{"id":15069,"date":"2019-04-10T11:00:23","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T19:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/04\/10\/news-8818\/"},"modified":"2019-04-10T11:00:23","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T19:00:23","slug":"news-8818","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/04\/10\/news-8818\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerful Confusion! The Differences Between 4.5G, Pre5G, and 5G Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Steven Carlini| Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 15:00:00 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

People sometimes ask me \u2013 \u201cWhen is 5G going to take over for 3G and 4G?\u201d I answer with a not so famous quote from a very underrated actor, Ricardo Montalb\u00e1n in the role of Kahn from 1982\u2019s Star Trek II, The Wrath of Kahn, \u201cOh, not all at once, and not instantly for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

I admit it\u2019s not as catchy as Mr. Spock\u2019s \u201clive long and prosper\u201d from the same film but it sums it up. 5G<\/a>, or what carriers will call 5G, will come in stages, as will increases in performance. These carriers understand the hype cycle and are looking to capitalize on this perceived \u201cneed for speed\u201d (says very overrated actor Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun, 1986).<\/p>\n

AT&T is one of the first to say it has 5G already with \u201c5G Evolution\u201d and the company has modified its phones to display a \u201c5G E\u201d connection. AT&T\u2019s web site says<\/a>: \u201c5G Evolution is our first step on the road to 5G. We\u2019re starting by enabling faster speeds on our existing LTE network\u2014up to 2x faster than standard LTE.\u201d So, this isn’t actual<\/em> 5G, but AT&T’s marketing department at work. The phones referenced are the latest 4G LTE phones, which include the most recent iPhones, Galaxy\u2019s and LG devices. However, these phones do not actually<\/em> connect to 5G networks because 5G networks are not yet available! Also, in the few test areas where 5G is planned, the provider may charge as much as an additional $70 per month.<\/p>\n

For 5G to function at its claimed performance level of 10Gbps and <1ms latency, a new network of edge data centers and radio access networks (RANs) must be put in place; see my previous blog<\/a> on IT and Telco requirements for 5G deployment.<\/p>\n

Telecom Organization Sets the Standards for 5G<\/h2>\n

\"modernThe first 5G New Radio (NR) specifications are complete however, most of the 5G focus has been to develop standards for the core and not the edge (edge data centers are needed for speed). The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which is made up of seven telecommunications standard development organizations, released what it called R15 in June 2018. It was a major milestone in many respects. However, it\u2019s more of a standard for the core and less on the RAN at higher spectrum for millimeter wave antennas. Work is well underway on R16, which is focused more on the edge and higher spectrum RAN and may be ready later this year or early 2021 \u2013 so a work in progress.<\/p>\n

4.5G, Pre5G, and 5G \u2013 Clearing the Confusion<\/h2>\n

What\u2019s happening in the world of telco is that money is being spent on making 4G faster. But that\u2019s not 5G you say \u2013 or is it? \u00a0An initial deployment of metro and edge data centers called mobile edge compute (MEC) is in motion. This will be a step toward real 5G because these MECs are designed with hardware and software disaggregated. This means that new 4.5G software will run on the MEC until the 5G software is ready. That is why the industry is focusing on an interim step – 4.5G or Pre5G.<\/p>\n

The industry has a goal of achieving something approaching 5G speeds by advancing 4G networks by pushing the 4.5G LTE systems very hard. 5G edge software is not ready to go and most likely will not be for a few years. But Pre5G or 4.5G software is ready.<\/p>\n

Returning to Star Trek II, William Shatner as Captain Kirk says, \u201cI suppose you’re about to remind me that logic alone dictates your actions?\u201d Yes, it\u2019s logical that we should start with 4.5 and Pre5G, but what is it exactly?<\/p>\n