Fundamentals of Network Planning and Optimisation 2G/3G/4G, 2nd Edition

10 5G Network Planning

10.1 Introduction to 5G

5G technology was a buzz word in 2016 but now it is at the stage where it is being deployed. So, how is 5G technology being viewed at this stage? In very simple terms, it is seen as a technology having much superior data rates and much lower latency than 4G. Table 10.1 shows that peak data rates in 5G will be beyond 1Gbps with latency lower than 10 ms.

Table 10.1 Data rates in 5G.

Technology	Peak rates	Latency (ms)
2G	40 kbps	700
3G	384 kbps	250
4G	42 Mbps	100
5G	>1 Gbps	10–1

From the technologist's viewpoint, 5G is seen in terms of the following parameters:

• Data rates:Data rates are expected to be in the range of 1–10 Gbps.
• Capacity:Capacity requirement per user is expected to be 500 GB.
• Frequency:While current LTE networks work at frequencies of 4 GHz, higher frequency ranges are expected to be used in 5G networks (6–100 GHz).
• Latency reduction:Latency requirements will be under 10 ms and will be as low as 1 ms in certain uses.

This will be in an ecosystem that will have millions of devices, thereby totally transforming the mobile broadband experience. The 5G era will see unprecedented growth in the area of critical communications and in the IoT.

In 5G technology development there are three studies that need to be mentioned: IMT for 2020 and Beyond by ITU‐R, the 5G Definition Process by the EU's METIS project, and the 5G White Paper by NGMA.

10.1.1 The World in 2020

The world is expected to witness some ...