BARCELONA: Ericsson and Nokia Networks are working hard to make next-generation “5G” networking a practical reality. Nokia and Ericson have unveiled the concept of 5G network at the Mobile World Congress show.
According to reports 3G and 4G networks are providing roughly 150Mbps (megabits per second) to 450Mbps, depending on which generation of the technology is used. 5G should reach much higher, with Nokia, Huawei and other companies betting on peak rates of. In Huawei’s view, that means the difference between downloading an 8GB movie 10 gigabits per second in 6 seconds instead of 7 minutes.
“The 5G infrastructure is expected to become the nervous system of the digital society and digital economy,” said Günther Oettinger, the European Commission member whose job is to encourage that very digital development.
5G networks will transfer data much faster than today’s 3G and 4G when they start arriving in about five years, and mobile networking will look very different. A major increase in download speeds will help streaming video and instant app updates. Crucially, 5G will also bring shorter communication delays that will enable fast-response services like augmented reality, self-driving cars and online gaming features impossible today. Last, 5G should help sweep billions of new devices into the network through a transformation called the Internet of Things (IoT).
With better networks, people can — and do — use their mobile devices more. In South Korea, the switch to 4G networks meant people use mobile devices to watch 14 times as much video, shop online 13 times as much and bank five times as much as before, said Chang-Gyu Hwang, chief executive of carrier Korea Telecom.
Carriers and network operators hope to start building 5G networks with a globally standardized version of the technology starting in 2020, though widespread adoption will take longer. Early trials should arrive in 2018, with projects set for the World Cup soccer tournament in Russia and the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
At the show, Nokia demonstrated data-transfer speeds of more than 2Gbps. Although that’s not as high as some rivals’ speeds, there were two important features to its demonstration. First, it maintained the network connection between a stationary base station and a moving device at the other end of the connection. Second, it used ultra-high radio frequencies of 73.5GHz, said Mark Cudak, principal research specialist for Nokia Networks.
These high frequencies are a key part of meeting 5G’s promise. Ericsson had its on demo, pumping 5.8Gbps of data using a 15GHz radio frequency. In contrast, today’s phones use radio frequencies below about 3GHz.
