After the read of 4G vs. 5G, What is the difference between 4G and 5G? you will learn:
Defining the differences between LTE, 4G, and 5G
Why is 5G called NR?
How will 5G work?
What is the difference between 4G and 5G?
What are the different 3 types of 5G networks?
What are the advantages of 5G?
How much faster is 5g than 4g?
What is the difference between a 5G phone and a 4G phone? Will 5G work on a 4G phone?
Is it necessary to upgrade the 4G cellular network to a 5G cellular network?
4G Development Process
Networks such as 2G, 3G, and 4G are, to some extent, just a proxy for cellular network technology, used to refer to communication technology that meets the needs of a certain generation.
For example, 2G networks have two different systems, GSM and CDMA, and although CDMA call quality is better than GSM, they are both 2G.
In the 3G era, although Internet access is now available, the CDMA2000 and WCDMA networks, among others, are actually based on improved CDMA networks.
4G is also updated every so often with new features and technologies, kind of like your phone pushing out system updates.
As an enhanced version of the 4G network, 4G LTE started out with 16 steps of modulation accuracy but has since been gradually increased to 64 and 256 steps, and this has eventually enabled 4G to go from a theoretical access rate of 100 Mbps to 150 Mbps.
The network speed has increased, but everyone is still using 4G, which is why the 4G network is getting stronger.
LTE is directly renamed LTE-A because of NB-IoT‘s technology.
And continue to give 4G renewal is not only carrier aggregation of this technology, but a variety of new technologies are also emerging.
For example, VoLTE’s long-term evolution of voice bearer, speaking the human language is high-definition voice calls.
VoLTE the most intuitive change is to call the waiting time is shorter, voice quality is higher, and rarely will appear dropped line situation.
After VoLTE, ViLTE is also coming, that is, high-definition video calls.
For example, if you call a person, you can make a video call directly to them in addition to the dialing option.
There is also RCS-enhanced SMS.
In addition, there are all kinds of new technologies to support the upgrade of 4G, you should see the difference between the 4G when it was born and the 4G now.
From speed to technology to features, 4G+ has surpassed the 4G of the beginning.
So the 4G+ you are using now is the ultimate enhanced 4G, while 5G is still a relatively early version.
The 4G network has evolved over the past 10 years, with new technologies emerging and gradually closing the gap with the 5G protocol.
With 5G, we need to introduce new access technologies to address the smoothness at high densities.
Defining the differences between LTE, 4G, and 5G
4G
Fourth-generation wireless is the predecessor to 5G and the fourth generation of mobile network technology. In the 2010s, 4G became the newest and most innovative generation of cellular technology and was ubiquitous within a decade. Some of the promises of 4G include enhanced cell density, improved VoIP capabilities, and greater bandwidth.
LTE
Long Term Evolution was developed as a 4G standard during the 4G reign. LTE is the global gold standard for wireless broadband and laid the foundation for 5G networks. Both 4G and LTE support a variety of traffic types, something that previous generations struggled with and that 5G must now improve.
5G
Fifth-generation wireless is the latest generation of cellular network technology. 5G is not just an ultra-high-speed network for downloading and consuming media, it promises to be the backbone of the IoT space (Internet of Things). It will further enhance the capabilities of these technologies and work to connect everyone and everything in society. The network can connect mobile devices, device sensors, drones, or any other smart device.
The wide range of possibilities offered by 5G is the first of its kind in the industry. It will enable machine-to-machine communication, which will have a huge impact on a wide range of industry sectors, from banking to healthcare.
Why is 5G called NR?
5G NR (New Radio, New AirPort), a global 5G standard based on a new airport design based on OFDM, and a very important cellular mobile technology foundation for the next generation, 5G technology will achieve ultra-low latency and high reliability.
NR involves a new wireless standard based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).OFDM refers to a [digital multi-carrier modulation method]. With the adoption of this standard by 3GPP, the term NR was carried over to become another surrogate for 5G, just as LTE (Long Term Evolution) is used to describe the 4G wireless standard.
