5G: a gateway to technological innovation

Ytech
news

What is 5G network?

5G network can be defined as a mobile network belonging to a 5th generation having wireless that once was 4G. 5G provides higher multi-Gbps peak fast data transmission that can be relied upon with massive network capacity.

Availability is higher resulting in more seamless user experiences, and latency is ultra-low. The goal is simple: to connect everyone to everything, which includes all devices and machines.

5G is thus an evolutionary path for wireless broadband, boosting 4G by offering high connection speeds, allowing simultaneous users, effective coverage, supporting more data transfers, and no limits for simultaneous connections.

 

 

4 benefits of 5G network

Do you know what benefits 5G brings? Check out the list below:

 

  • massified communication between devices: 5G guarantees the connection in a network in several distinct devices, giving rise to a communicational massification between machines that do not require human intervention.

 

  • higher network capacity and speed: To provide higher performance and a good user experience with mobile broadband, speeds can reach 20 Gbps and 10 Gbps in download and upload respectively.

 

  • networks suited to services with greater flexibility: 5G makes various virtual networks more flexible and suited to the services provided, leveraging investments in networks and making them more effective. Thus, new businesses will be boosted.

 

  • constant and reliable connectivity: With 5G, communication delays, perceived by the user will not be high, conferring advantages in the field of transport, surgeries, or security.

 

How does 5G emerge?

Going back in the history of technology, 1G brought wireless technology, followed by 2G with the ability for telecom companies to allow users to send messages between devices.

More recently, 3G enabled connections, text messaging, and internet access. 4G, as we know and use it, upgraded 3G by considerably increasing the speed of downloading and uploading content. This was complemented with Long Term Evolution which made 4G technology even faster.

The progression of these generations is giving a greater speed to data transmission. The interruption in coding makes the new technologies incompatible with their predecessors.

5G network  has greater speed and capacity than the wireless technologies we know, and its latency time is much lower. At its genesis, it is based on the current 4G LTE with a significantly faster speed and capable of supporting the great increase in the number of devices with internet access.

In technical terms, the transfer speed of 4G LTE can reach 1GB / second while 5G will increase the speed up to 10 GB / second. For example, a short HD video that is downloaded in one hour will be possible to transfer in seconds.

 

 

The disruption and evolution of 5G

5G network is the rejuvenated daughter of previous generations with specificities that enable better performances by presenting disruptive features that tie in with existing standards and technologies.

 

Disruptive:

5G will bring disruptiveness to the market of applications and technologies that excel in innovation. Although it will be supported by current technologies, for higher performance new applications will emerge.

Driven by evolution:

5G, being an improved version of the previous ones, has functions that enable higher performance in the networks we have with the improvement of the data transmission speed, the effectiveness of use, and higher energy efficiency of this mobile network.

 

“Much has been discussed about the impacts of 5G deployment.” Igor Santana, Functional Analyst at Ytech.

 

 

 

How does the 5G network work?

It is relatively simple: through radio waves. The operation is similar to previous mobile networks, except that in 5G the spectrum is larger than in previous ones (600 and 700 MHz, 26 and 28 GHz, and 38 and 42 GHz).

The new 5G antennas will be added to the existing ones, which will be adapted to ensure parallel operation with the new connections. Those with a shorter range will be able to be installed to repeat the signal from local devices, redirecting it to the central station. The replicators, in turn, will cover distances of up to 250 m.

The 5G antennas have intelligent mechanisms which will be responsible for focusing the signal and not broadcasting it in all directions. The focus varies according to the requirements of the devices connecting to the network, optimizing the capacity of each antenna.

 

“5G uses very high-frequency waves, which enables more speed but comes with a disadvantage: the higher the frequency of the wave, the shorter its range. To have the maximum speed of a 5G connection, we will need to be in a direct line of sight with the tower antenna. A wall or even a tree will get in the way and slow down the speed. Theoretically, even rain can get in the way. The solution for this: more antennas per area and distribute them with smarter patterns so as not to generate interference.” Marcelo Figueiredo, Sharepoint & RPA at Ytech.

 

 

 

What are the criteria for the 5G settlement process?

  • The number of connected devices per area must be between 50 and 100 times greater than today;
  • Reinforcement in the battery life of receiver technologies;
  • Connectivity times between mobile devices will ideally be less than 5 milliseconds;
  • 5G should consume up to 90% less energy than the 4G network;
  • The process will be greener and more sustainable with fewer costs associated with lower cost and energy efficiency.

 

 

What will 5G networks enable us to do?

By having a greater number of connected devices per area it will make it possible to amplify the global trend of the “internet of things” and will make it possible to program functionality remotely.

“I believe that 5G can make IoT something real rather than a topic that is only talked about in papers.” Lourenço Catarino, Developer at Ytech

Curious? See everyday examples:

  • progression in virtual reality;
  • public lighting and in homes;
  • smartwatches;
  • industrial innovation;
  • home appliances;
  • devices aimed at monitoring
  • weather sensors;
  • remote health care;
  • presence sensors;
  • heart rate monitors;
  • service stations in supermarkets or car parks;
  • smartphones;
  • implementation of autonomous vehicles;
  • security centrals;
  • precision agriculture;
  • intelligent cities.

“This speed and instantaneity will be very useful for example for self-driven cars. As they become more ‘intelligent’, they will be able to communicate on the road in real-time, increasing the efficiency of the technology, helping to decrease traffic and congestion, and increasing safety on the road.” Marcelo Figueiredo, Sharepoint & RPA at Ytech

 

The possibilities are countless and in the most varied areas of daily life, changing the way we operate and live, and optimizing our tasks.

 

I think that as connectivity advances, ease and interoperability between sectors can be improved (speeding up processes, work security, and job automation among others). Ronélio Oliveira, Java Developer at Ytech

 

 

 

Which devices will use the 5G network?

The signal receivers will not be cheap initially, reducing in price over time, estimating that mobile phones will be the first devices to use 5G. Next would be appliances and smartwatches, which would then connect to the network.

 

 

Where does cybersecurity come in?

To prevent attacks coming from hackers, 5G cybersecurity needs to be worked on with the network and connections being the main concerns:

  • There is no encryption in the connection process;
  • Decentralised security;
  • Some internet of things devices are not manufactured with the security they should;
  • The more bandwidth the harder to monitor current security;

What cyber threats can be fatal?

  • Distributed denial of service attacks;
  • Location monitoring and call interception;
  • Man-in-the-middle attacks;
  • Botnet attacks

 

“Some questions about cybersecurity have been raised.” Ronélio Oliveira, Java Developer at Ytech

 

Strong passwords, updating back-end passwords on all devices, and security patch updates are the basic measures to protect systems. Feel like you need something more? Ytech can help you with that mission through our cybersecurity services. Find out more about Ytech.