5G Wireless and Millimeter Wave Technology Evolution: An Overview

Debabani Choudhury

Intel Labs, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, OR 97124

Abstract - Current wireless communication networks and
technologies are being pushed to their limits by the massive
growth in demands for mobile wireless data services. We now
stand at a turning point in the wireless communication domain
where the technologies are being driven by applications and
expected use cases. This paper presents an overview on the drivers
behind the 5G evolution and presents the disruptive architectures
and technologies that are creating the backbone for the 5G
transition envisioned beyond 2020.
Index Terms -5G technologies and architectures, MM-waves for
5G, multi-antenna systems, beamforming, Massive MIMO.
I. INTRODUCTION
Next generation of wireless radio standard, 5G must deliver
radical improvement over current 4G in speed and other
functionalities so that it continues to satisfy ever-increasing
user expectations of Quality of Experience (QoE). With the
predicted 100-1000 fold increase in network capacity, 5G
promises to do much more than 4G in terms of denser network
coverage, faster download time, HD-video streaming and so on.
Fig. I shows the landscape with some performance require
ments envisioned for 5G. Proliferation of Internet of Things
(loT) with lOs of billions of connected devices and entities will
also fuel the need for better Quality of Service (QoS) that
cannot be met just by the L TE evolution. 5G type wireless
network is expected to fill the gap with a revolutionary
enhancement in user experience (UX) [1-6].
( lOx Longer Battery Life ) ( 1000x Higher Capacity ) ( Ubiquitous Connectivity )
( >10 Billion Connected Devices ) ( 100 x Energy Efficiency )
to improve network and spectrum efficiency for 5G
transition.
II. KEy TECHNOLOGY DRIVERS FOR 5G
Emerging wide area wireless services and usage cases are
shaping the 5G vision and driving the 5G technology
requirements. Ultra high throughput, enhancement in network
capacity, ultra-low latency, ubiquitous connectivity, energy
efficiency, high reliability, low-cost devices and quality of
experience (QoE) are just some of the requirements that the
next generation wireless needs to achieve. The race is
currently on to find the wireless communication network,
system architectures, and technologies that will bring the big
data to the world beyond 2020.
A. Broadband Mobile with Higher Throughput
Endless enormous growth of data traffic volume is one of
the main drivers behind 5G and the annual 25-50% growth of
data rate is expected to continue till 2030 and beyond [7].
Fig.2 shows a wireless roadmap for market technologies
beyond 2020. Due to the ever-increasing needs for higher
capacity, mobile wireless communication with ultra wide
bandwidth will be the key motivation behind 5G evolution.
5G networks will transfer data much faster than today's 4G
LTE-A and a major increase in speeds will help in
applications like ultra-fast HD-video streaming and instant
app update.
l00Tbls

( 100 x Data Rate ) ( -1 msec Latency ) 10Tb/s

1 ThIs WlAN
( 10 x QoE ) ( Reliable Service ) l00GbIs

( Low Cost ) lOGbIs

Cellular
1 Gbis

....t...
. Backhaul lOOMbIs
10Mbls

I_smaIiBS
1\"
10 kl>'sj""'-"-'''''---'-_-'-_--'-_-'--_'---'-_-+
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035

Fig.2 Wireless Roadmap, showing market entry of technologies [2].

i\ B. Evolution of M2M and loT

V2V Communication D2D Connection
<;\>i
Fig. l 5G landscape and performance requirements.
This paper discusses the key use cases and applications
that are driving the 5G evolution. It also reviews the network
innovations for 5G and presents some enabling technologies
Internet of Things (loT) proliferation calls for wireless
network densification and provides justification for transition to
5G. Prediction of tens of billions of IoT and machine to machine
(M2M) devices is presenting a unique set of demands from
wireless network service. Smart city/home, smart grid, smart
vehicle, e-health, emerging wearables, wireless industry and
logistics are some of the important drivers for 5G. In an loT