5G NR is relative to the 5G Core (5G Core) and is different from the unified EPS (Evolved Packet System) for 4G networks, which refers to the complete end-to-end 4G system, including the UE (User Equipment), E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) and EPC core network (Evolved packet core network); in the 5G era, the NR and core networks each evolve independently to 5G.
This is due to the different positioning of 5G from 4G, which will be designed not only for mobile broadband but also for the three major usage scenarios: eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband), URLLC (ultra-reliable low-latency communication), and mMTC (massive machine communication).
Due to cost and construction time considerations, different operators can mix and match the NR, core network, and the currently mature 4G core network with LTE as needed, which has given rise to the NSA (non-independent group network) and SA (independent group network) of the real 5G network experience that has been put into use in foreign countries for two types of 5G network deployment development.
How will 5G work?
5G comes with a variety of new features and capabilities, including network slicing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and massive multiple-input multiple-output.
5G also introduces another new standard called 5G New Radio (NR), designed to replace LTE. 5G NR will build on the best features of LTE and bring new benefits, such as more energy savings and enhanced connectivity for connected devices.
In addition, 5G can operate on a new high-frequency spectrum, millimeter wave (mmWave), which operates at wavelengths between 30 GHz and 300 GHz, compared to 4G LTE at wavelengths below 6 GHz. Because of the mmWave spectrum, 5G requires new small cell base stations to be operational and functioning.
What is the difference between 4G and 5G?
The differences between 4G and 5G are mainly in terms of speed, latency, and traffic costs.
The biggest difference between 4G and 5G is latency. 5G promises low latency under 5 milliseconds, while 4G latency ranges from 60 ms to 98 ms. In addition, with lower latency comes advancements in other areas, such as faster download speeds. Potential download speeds.
In the right conditions, 5G download speeds can reach 10 gigabits per second. That’s up to 100 times faster than 4G.
While 4G networks were mostly designed for phones, 5G networks were designed for much more flexible use, replacing the need for many special-purpose networks.
The details are as follows.
- Speed difference, 4G network speed is 100Mbp/s on average, and 5G network speed is now 100 times the speed of the 4G network, upgraded to 10Gbp/s.
- The difference in delay, delay, and 5G network will be network delay from the original 4G network 30-50ms shortened to 1ms.
- Carrier differences, 4G phones can only support 4G networks at the highest, but can not use 5G networks, 5G phones can use 5G networks and are compatible with 4G, 3G, and 2G networks.
- The difference in traffic costs, due to faster network speeds, 5G will consume relatively more traffic, and the unit traffic tariff is higher than 4G, so you need to pay more costs on top of the package.
4G vs. 5G network architectures
The main differences between 4G and 5G network architectures include:
4G vs. 5G Latency
4G vs. 5G Potential download speed
4G vs. 5G Base stations
4G vs. 5G OFDM coding
4G vs. 5G Cell density
While 4G and 5G differ in many ways, 5G is designed to make up for 4G’s shortcomings. Learn more in this 4G vs. 5G comparison table.
4G vs. 5G Latency
The biggest difference between 4G and 5G is latency. 5G promises low latency of less than 5 ms, while 4G latency ranges from 60 ms to 98 ms. In addition, lower latency brings advances in other areas, such as faster download speeds.
4G vs. 5G Potential Download Speeds
While 4G introduces a variety of VoIP capabilities, 5G builds on and enhances these promises, namely the potential for fast download speeds. While 4G achieves download speeds of 1 Gbps, 5G aims to increase that speed tenfold to reach a maximum download speed of 10 Gbps.
4G vs. 5G Base stations
Another key difference between 4G and 5G is the most common base stations are needed to transmit the signal. Like its predecessors, 4G transmits signals from cell towers. However, 5G uses small cell technology, and because of its faster speeds and millimeter wave frequency bands, operators will deploy high-band 5G in small cells the size of pizza boxes in multiple locations. 5G will still use cell towers in their lower spectrum.
