5G Speed vs 4G
The world has long been in need of higher data transfer rates. Comparison of 5G Speed vs 4G and the emerging prospects are increasingly exciting minds.
But along with the interest in new opportunities, debates about the advisability of introducing the 5th generation are also growing.
Partly to blame for this is the poor understanding of the average person of what the differences are and why they should change the well-known old for the unknown, and therefore sometimes frightening new. In our article, we will try to dot all the i’s.
The difference between 5G Speed vs 4G
If we are going to weigh 5G Speed vs 4G, we should start with the very basics.
The entire radio spectrum is divided into frequency bands, each with its own characteristics. As the frequency increases, the capacity indicators of the mobile network and the data transfer rate in it increase, and the load decreases and the directionality increases. The higher the frequency, the less negatively affected by extraneous radio signals transmitted in parallel, which means that distortion and the amount of noise decrease, which has a positive effect on quality: delays are minimized, the accuracy of transmission reaches a higher level.
The 4th generation includes the range up to 6 GHz, while the 5th generation uses from 30 to 300 GHz. 4G base stations broadcast a signal in all directions even when it is not needed, so some energy is wasted, but they cover a larger area. 5G towers are characterized by a smaller radius, smaller size and precise directionality adjustment, which allows them to be more efficient, including in terms of energy consumption. Due to the smaller size of the antenna, more of them can be installed on the tower, which means it will be possible to provide more connections.
A huge advantage of 5th generation networks is the flexibility of adaptation to the content being transmitted. Depending on the volume of traffic being used, the cell tower can regulate its energy consumption.
But the difference between 5G Speed vs 4G is not only a number of advantages of the latter; there are also negative aspects of the deployment of 5th generation coverage.
If we consider the disadvantages of high frequencies, then the following should be highlighted:
- the higher the frequency, the more important is the direct visibility between the transmitting antenna and the connected device. Any obstacle in the way can not only greatly weaken the signal, but also reduce it to nothing. Even hydrometeors (rain, snow, fog), which absorb part of the energy, affect the quality of reception;
- the greater the distance between the tower and the device, the more pronounced the negative impact of obstacles becomes, as the signal weakens and copes worse with overcoming obstacles in its path. The drop in power depending on the distance in 5G is much more pronounced than in 4G;
- The reduced range of towers makes coverage deployment more expensive; Installation of base stations requires very precise calculations to avoid possible blind spots and ensure stable connection at any point
Speed Difference Between 5G Speed vs 4G And New User Needs
Let’s consider 5G Speed vs 4G in terms of speed indicators. Here, the 5th generation undoubtedly wins, since theoretically its speed is 20 times higher (20 Gbit/s versus 1 Gbit/s in ideal conditions and when the connected devices are stationary). In reality, everything looks a little different, since there are quite a few factors affecting the final speed. It is still difficult to name exact figures for 5G, also because there is much less accumulated experience with networks of this generation.
The minimum download speed demonstrated by 4G is on average 10 Mbit/s, while the 5th generation of communication has never shown a value less than 100 Mbit/s. That is, even under unfavorable conditions, we can judge about at least a 10-fold advantage and this is impressive. In the confrontation between 5G Speed vs 4G, it is the new technologies that win.
The modern world has already outgrown the speed that 4th generation networks provide. Traffic consumption per unit of time is constantly growing. This is caused by the rapid development of the Internet environment and the range of opportunities that it provides. And if in the performance of everyday tasks for an ordinary user this is not so noticeable, then in the business sphere and large projects the lack of speed is already felt quite acutely.
For example, let’s take 4K video, which has recently become increasingly popular and widespread and has already become a high-quality standard. The average 4G LTE speed in Ukraine is 30 Mbps. To view 4K video, you need a speed of at least 25 Mbps, and ideally even 45 Mbps, since only then can you count on the absence of freezes or slowdowns.
Application Of 5G Technology
It is customary to distinguish three main areas of application for 5G networks (see the figure below):
- eMBB (enhanced Mobile BroadBand) – providing enhanced mobile broadband access.
- mMTC (massive Machine-Type Communication) – the ability to connect a very large number of devices (sensors, counters, etc.).
- URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication) – providing a highly reliable connection with very low data transmission latency.
