Difference Between 5G vs. LTE: The year 2019 introduced many new technologies and advancement, and still, there are many more to reveal this year as well. 5G is one of those technologies that have been hugely anticipated since past few years.
Well, you must also have been known about it because 5G has been all over news especially from the previous year. If you don’t know much about it or simply want to know more than how 5G is different from LTE, then you are at the right place because today this is what we are going to talk about.
With the help of this article, we will differentiate between 5G and LTE and will tell you that does it matter or not. So without wasting any time, let’s get started….
What are 5G and LTE?
LTE is also known as “4G LTE” by network companies and it is an initialism for “Long Term Evolution” and is the foundation for 4G connections.
5G is known as the fifth-generation cellular network technology. 3rd Generation Partnership Project defines any system using “5G NR” (5G New Radio) software as “5G”, a classification that came into common use by late 2018.
5G networks are basically digital cellular networks, in which the service area enclosed by providers is distributed into small geographical areas known as cells. The new 5G wireless devices also comprise of the capability of 4G LTE, as the new networks use 4G for originally launching the connection with the cell, as well as in locations where 5G admittance is not accessible.
Difference between 5G vs. LTE
5G vs. LTE: 5G Support Million Devices
5G, on the other hand, can support up to a million devices per square kilometer, while 4G, on the other hand, supports only up to 100,000 devices per square kilometer.
5G vs. LTE: 5G Claims Lower Latency
In 5G, the “air latency” target is 1-4 milliseconds, while on the other hand, the equipment shipping in the year 2019 has verified air latency of 8-12 milliseconds. The latency to the server may possibly be added to the “air latency.” Verizon, on the other hand, reports the latency on its 5G initial deployment is 30 ms.
5G vs. LTE: 5G is a Lot Faster than LTE
In the year 2008, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) specified goals for LTE network data speeds should be as high as 1 Gb/s in perfect low mobility circumstances. But at the same time, data speeds can be obstructed by several factors, which comprises of how crowded the network is and what spectrum frequency an operator uses.
On the other hand, 5G shows an increase in download speeds to 100 Mb/s minimum and a theoretical maximum of 20 Gb/s. Also in order to achieve gigabit data speeds, 5G will employ many technologies. 5G NR speed in sub-6 GHz bands is higher than the 4G with the same amount of range and antennas. The 5G specification lets LAA (License Assisted Access) as well but on the other hand, LAA in 5G has not yet been demonstrated.
5G vs. LTE: 5G Delivers Better Capacity
You can say that this is the major difference between 5G and LTE as 5G use of a higher frequency band, functioning at millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands on the radio spectrum, in combining with lower band spectrum. On the other hand, 5G traffic is going to share certain bandwidths with the present LTE network.
As per to a 2017 paper from IEEE Xplore, “the wireless industry is already investing heavily in developing systems that operate in the mmWave bands, which are attractive because of the large quantities of available spectrum and the spatial degrees of freedom afforded by very high-dimensional antenna arrays (which are possible thanks to the smaller size of antenna elements at higher frequencies).”