Because of the millimeter wave frequencies, operators will have to deploy small cells in various regions. While the frequencies are higher than cellular technologies to date, millimeter wave has a weaker signal with shorter propagation distances. Small base stations must often be placed in 5G-enabled areas to ensure that the signal reaches users and businesses.
4G vs. 5G OFDM Coding
OFDM is used to split different radio signals into different channels to avoid interference, which also provides greater bandwidth. Because OFDM encodes data at different frequencies, it can increase 4G and 5G download speeds because these networks will have their own signal channels instead of the ones shared between them. 4G uses the 20 MHz channel, while 5G will use the 100 MHz to 800 MHz channel.
4G vs. 5G Cell Density
Small cell technology enables 5G to provide higher cell densities and enhanced network capacity. While these are also the promises of 4G, 5G is expected to succeed where its predecessor fell short, as 4G never quite hit its high targets for general speed. With 5G, networks will be denser, which means they have more capacity to support more users and connected devices, thereby increasing mobile device and connection capacity.
4G vs. 5G technology
What is the biggest difference between 5G technology and 4G technology?
4G is the fourth generation of wireless communication technology. It uses radio towers to deliver both phone service and wireless internet to mobile devices. 5G works the same way and incorporates new cellular technology and higher radio frequencies.
5G networks also use more base stations to deliver faster speeds at a quicker response time.
The biggest difference in 5G wireless compared to 4G technology is the increase in system bandwidth and peak rate. The system’s single carrier bandwidth is upgraded from 20MHz to 100MHz, the single-user peak rate from 150Mbps to 1.5Gbps, and the cell peak throughput rate from 150Mbps to 5Gbps, which can bring a higher rate experience to users.
5G Millimeter waves
5G millimeter waves are extremely high-frequency radio waves that give your mobile device gigabit-plus speeds over short distances. Large bandwidth, low latency, and high reliability 5G millimeter wave will enhance the depth of 5G development, bringing many application scenarios that previously could not be achieved by technical constraints.
5G Beamforming
Beamforming is a mature technology used in cellular communications and other applications. 5G beamforming high-precision antenna arrays capable of directing wireless signals to individual devices.
5G Massive MIMO
5G massive MIMO (multiple input multiple outputs) technologies are one of the keys to unlocking these 5G user experiences. 5G massive MIMO bulked-up 5G transmitters designed to deliver wireless data to devices at a much higher capacity.
4G vs. 5G core network
The differences between the 5G core network compared to 4G network are mainly reflected in.
(1) Fully cloud-based, distributed, converged elastic architecture and new capabilities such as slicing and edge computing.
(2) 5GC will be fully cloud-based based on SDN/NFV, and the control plane and user plane can be deployed in a distributed manner according to service requirements and network planning and can be dynamically scaled up and down according to the user, service, and network requirements to achieve better disaster recovery and operation and maintenance performance. Meanwhile, based on native 5G capabilities such as slicing and edge computing, the 5GC core network can provide customized quality of service assurance and private network-like services for vertical industries.
(3) 5GC can sink core network capabilities to form an edge cloud platform according to business scenarios, which is closely connected to the use of business logic to meet the needs of all scenarios such as low latency, content sinking, and user security.
What are the different 3 types of 5G networks?
5G networks have a wide range of EMF spectrum with different types of 5G networks. There are three main types of 5G connections based on their radio wave spectrum.
Low-band 5G
What is low-band 5G?
The low-band spectrum or so-called “overlay or cover” refers to the lower radio frequencies below 1 GHz. 5G low-band cellular base station signals can reach hundreds of square miles with download speeds of about 30-250 Mbps.
Most operators have installed low-band cell towers in the frequency range of 600 to 800 MHz. Low-band 5G is slightly better than 4G LTE, with a 20% increase in data rates. However, with the wide area coverage of low-band 5G, operators can build the foundation for IoT and industrial IoT to achieve nationwide coverage.
Mid-band 5G
What is mid-band 5G?