MBB (enhanced Mobile BroadBand)
Providing improved enhanced mobile broadband is a progressive development of mobile data networks. As noted above, this is the initial area of application of long term evolution technology, for which it was developed. 5G technology should provide an even higher level of service for subscribers and even higher data transfer rates. Tens of gigabits per second (namely up to 20 Gbit/s in the downlink) are considered as target values for the data transfer rate in 5G. In order to provide such high data transfer rates, a very wide channel (up to 1-2 GHz) and multi-antenna data transfer technologies are used. Since almost the entire low-frequency range (frequencies <6 GHz) is already allocated, in order to be able to use channels several hundred MHz or even units of GHz wide, the use of the millimeter frequency range (e.g. 28 GHz) is assumed for 5G technology. It is in this range that the required number of free (or conditionally free) frequencies is available. Lower frequencies of the centimeter range (e.g. 3.5 GHz) and frequencies below 1 GHz are also used for 5G technology.
Multi-antenna technologies allow forming a directional diagram (creating so-called beams), which increases the spectral efficiency of the system and also expands the network coverage area. The latter is especially important when using frequencies from the millimeter range. Below is an approximate table with data transfer rates depending on the frequency range.
Frequency range, GHz | Channel width, MHz | MIMO | Maximum data transfer rate, Gbps |
---|---|---|---|
24 – 28 | 1000 | 2×2 / 4×4 | 10 / 20 |
3.3 – 4.9 | 100 | 4×4 | 2 |
<1 | 20 | 2×2 | 0.2 |
mMTC (massive Machine-Type Communication)
This application area is characterized by the ability to connect a very large number of cheap (costing less than $5) devices. Examples of such devices are various sensors (for example, fire alarm, smoke, temperature sensors), meters (water, gas, heat, etc.), sensors, etc. In addition to low cost, a distinctive feature of such devices is low power consumption. This is necessary to ensure a long time (several years) of operation from autonomous power sources (for example, batteries). The volumes of data transmitted by these devices are also insignificant. Therefore, high data transfer rates in the mMTC area are not a critical aspect.
URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication)
5G / New Radio Specifications
As can be seen from the above 5G application areas, the set of requirements for this new technology is very extensive. Moreover, some application areas have somewhat conflicting requirements. This makes the development of 5G specifications and the subsequent implementation of these specifications by equipment manufacturers an extremely difficult and time-consuming task. Below is a list of the main requirements that 5G technology must meet. It is worth noting that most of the values given represent boundary cases and it is unlikely that it will be possible to achieve all of these boundary values simultaneously (for example, to ensure data transmission at a rate of 20 Gbps with a latency of < 1 ms for all users in the network).
Parameter | Target value | Comments |
---|---|---|
Maximum data transfer rate | DL: 20 Gbps UL: 10 Gbps |
Ideal radio conditions are assumed (i.e. there are no errors in data transmission), the entire radio resource is used and allocated to one subscriber device |
Maximum spectral efficiency | DL: 30 bit/Hz/s UL: 15 bit/Hz/s |
see comment above |
Channel width | from MHz to GHz | 5G specifications are designed with great flexibility, allowing for the efficient use of channels of varying widths from a few MHz to GHz. |
Data transfer delay | URLLC: 0.5 ms eMBB: 4 ms |
The values are given for one-way data transfer. |
Reliability of data transmission |
URLLC: 1-10 -5 eV2X: 1-10 -5 |
This parameter defines the probability of successful transmission of X bytes of data with a certain delay. URLLC: X = 32 bytes, delay 1 ms eV2X: X = 300 bytes, delay 3-10 ms |
Coverage area | 164 dB | This value specifies MaxCL (Maximum Coupling Loss) – this is the maximum signal attenuation at which data can be successfully received. The MaxCL value is the difference between the transmission power and the receiver sensitivity. The specified MaxCL value is set at a data rate of 160 bps |
Subscriber terminal operating hours | >10 years preferably 15 years |
These values are set only for mMTC cases. This parameter sets the operating time of the subscriber terminal without recharging / replacing the batteries. It is assumed that the volume of data transmitted in the uplink does not exceed 200 bytes, and in the downlink no more than 20 bytes per day. |
Practical data transfer rates | DL: 100 Mbps UL: 50 Mbps |
|
Subscriber density | 1,000,000 pcs/ km2 | |
Mobility | 500 km/h | The maximum subscriber speed at which quality of service (QoS) parameters are met |
More details can be found in 3GPP TR 38.913 “Study on Scenarios and Requirements for Next Generation Access Technologies”.