Why is millimeter wave so important to 5G networks? How do 5G networks use millimeter wave?

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Why is millimeter wave so important to 5G networks? How do 5G networks use millimeter wave? [Copy link]

The first 5G specifications were ratified late last year, and 5GNR will bring super-fast mobile internet by taking advantage of new spectrum. We expect to see the first 5G phones in the first half of 2019, though most people may not experience the full benefits of this new technology until a year later. Still, 5GNR promises to vastly improve mobile internet speeds and allow users to experience live streaming from their laptops or VR headsets as if they were never there. The entire mobile industry is excited, so here's a little guide to help you make sense of the hype. So why are millimeter waves key to 5G networks? And how do 5G networks take advantage of millimeter waves? 5G refers to the fifth generation of mobile network standards determined by 3GPP, the organization that sets guidelines for every company operating in cellular communications. The official name, 5GNR, stands for New Radio, and doesn't mean anything. It will be used like today's "LTE" to distinguish it from previous versions. 3G brought the internet everywhere, 4G LTE brought faster speeds, and 5G NR aims to vastly increase the capacity and speed of the network, bringing you high-resolution cat videos and real-time video for 4K virtual reality. One way 5G does this is by taking advantage of new unused bands at the top of the radio spectrum. These high bands, called millimeter waves (mmwave), were recently opened up for licensing by regulators. They have largely stayed out of the public's reach because the equipment that uses them is typically expensive and inaccessible.

[p=24 , null, left]But the technology has advanced to the point where the industry collectively believes we can start taking advantage of them for consumer electronics. Because they're not widely used, they're much less crowded than lower frequency bands, allowing for super-fast transmissions. Qualcomm says you can expect "typical speeds" of 1.4Gbps, which is 20 times faster than a home broadband connection in the U.S. At top speeds, think 5Gbps, which would be enough to stream more than 50 4K movies from Netflix at once.

Millimeter waves are susceptible to interference and typically require line of sight to be maintained in order for transmissions to work. At the most basic level, mmWave transmissions are typically in a straight line between point A and point B, but something as simple as a person walking between the receiver and transmitter can completely block the signal. So companies have to figure out how to make sure the signal gets from the base station to the mobile device, and in 5G NR, part of the solution is two processes called beamforming and beam tracking. In the simplest beamforming scenario, the biggest challenge is that the receiver is not facing the transmitter, and the solution is as simple as reflecting the beam off the surface of an object at a precise angle. The receiving device uses beam tracking to determine which signal is the strongest and receives it.