Mid-band 5G, also known as “sub-6 GHz,” has a frequency range from 1 GHz to 6 GHz, including “C-band” frequencies, about six times that of 4G LTE. In addition, while mid-band radio waves provide service in a smaller area than low-band 5G, mid-band networks offer a good balance of capacity and coverage.
Current IF speeds are in the range of 125 – 200 Mbps. However, more advanced technologies such as beamforming will enable the mid-band spectrum to reach 600 – 900 MBps.
Beamforming is a specific 5G technology that targets multiple 5G beams with the same wavelength to avoid signal interference and traffic loss at higher frequencies. This new 5G-specific technology is a key advantage of the 5G network architecture as it will enable targeted use of bandwidth in mission-critical applications that utilize higher frequency bands.
The coverage of mid-band cell towers is more concentrated in metropolitan areas with signal radii of up to several kilometers, far less than low-band, but still farther than high-band 5G.
Mid-band 5G networks are well suited for mid-level mobile applications, such as high-speed uploads and downloads, augmented reality, and virtual desktops in digital workspaces.
High-band 5G (millimeter wave)
What is high-band 5G?
The high-band, 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) band is ten times faster than 4G LTE networks. 5G millimeter wave spectrum ranges from 24-50 GHz and can deliver gigabits per second (Gbps) with the potential to reach 10 Gbps data rates.
Millimeter waves are characterized by ultra-fast performance and low latency, but also have short coverage of just a little more than a kilometer. In addition, the inability of high-frequency radio waves to penetrate solid objects such as buildings, glass, and foliage may be a disadvantage or an advantage.
In some cases, for example, this may be beneficial for maintaining a closed, private, and secure 5G network in a smart factory. Most high-band 5G cell towers will be available in densely populated urban areas such as stadiums, convention centers, and shopping malls.
In today’s real-world applications, the actual speed of a millimeter wave 5G network is between 1-3 Gbps when you are close to one of these millimeter wave base stations.
What are the advantages of 5G?
5G advantages:
Faster speeds to download movies and shows or video chat on the go.
More connected devices with a faster signal at large events.
Quick responsiveness during data-demanding activities, like cloud gaming.
Low latency to enable the use of drones and autonomous vehicles.
Reliable connections that allow content streaming from virtually anywhere.
From the advantages of 5G, the following four points are far from being matched by 4G networks.
Low latency
This is arguably one of the most obvious advantages of 5G networks. Latency means the time it takes for two devices to communicate with each other. From 1G to the current 5G, it can be said that every mobile communication technology has put a lot of effort into latency.
While 2G network latency is 140ms, 3G network latency is 100ms, 4G network latency is 20 to 80ms, and 5G network latency can reach 1ms.
This number alone reflects how big the gap is between 5G and the previous types of network latency. To put it simply, if a user wants to watch a video, he or she first needs to click on the video and then send a request to the network to get permission before the user can watch it.
According to the current 4G network, users need to wait for 20 to 80ms from sending this request until permission is granted, but if it becomes a 5G network, users will only need 1ms to watch it, which is almost equivalent to not waiting to watch.
Super speed
How much faster is 5g than 4g? 5G up to 100 times faster than 4G.
This is one of the features of 5G, and previous tests have shown that the peak transmission speed of 5G networks can be as high as 10 times that of 4G. Just like downloading a movie, it may take several minutes to complete with a 4G network, while 5G can be downloaded in just a few seconds.
Of course, the high speed also brings a problem, that is, if the future use of 5G on a large scale, for the user’s traffic is also a test.
Wide coverage
It is well known that the number of devices that can be connected to 5G will be greatly increased compared to 4G, and is expected to exceed one million units. Moreover, 5G base stations are available in all corners of the world, so the network coverage is still very extensive.
In addition to meeting the communication needs of users, it also supports more devices to access the network, even if these devices are remote and do not need to worry about access problems.
This is why it is said that 5G can really solve the communication problem and realize that everything can be connected. Whether it is people and things or things and things, in short, in this era of 5G, all can be built together smoothly.
Since the network covers every corner of our lives, 5G will not drop out even in environments like elevators and underground garages.