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scenario, multifaceted wireless sensor networks will be and so on. The network will be significantly impacted with
embedded in homes and cities for cost-effective, energy-efficient interop and integration with multiple radio access networks
maintenance with distributed intelligent sensors. In some cases, (multi-RATs) including unlicensed frequencies like 60GHz band
both low- and high- cost sensors and video networks will [11].
demand seamless management of the diversely connected Network densifications with small cells are being recognized
devices. Distributed sensor networks will be remotely controlled as one of the most promising technologies to deliver the SG
to monitor decentralized distribution and consumption of energy. wireless requirements. While small cells can greatly increase the
Smart city and smart grid type of applications will work with network capacity/coverage, extend the mobile device battery
low- data rate and low-power sensors, but will need efficient, life, and achieve wireless network energy efficiency, there are
reliable and low-cost environments [7, 8]. still many challenges to overcome. One of the most significant
With many use cases of wireless and mobile communica challenges is how to provide scalable, affordable, and flexible
tions, vehicular industry is becoming another important driver mobile backhaul to connect high capacity small cells back into
for SG. Connected vehicles, remotely controlled and self-driven the network [12,13,14]. Millimeter wave technologies are being
automobiles requires ultra-low latency and highly-reliable considered as one of the key enablers along with other
wireless communications between infrastructures, human developing lower frequency spectrum sharing architectures to
entities and automobiles using dense networks and intelligent realize dense networks targeted to enable SG wireless
sensing nodes. communication infrastructures.
Many industrial entities are also opting for reconfigurable
wireless links to reduce expenses of wired infrastructures. But
IV. ENABLING SG TECHNOLOGIES
the industrial applications demand similar capacity and
reliability as wired setups with lower delay and low-error Extremely higher aggregate data rates, large BW and ultra-low
probabilities. Logistic and tracking of goods are also use cases latencies required by SG wireless cannot be achieved by the
influencing SG evolution with reliable position and wide simple evolution of current wireless technologies [13]. This
coverage and low-data rate [9]. section reviews some of the disrupting technologies that will be
With the implementation of M2M and loTs, wireless useful in enabling the SG transition.
communication is connecting an extensively large number of
A Extension to Higher Frequency/Millimeter Waves
devices in real time requiring highly-reliable communication
link with low latency and high efficiency. All the frequency spectrums currently available to mobile
systems are concentrated in bands below 6 GHz due to the
C. Quality Of Experience (QoE)
favorable propagation conditions in those bands. These
In order to provide a high QoE for services, SG systems will frequencies are also in high demand by other wireless services,
need to be context-aware, utilizing context information in a real including fixed, broadcasting and satellite communications. As a
time manner based on the network, devices, applications, and the result, these bands have become extremely crowded and
user and his environment. This context awareness will allow prospects for large chunks of new spectrum for mobile
improvements in the efficiency of existing services and help telecommunications below 6 GHz are not very favorable for
provide more user-centric and personalized services. In the transition to SG architectures.
SG Era, new ways to abstract and efficiently generate Recent advancements in mobile communication systems
context information are needed, as well as new ways to and devices operating at higher microwave and mm-wave
share context information between the application, network frequencies, combined with advancements in antenna and RF
and devices. component technologies, have opened the doors to using non
To accommodate all the diverse use cases without increasing conventional bands for cellular applications. Such
the management complexities, SG wireless communications advancements will help enable dense small cell deployments
systems must be designed in such a way that the same over a diverse set of higher spectrum. Such deployments will be
architectures are flexible enough and can be extended for new an important SG usage scenario as there will be continued need
and evolving unknown usage scenarios. to meet exponential growth in traffic demand and to address
the requirement for gigabit data rates everywhere, including at
cell edge. It is expected that network architectures operating over
III. NETWORK INNOVATIONS
spectrum not traditionally used by cellular systems (e.g. 10-100+
Heterogeneous networks (HetNet) refer to network GHz) will be deployed indoors and/or outdoors to meet SG
deployments with different types of network nodes, which are network requirements.
equipped with different transmission powers, data processing With the potential for higher lO+GHz frequencies as well as
capabilities; different radio access technologies (RATs), and are mm-wave deployment, the available spectrum might rise from a
supported by different types of backhaul links [10]. SG will have typical SOOMHz to several GHz. Many bands therein seem
new air interfaces to include cognitive designs to take advantage promlsmg, including 1O-1S GHz, the local mUltipoint
of spectrum sharing, new modulation, full-duplex transmission distribution service at 28-30 GHz, 38-40GHz, the unlicensed

