5G is the fifth generation of wireless communications technologies supporting cellular data networks. 5G communication requires the use of communications devices (mostly mobile phones) designed to support the technology.
The frequency spectrum of 5G is divided into millimeter waves, mid-band, and low-band. Low-band uses a similar frequency range as the predecessor, 4G. 5G millimeter wave is the fastest, with actual speeds often being 1–2 Gbit/s down. Frequencies are above 24 GHz, reaching up to 72 GHz, which is above the extremely high-frequency band's lower boundary. The reach is short, so more cells are required. Millimeter waves have difficulty traversing many walls and windows, so indoor coverage is limited.
5G mid-band is the most widely deployed, in over 30 networks. Speeds in a 100 MHz wide band are usually 100–400 Mbit/s down. In the lab and occasionally in the field, speeds can go over a gigabit per second. Frequencies deployed are from 2.4 GHz to 4.2 GHz. Sprint and China Mobile are using 2.5 GHz, while others are mostly between 3.3 and 4.2 GHz. Many areas can be covered simply by upgrading existing towers, which lowers the cost. Mid-band networks have better reach, bringing the cost close to the cost of 4G. 5G low-band offers similar capacity to advanced 4G.
HOW IT WORKS
5G networks are digital cellular networks, in which the service area covered by providers is divided into small geographical areas called cells. Analog signals representing sounds and images are digitized in the telephone, converted by an analog to digital converter and transmitted as a stream of bits. All the 5G wireless devices in a cell communicate by radio waves with a local antenna array and low power automated transceiver (transmitter and receiver) in the cell, over frequency channels assigned by the transceiver from a pool of frequencies that are reused in other cells. The local antennas are connected with the telephone network and the Internet by a high-bandwidth optical fiber or wireless backhaul connection. As in other cell networks, a mobile device crossing from one cell to another is automatically "handed off" seamlessly to the new cells