Low power consumption
In fact, this problem has already appeared in the 4G network, and the high power consumption is arguably the most obvious drawback of IoT development.
In the case of smartwatches, these devices need to be charged every day, and if they are used frequently, they may be charged more than once a day. In the 5G environment, the power consumption of smart terminals will be further reduced, and some industry insiders point out that the charging cycle of many products will be extended.
Despite 5G’s progress, its promise will not be realized on day one. Operators will need time to address the flaws and discrepancies that 5G may cause.
5G Expectations vs. Reality
Early technology promises are not always guaranteed. Organizations that want to assess the differences in network architecture between 4G and 5G should step back and look at what 4G promised, what 4G actually delivers, and what that means for the reality of 5G.
One goal of 4G is that it will achieve typical speeds of 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps. In reality, these speeds average 7 Mbps to 43 Mbps. this does not mean that 4G is bad, nor does it mean that the initial goals were lies.
Rather, these goals set the stage for what 5G should and can achieve. For example, 5G’s download speed and low latency goals are an extension of 4G’s initial goals.
5G will not accomplish all of its goals on day one. These achievements may take years, or they may not be achieved at all.
While 5G may enhance operations, it may not meet expectations right away. Nonetheless, 5G still has the potential to enhance operations and address shortcomings that 4G failed to address. how 5G will achieve this in a long term, the global way remains to be seen.
4G vs. 5G phone
What is the difference between 4G and 5G phones? Will 5G work on a 4G phone?
4G vs. 5G cell phone network
China’s mobile network has gone through several eras, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G. As network technology continues to iterate, transmission speeds and stability have improved, with 5G technology being the high technology.
However, 5G technology is fundamentally different from 2G, 3G, and 4G technology, although they are downward compatible, they are not upward compatible with the 5G networks, to put it bluntly, 4G phones are not compatible with 5G networks.
4G vs. 5G cell phone chip
The reason why it is called a 5G phone is that it has a built-in 5G chip, and some manufacturers even launched the same appearance, configuration of 4G phones, 5G phones, in addition, to support for 5G network, all other configuration parameters are the same, including the appearance, processor model, battery capacity, system version, etc.
4G vs. 5G cell phone network speed
With the gradual commercialization of 5G, many users have experienced the new network speed experience brought by 5G, and the network speed can also be used to distinguish between 4G phones and 5G phones, 5G phones are backward compatible with other networks (2G, 3G, 4G), and the network is the same, 5G networks can also provide networks for 4G phones, and do not need to replace the phone card.
In other words, both 4G phones and 5G phones can connect to the 5G network but are limited by the package and band support issues, 4G phones can connect to the 5G network but cannot enjoy the transmission speed of the 5G network if the 5G network is not limited, 5G phones can reach up to 10Gbit/s.
4G vs. 5G usage
Is there a big difference between 4G and 5G in use?
The difference between 4G and 5G in daily life is not great, the difference between 4G and 5G is mainly in other areas of technology, people only experience 5G Internet speed is faster than 4G, but other aspects are basically not feeling the difference.
4G vs. 5G cell phone network traffic
Is it necessary to upgrade the 4G cellular network to a 5G cellular network?
In fact, this is entirely up to the individual, if you are a technology enthusiast, and like to pursue the ultimate technology, then you can completely upgrade the traffic to 5G, 5G download speed is much faster than 4G, in addition to no other advantages. But if you are an ordinary user, then 4G is completely sufficient, there is no need to upgrade 5G traffic. As we all know, 5G traffic is much more expensive than 4G, and in terms of cost-effectiveness, 4G traffic is still cost-effective.
To use 5G traffic, you must replace your 5G phone to experience 5G network speed
If your phone is a 4G phone, then even if you upgrade your 5G traffic package, it will be the same 4G speed, because the phone does not support it. So to experience 5G internet speed, you must have a phone that is also a 5G phone to do so.
Besides this 4G vs. 5G: What is the difference between 4G and 5G article, you may also be interested in the below articles.
How to Choose the Best Antenna for Lora?