---
# System prepended metadata

title: '[06/02/2021] Introduction to 5G'

---

# [06/02/2021] Introduction to 5G
### Salman's Notes
---

### What is 5G?
In short, 5G is the **5th Generation of mobile network connectivity that promises ultra-low latency and increases data transfer rates 10 times of what is given by 4G.** We can think of 5G and other generations as standards that are being used by the industry that defines the software and underlying hardware of the system to provide connectivity. 

### Why do we need 5G?
With the era of Internet of Things and Virtualization now quickly approaching, network traffic is now more congested than ever. **Now, it's not just humans accessing mobile networks, but also many machines such as IOT devices, self-driving cars, and medical equipment.** These machines not only need ultra-low latency, but also ultra-high availablity, as any failure in connection may cause fatalities and other critical issues. 

### How is 5G different from its predecessors?
The main difference between 5G is in the vision that the creators have described 5G. 5G is not the solution to one problem, but it can be described as multiple solutions to multiple problems at the same time. **5G is designed not only as a successor for 4G, but is a redefined architecture for connectivity as a whole that supports innovation.** An example of something similar to this would be the internet, where people used to use it for a certain limited number of tasks such as browsing the web and sending email, but now there might be as many services in the internet as there are stars in the galaxy (this is a hiperbola, might not be true).

**Another difference in 5G is that there are many more forms of virtualization in the hardware used**. For example, many network services and functions have been converted from hardware and moved to software that resides within a non-proprietary hardware, a process called **Network Function Virtualization** (note: more about this in the future in the notes about O-RAN). This means that future versions of 5G should not be tightly-coupled to any brand or hardware but can work with the existing hardware with thee help of virtualization and now there can be more competition and innovation within the networking market.

---

### References:
- Title: 5G Mobile Networks: A Systems Approach
    Authors: Larry Peterson and Oguz Sunay
    Source: https://github.com/SystemsApproach/5G
    License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
    Link: https://5g.systemsapproach.org/index.html