forward compatibility and ultra-lean design. It’s an evolution of 4G but brings many innovations. Enabling technologies include Millimeter Wave, Small Cells, Massive MIMO, Beamforming, and Full Duplex.
The 5G Core is quite different from 4G’s EPC. It moves away from dedicated telecom protocols to web-based protocols and technologies. 5G Core’s Service-Based Architecture (SBA) is going to be a game changer, with network functions exposing their services via RESTful APIs and exchanging data in JSON format.
Beginners can start learning 5G from these high-level articles:
Once you’re introduced to 5G with these basics, you can delve deeper by learning about the 5G NR protocol stack, 5G security architecture, 5G QoS model, 5G SBA, and more.
