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Roadmap of 5G Network in Europe and the World

What is 5G Network?

The infrastructure of cellular networks has been shifting direction towards certain standards. The communication devices used in daily life are being manufactured and developed compatible with this infrastructure. With the development of 5G network, improvement and alteration in the cellular networks are inevitable. As a result, the cellular network infrastructure has been changing over a while to provide more efficient and up to date services. 5G network means the five times altered status of these infrastructure codes and materials.

In other words, 5G network is the wireless network infrastructure by being developed after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. This technology provides us a new network type to connect almost everything including machines, objects, and devices.

Differences among 4G and 5G Networks

Fundamental differences between 4G and 5G networks can be summarized in three ways:

• Speed: 5G network has been constructed on an extremely high frequency known as a high bandwidth spectrum. In this manner, it is expected to send data 100 times faster than 4G network.
• Delay: Delay is the time elapsed for the data to travel across the network from one node or endpoint to another. For instance, it is the time difference between message sending and reception of the message by a target device. This delay is measured in milliseconds and it is on the very short in 4G network as well. Currently, the delays in the range of 50-100 milliseconds are considered normal. With 5G network comprising new technologies, the delay time will be decreased to a few milliseconds.
• Capacity: More capacity means quicker internet connection. In 5G network, the target is to have more capacity so that a quicker internet connection can be instantly provided to its users irrespective of the load on the network.

5G Network in the World and Europe

In the world, the usage of 5G network was first introduced in the USA in 2018. Four major operators, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint have started providing 5G network infrastructure in various regions throughout the country in 2019.

As to the Asia region, there is a quicker advancement in this field compared to the east side of the world. China, Japan, and South Korea are in the leading position in this topic. China is leading both implementation and development of 5G network, in institutes with assistance from their state. China also has the biggest 5G network facility in the world. As a comparison of China and the USA since 2015, China has installed 350.000 new base stations, while the USA has installed only 30.000. South Korea is the second country that established and started using 5G network in the world. Two of the three largest telecom operators, SK Telecom and KT, used the Ericson infrastructures. LG Uplus, another telecom operator, has preferred Huawei’s 5G network infrastructure. The use of 5G network in South Korea began in April 2019 after the completion of 5G network tender in the summer of 2018, and in August 2019, the number of subscribers reached to 2 million users.

In Europe, 5G network commercial services were deployed in 18 countries at the end of September 2020 including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

The understanding of 5G network is a significant strategical constituent of Europe’s digital transition period and initiator of a new generation of innovation, in order to not stay behind of the other regions. The impacts of 5G network usage are multidimensional. 5G network will influence the competition in the fields of accessing a quicker network of people, virtual and enhanced reality services, artificial intelligence, B2B data sharing, cyber-security, and Internet of Things technology.

Emergency Response Team certification (ERT) indicates that there is a distinct delay in more than half the initialization of 5G network commercial services of AB-27 which is not commenced yet. 10 5G network base stations per million people have been deployed in the EU countries with an active 5G network compared to 1500 base stations per million people in South Korea.

Europe presents a low performance upon scaling up 4G network base stations to 5G network equally. The rate approaching 98 percent in South Korea is quite low in Europe. The reason of this rate is the delayed release of 4G network in the EU countries.

The transition from 4G to 5G network is an area that needs to be improved and worked on in many countries. Strategies and actions need to be implemented accordingly. Technology and network usages are inevitable with the growing use of technology in every field today. Shortly, this transformation will be spread everywhere and the benefits of 5G network will bring new power and support.