5G - what does the new standard bring?

Is the new mobile communications standard 5G a revolution or overrated hype?

When you read about 5G in the media or hear politicians talking about it, it seems as if we've found the magic bullet against all the problems of mobile data demand. Now all that's left is to set up the appropriate antennas - and we'll be surfing at high speed everywhere, all the time. But such dreams are often too good to be true. And that is also the case with 5G.

Because while everything sounds wonderful in the marketing and data rates beyond 10 Gbit/s are talked about, 5G is also only the name for the wireless transmission of data on a certain frequency and is therefore subject to the normal physical limits and problems, just like all other standards.

Range vs. speed

The advantage of 5G is that the higher frequency of the signal (above 6 GHz) also makes higher speeds and lower latencies possible. However, this also encounters an old problem in the wireless transmission of information: The range decreases the higher the frequency. In addition, the so-called attenuation (e.g., when the signal passes through walls) is much more dramatic at high frequencies.

More range with beamforming

With previous mobile communications standards, the signal is simply radiated in all directions from the transmission towers. If you are within the transmission range of a tower, you get a connection. With this method, the range of 5G would be limited to around 500 m. You can imagine how many towers would have to be set up for full coverage. Instead, they decided to use a method that is actually not new: a directional signal.

So instead of simply radiating the entire energy of the antenna in all directions, the energy is bundled and directed towards the receiver in a transmission cone. You can think of it a bit like the beam of a flashlight. It is very bright at one point but remains dark all around it. The special thing about 5G beamforming, however, is that this transmission cone is mobile and "tracks" the objects - after all, we are talking about mobile communications with mobile devices here.

This makes it possible to achieve a range with 5G that makes practical use possible at all. But even with this, the problem remains that the 5G signal can penetrate obstacles with great difficulty. In practice, this means that there might not be any reception in closed rooms, while you can still get a connection directly in front of the door.

Network slicing: virtual networks for better QoS

In addition to beamforming, there are other approaches to achieve a greater range and higher transmission speeds. Network slicing can be used to differentiate traffic, e.g. depending on the data type. This makes it possible to segment certain users, devices or applications into specific groups and assign them to virtual networks with a specific QoS configuration.

To put it simply: There are different virtual networks for specific requirements. Devices with similar requirements are then placed together in the optimized virtual network. In addition, technologies such as MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) are used, which uses multiple antennas in parallel to transmit the signal.

Physics cannot be tricked

Overall, it can be said that various tricks are being used to mitigate the problems caused by the natural physical limits. To a certain extent, this works. However, the basic problem remains: if the density of mobile phone transmitters is not increased dramatically, 5G will not be able to exploit its advantages - and this is another significant cost factor for mobile phone providers, in addition to the already expensive radio licenses.

The technology is therefore particularly suitable for manageable areas such as industrial production facilities, football stadiums or certain areas in large cities. Initial tests in the wild have so far been rather sobering , as the 4G network could only be outperformed by a small margin. The higher speed is nice, but far from the hoped-for revolution.

5G and Wi-Fi - which is suitable when?

At events in particular, the question always arises: how can I ensure a reliable data infrastructure? Can this perhaps simply be assumed at some point because there is comprehensive coverage with an always available and fast data signal? Unfortunately, theory and practice differ enormously here. Because in theory, comprehensive 5G coverage is of course conceivable - after all, it "only" requires a sufficient number of nodes.

In practice, however, this is not economically feasible. After all, the monthly fees for a mobile phone contract must also remain at a realistic level. The advantages of 5G will have to be largely dispensed with, especially indoors. But there is also good news: WiFi has not stood still either and is making a huge leap forward with the new "WiFi 6" (the standard is officially called "IEEE 802.11ax").

The MIMO technology in particular has been greatly improved. Thanks to multiple antennas, data can be sent and received in parallel. With the new MU-MIMO, this works equally well with the uplink and downlink. Normally, wireless devices have to wait until the respective node has time when it is still busy transmitting to other devices. By optimizing parallel connections, WiFi performance now increases noticeably - simply due to the lower latencies.

With the new WiFi 6 standard, bandwidths of up to 11 Gbit/s are possible. This is particularly interesting for the event sector, where many users have to be supplied simultaneously. Another advantage of the local WiFi infrastructure is that you can directly influence the WiFi, in contrast to mobile network coverage. If the performance is not satisfactory, it is easy to make improvements.

WiFi is plannable

In addition, users receive the same performance at WiFi regardless of their mobile rate plan. In the mobile sector, on the other hand, it is possible for guests with certain rates to have a good connection, while guests using other rates or a different provider are significantly less well connected. And while almost all devices have a WiFi connection, many classes of devices such as tablets or notebooks do not even have a SIM card slot.

Depending on which digital services are to be used at the event in question, the local WiFi infrastructure can also be adapted. Are there many users to be served in a small space? Are particularly high bandwidths required at certain points (e.g., for video streams)? Or do you need to cover a particularly large area? Thanks to the flexibility offered by a local WiFi , almost all scenarios can be mapped with the reliability required for events.

Conclusion

Overall, a visible evolution is taking place in the area of wireless data transmission. Existing resources can be used more effectively through software solutions and latencies are increasingly being avoided through better antenna technologies. This is also necessary because the need for data is constantly increasing as more and more services are being outsourced to the so-called cloud (i.e. the Internet). This also applies to the event sector.

This is because both for modern event management and for digital services that are part of the program, not much can be done without a data connection. Ultimately, users will not care which technology is used. The main thing is that the desired services can be accessed quickly and reliably. 5G is therefore unlikely to play a role in the private sector any time soon. The bandwidths possible via the current 4G network (approx. 300 Mbit/s) are easily sufficient for all conceivable application scenarios. Very few private individuals will therefore be willing to dig deeper into their pockets for a 5G option.

The situation is different in the professional environment. In the event sector in particular, it is exciting to be able to use high bandwidths regardless of location - especially if there is no corresponding cable connection in the location or if the production is outdoors. However, in order not to be dependent on the performance fluctuations typical of mobile communications or the individual data contracts of the guests, it is advisable to use mobile communications with WiFi to combine.

For example, special industrial routers can be used to bundle several mobile phone signals and use them at the event as WiFi This means that the advantages of new standards such as 5G can be used without having to bear the risks. While the mobile signal, which is already sensitive to attenuation, still has to pass through the outer walls, the WiFi broadcast losslessly where it is needed: indoors and directly on site.

Especially at events, where there is usually only one chance for success, it is advisable to rely on technologies that can be set up according to your own needs. The mobile network, especially with 5G, offers an excellent supplement here to be able to use higher bandwidths. However, 5G is not - and probably never will be - the new all-round carefree network that many marketing campaigns like to tout.