XIV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2022

We’ll talk about the communication generations preceding the fifth, as well as the development and practical application of 5G in our lives. The letter G in the name of the next mobile communication standard is an abbreviation for Generation, "generation". That is, 5G is already the fifth generation of mobile networks. Let's briefly consider the features of the four previous ones. 1G networks emerged in the 1980s. Their main difference was that they were analog rather than digital. This imposed severe restrictions on the data transfer rates and communication capabilities. In 1991, a network using the 2G standard was launched in Finland for the first time. It was a revolutionary event because communication became digital, and this entailed a number of fundamental changes: data was now encrypted; besides conversations, SMS and MMS became available to subscribers. Modifications 2.5G (GPRS) and 2.75G (EDGE) slightly increased the data transfer speed and made it possible to connect to the Internet. The new 3G generation became a widespread communication standard in the 2000s and operated on the basis of the packet data transmission. Internet access was already becoming the norm. The 4G generation has been around since 2010. The data transfer speed has increased: the subscribers have no more problems with Internet games, watching videos online, as well as video communication. And now - 5G. In what way is it superior to its predecessors? How it all started. In 2015, the International Telecommunication Union developed a plan for the development of a new mobile communication standard. For several years, the first developments appeared and were tested. In October 2018, the American operator Verizon announced the launch of the world's first commercial 5G network, but so far it was only about the home Internet, and not about a full-fledged mobile connection. In 2018, the Chinese launched a test network in one of the districts of Chongqing. In South Korea, it was possible to test the new technology in practice already in February of the same year, during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and since April 2019, a commercial 5G network has already been operating in the country's capital, Seoul. By the end of the year, Koreans expecedt to expand it to 85% of cities. The Europeans also made great strides. In Europe, 5G communication is already available in Germany, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Great Britain. On April 17, 2019, 5G communication became available in some cities of Switzerland, and the network is developing steadily. How 5G is tested at Tele2

What can we expect from 5G? Why increase your data transfer rate? Are modern speed indicators not enough? It all depends on the task that needs to be solved. For the average user, an increase in speed is, for example, the ability to download a movie in Full HD resolution in just a few seconds or play in virtual reality without interference. The 5G standard is essential for the large-scale operation of the "Internet of Things". Thanks to this technology, tens of millions of devices can be connected to the Internet - from self-driving cars to “smart” electric kettles. The fifth generation opens up opportunities for the introduction of new technologies in various sectors of the economy. It is about increasing the productivity of robots in enterprises and remote control of agricultural machinery. Telemedicine with 5G will enable remote operations in real time.

In telecommunications, 5G is the fifth generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks, which cellular phone companies began deploying worldwide in 2019, and is the planned successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most current cellphones.

The main advantage of the new networks is that they will have greater bandwidth, giving higher download speeds, eventually up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbit/s).

Low-band 5G uses a similar frequency range to 4G cellphones, 600–850 MHz, giving download speeds a little higher than 4G: 30–250 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Low-band cell towers have a range and coverage area similar to 4G towers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several conspiracy theories circulating online posited a link between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and 5G. This has led to dozens of attacks being made on telecom masts in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, etc.), Ireland, Cyprus, the United Kingdom (Dagenham, Huddersfield, Birmingham, Belfast and Liverpool), Belgium (Pelt), Italy (Maddaloni), Croatia and Sweden. It led to at least 61 suspected arson attacks against telephone masts in the United Kingdom alone and over twenty in The Netherlands.

The scientific consensus is that 5G technology is safe. Misunderstanding of 5G technology has given rise to conspiracy theories claiming it has an adverse effect on human health.

There have been a number of concerns over the spread of disinformation in the media and online regarding the potential health effects of 5G technology. Writing in The New York Times in 2019, William Broad reported that RT America began airing programming linking 5G to harmful health effects which "lack scientific support", such as "brain cancer, infertility, autism, heart tumors, and Alzheimer's disease". Broad asserted that the claims had increased. RT America had run seven programs on this theme by mid-April 2019 but only one in the whole of 2018. The network's coverage had spread to hundreds of blogs and websites.

In 2017, scientists from more than 30 countries wrote to the European Union requesting a pause on 5G rollout, because of their concerns about possible health risks. The petition continues to gather signatures. In April 2019, the city of Brussels in Belgium blocked a 5G trial because of radiation rules. In Geneva, Switzerland, a planned upgrade to 5G was stopped for the same reason. The Swiss Telecommunications Association (ASUT) has said that studies have been unable to show that 5G frequencies have any health impact.

Low-band 5G uses a similar frequency range to 4G cellphones, 600–850 MHz, giving download speeds a little higher than 4G: 30–250 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Low-band cell towers have a range and coverage area similar to 4G towers.

Mid-band 5G uses microwaves of 2.5–3.7 GHz, allowing speeds of 100–900 Mbit/s, with each cell tower providing service up to several kilometers in radius. This level of service is the most widely deployed, and should be available in most metropolitan areas in 2020.

Some regions are not implementing low-band, making this the minimum service level.

High-band 5G uses frequencies of 25–39 GHz, near the bottom of the millimeter wave band, although higher frequencies may be used in the future. It often achieves download speeds in the gigabit per second (Gbit/s) range, comparable to cable internet.

More and more new generations of communications are replacing the existing ones with a frequency of about ten years. This time slot is spent on updating infrastructure, developing standards and technology. The working speed of data exchange with each new generation increases tens and even hundreds of times. Thus, more and more new communication formats and new types of services appear. And people, in turn, discover new levels of life and entertainment. 5G mobile communication promises a lot of new possibilities - it will literally turn the virtual world upside down. It is expected that this particular version will help bring the Internet of Things and VR mode, self-service cars and other "miracles" into real life, thereby opening a new digital era. And now a little about the timing of implementation and the problems that the developers of 5G technology will have to face. Another speed record, namely about fifteen gigabits per second, was recorded in Sweden. It is not difficult to calculate that this is ten times higher than all currently existing types of networks. One cannot ignore the fact of a significant decrease in the signal delay factor to 1ms - this value is ten times less than in 4G and hundreds of times less than in 3G. Why is the widespread introduction of 5G in Russia necessary and how the Internet of Things is connected with it At the moment, ordinary Internet users do not need such huge speeds, but this will quickly change, because once having experienced the power of 5G, they will no longer want to go back to the old.

Bibliography:

5G Explained

5g Online Tutorials | 5g Tutorial (pcds.co.in)

5G - Wikipedia

Critical Experiences Week 1 Assignment – Research: What is 5G – Helen Wu (nyu.edu)

5G Risks and Challenges for Aviation – Air Power Asia