5th generation mobile network (5G) Debates

Based on the above observations, some sources suggest that a new generation of 5G standards may be introduced in the early 2020s.[12][13] However, significant debate continued, on what exactly was 5G. Prior to 2012, some industry representatives expressed skepticism toward 5G.[14] 3GPP held a conference in September 2015 to plan development of the new standard.[15]

New mobile generations are typically assigned new frequency bands and wider spectral bandwidth per frequency channel (1G up to 30 kHz, 2G up to 200 kHz, 3G up to 5 MHz, and 4G up to 20 MHz), but skeptics argue that there is little room for larger channel bandwidths and new frequency bands suitable for land-mobile radio.[14] The higher frequencies would overlap with K-band transmissions of communication satellites.[16] From users' point of view, previous mobile generations have implied substantial increase in peak bitrate (i.e. physical layer net bitrates for short-distance communication), up to 1 gigabit per second to be offered by 4G.

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If 5G appears and reflects these prognoses, then the major difference, from a user point of view, between 4G and 5G must be something other than faster speed (increased peak bit rate). For example, higher number of simultaneously connected devices, higher system spectral efficiency (data volume per area unit), lower battery consumption, lower outage probability (better coverage), high bit rates in larger portions of the coverage area, lower latencies, higher number of supported devices, lower infrastructure deployment costs, higher versatility and scalability, or higher reliability of communication. Those are the objectives in several of the research papers and projects below.

GSMHistory.com[17] has recorded three very distinct 5G network visions that had emerged by 2014:

•     A super-efficient mobile network that delivers a better performing network for lower investment cost. It addresses the mobile network operators' pressing need to see the unit cost of data transport falling at roughly the same rate as the volume of data demand is rising. It would be a leap forward in efficiency based on the IET Demand Attentive Network (DAN) philosophy.[18]
•     A super-fast mobile network comprising the next generation of small cells densely clustered to give a contiguous coverage over at least urban areas and getting the world to the final frontier of true "wide-area mobility." It would require access to spectrum under 4 GHz perhaps via the world's first global implementation of Dynamic Spectrum Access.
•     A converged fiber-wireless network that uses, for the first time for wireless Internet access, the millimeter wave bands (20 – 60 GHz) so as to allow very-wide-bandwidth radio channels able to support data-access speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s. The connection essentially comprises "short" wireless links on the end of local fiber optic cable. It would be more a "nomadic" service (like Wi-Fi) rather than a wide-area "mobile" service.

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In its white paper, 5G Empowering Vertical Industries, 5G PPP, the collaborative research programme organized as part of the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme, suggests that to support the main vertical sectors in Europe—namely automotive, transportation, healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and media and entertainment—the most important 5G infrastructure performance requirements are a latency below 5 ms, support for device densities of up to 100 devices/m2 and reliable coverage area, and that a successful 5G deployment will integrate telecommunication technologies including mobile, fixed, optical and satellite (both GEO and MEO).[19] A typical mobile network comprises around 17,000 base stations. With 4G densification and 5G rollout that number might rise by 3x or more – and perhaps to over 100,000 base stations within 3–5 years.[20]