What is 5G vs 4G?

How is 5G different from 4G?

5G networks are designed to be open and virtualized, allowing individual services with different performance requirements to share the same infrastructure. The virtualization of functions effectively separates software from hardware implementations. This allows each function to be scaled independently and distributed optimally, with respect to available bandwidth capacity and latency requirements. Distributed architectural design, enabled through control/user plane separation, allows operators to position functions and services where they can best service the end user.

The arrival of 5G coincided with the maturation of technologies that promote open, agile, and flexible capabilities across the network. Specifically, disaggregated and distributed software-defined network solutions, virtualization, and cloud-native functions were at least as impactful as the 5G radios.

Why was 5G needed?

4G began to show its limits under usage growth, precisely at a time when new technologies were about to place huge new demands on networks. In fact, the success of technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, web-based artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and autonomous vehicles and machines required the availability of a robust, high-performing network with increased speeds, lower latency, and greater capacity.

The technologies that brought the next generation of cloud services and connected experiences—such as augmented and virtual reality—needed 5G's performance and flexible architecture to reach their full potential.

When did 5G become available?

While mobile carriers were anxious to lead their markets in launching 5G, the journey to ubiquitous 5G availability was a marathon, not a sprint. Availability required new physical infrastructure, as well as time for developers and device makers to adjust to 5G's new architectures.

Achieving 5G availability depended on a complex mix of factors, in addition to new infrastructure. For example, one method 5G uses for load balancing is carrier aggregation; one carrier's 5G phones might not have benefitted from performance improvements until other carriers finished their infrastructure upgrades.

Enterprises were keen to implement 5G for their own digital transformation. Private 5G network services were viewed as the fastest and possibly best way for businesses to use the technology to benefit their business and customer experiences.

5G network architecture for service providers

Cisco Private 5G

How 5G works

Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN)

Previous cellular architecture placed radio network access equipment at every cell station, which was costly to install and maintain. With progress made in virtualized, cloud-native RAN solutions and automation, the hardware at cell sites could be minimized, reducing real-estate costs for the cell stations.

This change provided better performance, better energy efficiency, easier management, and lower network costs.

Multiband operation

5G uses three different bands, each using different parts of the radio spectrum. Low, medium, and high bands offer performance with inversely varying speed and distance attributes.

Low band is the slowest of the three but performs the best over distances and through surfaces. High band is the fastest but is limited in distance, and it has difficulties penetrating walls of buildings and other such structures.

The inability to penetrate hard structures such as buildings remains a challenge for the high-frequency bands. The midband offers a good balance of speed, penetration, and distance.

Use of new radio spectrum

5G's low band sits at under 1GHz, near the frequencies used by 4G (under 6 GHz). However, its medium and high bands use frequencies previously unavailable. The medium band uses frequencies in the 1–2.6 GHz and 3.5–6 GHz range, and the high band uses frequencies in the 24–40 GHz range. 

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)

Increasing the number of antennae at cell base stations allowed 5G to use its bandwidth to transmit over more antennae at once, performing multiple inputs and outputs simultaneously.

Beamforming

Beamforming is a technology for applying directionality to cell transmissions. After a base station locates a specific user, it can transmit to them in a targeted way. Transmissions are aimed at the specific user rather than sent in all directions.

Full duplex

Full duplex refers to 5G's ability to operate on multiple bands at the same time. With the help of switching and modulation technology, 5G can use this ability to transmit and receive simultaneously.

Wi-Fi offloading

This process was not new, but 5G made greater use of the ability to switch users between networks to improve performance.

Device-to-device communication

This is a process for setting up direct communication between two devices through the cellular network. After a network operator sets up direct communication and specifies routing, the two devices will be configured for direct discovery and direct communication.

Advantages of 5G over 4G

Peak speeds

When using its high-frequency bandwidth, 5G's peak speeds can be up to 10 times faster than 4G, allowing data-heavy endpoint applications such as 4K/8K playback to stream from the cloud faster.

Reduced latency

For some critical applications, latency may be a greater issue than achieving high speeds. 5G's latency can be four to five times less than that of 4G. Some of this reduction comes from improved technology in 5G radio.

Even more reductions are the result of a distributed, software-defined network that places critical network and service functions closer to the end device. This reduces latency by reducing the distance between radio and service/application.

Applications that depend on continuous micro transmissions, such as autonomous vehicles, benefit the most from faster latency.

Connectivity

5G can support up to 100 times as many devices and endpoints as 4G. When introduced, 5G was better positioned to support the next generation of user growth and the millions of IoT devices that came online.

Energy efficiency

5G is more energy efficient than 4G, starting with cell base designs that allowed carriers to reduce their energy consumption. More importantly, mobile devices operating in 5G use less energy as well, providing extended battery performance and life span. It's estimated that energy consumption per bit with 5G is just 10 percent of what 4G requires.

Mobile data volume

5G's data capacity can be up to 1,000 times that of 4G. With increased data capacity, performance can remain robust for all users when they connect to public networks in crowded locations like airports, performance.

Faster deployments

The virtualization and advanced automation in 5G's architecture allows much faster network deployments that can be performed and managed remotely.

Impact of 5G versus 4G

Manufacturing and logistics

Private 5G networks can be used to control and monitor factory and warehouse operations, as well as facilitate better communications with IoT devices, robotic equipment, and autonomous devices.

Public networks

5G's bandwidth can solve the problem of poor performance on public networks in densely populated settings like office buildings or event venues.

Artificial intelligence

AI applications that communicate continuously with the cloud also benefit from 5G's performance attributes, especially its low latency. In turn, AI helps 5G networks operate faster, more efficiently, and with greater resiliency.

Virtual and augmented reality

These technologies use large amounts of data, are latency-sensitive, and require continuous processing to be executed in the cloud. In fact, development of virtual and augmented reality was held back by previous Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Now, technologies like 5G and Wi-Fi 7 are helping accelerate growth.