ATARC 5G Executive Whitepaper

5G denotes the 5th generation of mobile cellular technology and represents the largest increase in capabilities compared to previous generations. Going beyond traditional cell-phone use cases, 5G includes support for vehicle communications, internet of things (IOT), satellite communications, and more. While capable of being deployed in conjunction with 4G infrastructure or standalone, 5G offers the potential for lower latency, higher reliability, more connected devices, and endpoint to endpoint communications.

The 5G standard is developed by an international body called 3GPP, which is composed of participants from multiple national telecom standards organizations and many of the world’s most prominent technology companies including Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, Apple, Intel, and Huawei. The 3GPP 5G standard is incrementally defined; Release 15 marked the 5G phase 1 standard in 2018, and Release 16 will mark the full 5G standard later in 2020.