An Introduction to 5G

1Introduction

This book is about fifth‐generation (5G) mobile telecommunications. Our first chapter puts 5G into its historical context, and lays out its requirements and its most important technical features. We will begin by setting out the architecture of a mobile telecommunication system, and by reviewing the history of mobile telecommunications and the current state of the market. We will then discuss the likely applications for 5G, the resulting technical requirements and the underlying technologies that 5G uses. The chapter closes with a review of the standardization process and an introduction to the architecture of the 5G system.

1.1 Architecture of a Mobile Telecommunication System

1.1.1 High‐level Architecture

A mobile telecommunication system is run by a network operator such as Vodafone, AT&T or China Mobile, and is officially known as a public land mobile network (PLMN). As shown in Figure 1.1, it has four main components, namely the core network (CN), the radio access network (RAN), the management system and the user's device. The last of these is known colloquially as the mobile, and more formally as the user equipment (UE).

Figure 1.1 Architecture of a mobile telecommunication system.

The core network transports traffic between the mobile and one or more external networks, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or the internet. The core ...