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band at 57-66 GHz, frequency-bands at 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, links between the base station and the user interface rarely
and 92-95 GHz [14]. But with the increase in carrier frequency, have LOS and the use of high gain antennas is limited.
signal penetration loss increases, diffracted signals become very MUltiple antenna technologies like Multiple-Input,
weak and thus the importance of line-of-sight (LOS) signal as Multiple-Output (MIMO) and beamforming will thus play an
well as reflected signal component increases. Although important role in defming 5G system architectures [18], in
propagation at mm-wave bands covering 30-300GHz presents particular for millimeter wave frequencies. Multi-User MIMO
some challenges, recent measurements indicated distance (MU-MIMO) offers increased multiplexing gains and
dependent LOS communication channel characteristics similar improves spectral efficiency. Even though it has been included
to microwave bands and non-LOS communication remains a in the 3GPP LTE-Advanced standard, its full potential is yet
good option [15]. Extreme sensitivity to blockages, higher to be realized.
atmospheric attenuation and need for accurate frequency Drastically higher capacity can be obtained by Very Large
dependent channels models call for further research to enable MIMO (VLM) arrays employed at the base station, popularly
mm-wave dense networks and relay infrastructures. Large known as Massive MIMO. Increasing transmit array size in
antenna arrays can be used to eliminate frequency dependent multiple dimensions has desirable implications for coverage,
propagation loss and to provide higher beamforming array gain array gain, inter-symbol and intra-cell interference control,
[13, 16]. Millimeter wave systems can operate in noise-limited and transmit power budget optimization. Fortunately, most of
conditions rather than interference-limited situations by reducing the gains can be realized even at manageable antenna
the impact of interference with narrow beam adaptive arrays. dimensions. Massive MIMO technology can be deployed in
When beams are blocked by obstacles, the use of adaptive array applications that do not require backward compatibility. Also,
processing algorithms can help to adapt quickly. a massive MIMO array can provide backhaul for base stations
that serve small cells in a densely populated service area [19].
B. Millimeter-Wave Beam/arming
New antenna technologies like steerable antennas for dynamic
Beamforming implementation with large number of mm beamforming patterns and massive MIMO with 100-1000
wave front-end transceivers will be difficult due to high cost, low-power antennas per BTs can be developed. Fig. 4 shows a
power consumption, and excessive demand for real time massive MIMO architecture with two-dimensional antenna
signal processing needs with high beamforming gains [16, 17]. array beamforming that offer good coverage in azimuth as
Using analog beamforming approach, number of transceivers well as in elevation.
can be reduced, where each mm-wave transceiver is connected
with multiple active antennas and the signal phase of each
antenna element can be controlled by a network of analog
phase shifters. Designs with number of transceivers smaller
than number of antenna elements can be developed, but the
architecture might introduce severe inter-user interference for
inadequate spatial separation between users. To further
enhance the performance, digital beamforming can be utilized
over transceivers to achieve multiple data beam precoding on Two-dimensional Beam Steering

top of analog beamforming. Fig.3 presents an example hybrid - Both elevation(EL) and azimuth (AZ)
MU-MIMO with multiple users
beamforming architecture, where each of the N transceivers is
connected to M antennas [16]. Analog BF is performed over
only M RF paths in each transceiver, and digital BF is
performed over N transceivers. Large scale antenna systems
can be used with hybrid beamforming for mm-wave Fig.4 Example Massive-MIMO Topology with 2D Array.
applications.
Antenna 0 It is expected that massive-MIMO will be a core technology
Antenna (M - 1) to create significantly higher capacity either in the form of
distributed radio heads with centralized processing or in
Antenna N - 1 )M)
deployment of hundreds of antenna elements in higher
Antenna (N M - 1) frequency bands such as mm-wave, where antenna dimensions
become more practical [20-24].
Fig.3 Example hybrid beamforrning architecture [16].
D. Device-to-device D2D Communication

Device-to-device (D2D) communication leads to dense

C. Multi Antenna Technologies
spectrum reuse and the base station is no longer a traffic
For millimeter wave point to point LOS communications bottleneck between source and destination. Local links are
high gain antennas are used to make the connection. But the established between nearby devices using D2D

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communication so that traffic goes from one device to another
without passing through base stations. D2D communication
[1]
can potentially improve user experience by reducing latency
and power consumption, increasing peak data rates, and 2)
creating new proximity-based services such as proximate
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