So what exactly is the technology going to be used in 5G? Combination of MIMO, (x)CA , 256 or higher QAM? Milliwave? All seems to be some sort of enhanced LTE. So, what exactly is in the standard?
Posted Jan 9, 2019, 7:59 AM UTC
> All seems to be some sort of enhanced LTE.
It kind of is enhanced LTE. 3GPP was considering just keep updating LTE by adding new features. But in the end they decided to implement a backward incompatible protocol NR. It still uses almost the same modulation as LTE, they both use QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, and 256-QAM. They both support massive MIMO. LTE could be extended to support millimeter wave and wider bandwidth per carrier. The devil is in the details. NR implements many features in different from LTE ways which allow it to perform better. NR is still compatible with LTE on a high level. It can use the same core network and it can be carrier aggregated with LTE (the name of the feature is DC (dual connectivity) but it's doing basically the same thing as CA just across two technologies).
So, essentally, 5G is not massively different compare to HSPA vs GSM. It's just a better/new implementation of technology available to LTE with lots of new features.
Exactly. It’s more for fixed-wireless and iot.
Bandwidth >20 MHz, MassiveMIMO, new Bands (mmWave)
The core network will remain the same (thus 5G NR -> New Radio or 5G NSA -> Non-Standalone) and only the radio part will be new
What's the core?
The stuff of technology on the operator site... the IP network that routes your traffic from your carrier to the internet with all the services like VoLTE, sms etc