In a perfect world, each generation improves upon the best qualities of its predecessors and thrives in ways previous generations couldn’t. In a way, new generations respond to the issues created by older generations.
This is particularly relevant for generations of mobile networking and cellular technology. In the case of fourth-generation wireless vs. fifth-generation wireless, 5G aims to not only surpass 4G network capabilities, but meet and exceed 4G’s goals for general speeds, latency and density.
The 4G era saw the innovation of various networking trends, such as IoT growth, increasing numbers of smartphones, and remote and mobile workforces. These trends advanced immensely throughout the 2010s, creating a need to support faster speeds and greater cell density. Enter 5G, which many pundits hope will address the issues 4G introduced.
Before organizations jump on the 5G bandwagon, however, they must understand the differences between 4G vs. 5G network architectures and determine how both architectures could affect business operations. This feature dives deep into those differences and discusses what these key differentiators mean for organizations globally.
Defining the differences among LTE, 4G and 5G
4G. Fourth-generation wireless is 5G’s predecessor and the fourth generation of mobile network technology. In the 2010s, 4G reigned as the latest, most innovative generation of cellular technology and reached ubiquity within the decade. Some of 4G’s promises included enhanced cell density, improved VoIP capabilities and greater bandwidth.
LTE. Long-Term Evolution was developed as a 4G standard during 4G’s reign. LTE is the golden, global standard for wireless broadband and sets the foundation for 5G networks. Both 4G and LTE support various traffic types, something previous generations struggled to do and which 5G must now improve upon.
5G. Fifth-generation wireless is the latest generation of cellular network technology. Small, early deployments began in the late 2010s, but 5G will not reach ubiquity until the mid-2020s. Touted benefits of 5G include faster network speeds and real-time communication capabilities.
How does 5G work?
5G comes with various new features and capabilities, including network slicing, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and massive multiple input, multiple output.
5G also introduces another new standard called 5G New Radio (NR) that aims to replace LTE. 5G NR will build off LTE’s best capabilities and bring new benefits, such as increased energy savings for connected devices and enhanced connectivity.
In addition, 5G can operate on a new high-frequency spectrum — millimeter wave (MM wave) — which operates on wavelengths between 30 GHz and 300 GHz, compared to 4G LTE’s wavelengths of under 6 GHz. Due to the MM wave spectrum, 5G requires new small cell base stations to operate and function.
The key differences between 4G vs. 5G network architecture include the following:
- latency
- potential download speeds
- base stations
- OFDM encoding
- cell density
Comparing latency, speed and bandwidth
Latency. The biggest difference between 4G and 5G is latency. 5G promises low latency under 1 ms, while 4G latency ranges from 60 ms to 98 ms. In addition, with lower latency comes advancements in other areas, such as faster download speeds.
Potential download speeds. While 4G introduced various VoIP capabilities, 5G builds upon and enhances those promises of quick potential download speeds. 4G’s download speeds hit 1 Gbps, and 5G’s goal is to increase that tenfold for maximum download speeds of 10 Gbps.
Base stations. Another key difference between 4G vs. 5G is the most common base station required to transmit signals. Like its predecessors, 4G transmits signals from cell towers. However, 5G uses small cell technology, due to its faster speeds and MM wave frequency bands, so carriers will deploy high-band 5G in small cells about the size of pizza boxes in multiple locations. 5G will still use cell towers for its lower frequency spectrums as well.
Carriers must deploy small cells in various areas due to the MM wave frequency. While the frequency is higher than cellular technology has seen so far, MM wave has weaker signals that travel across shorter distances. Small cell stations must be placed frequently in 5G-capable areas to ensure the signals reach users and businesses.
OFDM encoding. OFDM is used to split different wireless signals into separate channels to avoid interference, which also provides greater bandwidth. Because OFDM encodes data on different frequencies, this can bolster 4G and 5G download speeds, as these networks would have their own signal channels rather than a shared one between them. 4G uses 20 MHz channels, while 5G will use 100 MHz to 800 MHz channels.
Cell density. Small cell technology enables 5G to provide more cell density and enhance network capacity. While these were also promises of 4G, 5G will hopefully succeed where its predecessor falls short, as 4G never completely met its high goals for general speeds. With 5G, networks will be denser, which means they have more capacity to support more users and connected devices, leading to increased mobile device and connection capacity.
Despite the touted advancements of 5G, its promises won’t arrive on day one. Carriers will take time to work out the flaws and discrepancies 5G could create. Organizations shouldn’t immediately expect the best of the best, network engineer Lee Badman said.
5G expectations vs. reality
Early technological promises aren’t always guaranteed. Organizations that want to evaluate differences between 4G and 5G for their network architecture should take a step back and look at what 4G promised, what 4G actually delivers and what that could mean for 5G’s reality. Caution is key, according to Badman, because goals don’t always materialize in the real world.
For example, one 4G goal was it would reach general speeds from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps, Badman said. In reality, these speeds averaged 7 Mbps to 43 Mbps. This doesn’t mean 4G is bad or that the original goals were lies. Instead, these goals set the groundwork for what 5G should and could achieve. 5G’s download speeds and low latency goals, for example, are an extension of 4G’s original goals.
However, as Badman warned, 5G will not accomplish all its goals on day one. These achievements may take years or may not happen at all. It’s crucial for organizations and network teams to understand that the expectations and realities of 4G and 5G are mutually exclusive.
While 5G may enhance operations, it may not meet expectations right away. Despite this, 5G has the potential to enhance operations and address the shortcomings that 4G failed to resolve. How 5G does this in a long-term, global way has yet to be seen.
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