April 2020

What You Need To

Know About 5G
 Table of Contents

04. Introduction

04. Basic Concepts

05. How 5G Works

06. Network Architecture of 5G

07. Challenges

08. 5G Requirements

09. 5G Technologies and Techniques

09. Applications/Use Cases of 5G

11. 5G Components/Development Boards

16. Glossary

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 What You Need to Know About 5G

element14 is a Community of over 700,000 makers, professional engineers, electronics enthusiasts,

and everyone in between. Since our beginnings in 2009, we’ve provided a place to discuss electronics,
get help with your designs and projects, show off your skills by building a new prototype, and much
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presents, and electronics competitions with our Design Challenges.

Radio technologies have evolved over the recent decades, from early analog cellular systems to 4G LTE.
And now, with 5G or fifth-generation wireless technology, we will see higher speed, lower latency, and
the ability to connect several devices simultaneously. This eBook will discuss the basic concepts of 5G,
the 1G to 5G evolution, a comparison between different generations of cellular technology, and more.
We hope you will find this guide to 5G useful.

element14 Community Team

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What You Need
To Know About

5G
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Radio technologies began a rapid, multidirectional evolution with the launch of analog cellular systems in the 1980s. Wireless
communication technology evolved at a fast clip over subsequent years via research and innovation. The 1990s witnessed
the invention of the 2G Global System for Mobile (GSM), which later evolved into the 4G Long Term Evolution-Advanced
(LTE-A) system, and then 5G a few years later.

5G, or fifth-generation wireless technology, is the latest iteration of cellular technology. Three main features characterize 5G:
Higher speed, lower latency, and the ability to connect several devices simultaneously. 5G technology finds use in diverse
industries such as manufacturing, utilities, agriculture, retail, financial services, healthcare, transportation, and more.

This eBook describes what you should know about 5G, its basic concepts, the 1G to 5G evolution, a comparison between
different generations of cellular technology, and potential 5G applications.

CHAPTER 2
BASIC CONCEPTS
The 21st century is the “connected” century; the Internet
of Things (IoT), together with integrated and intelligent
sensor systems, augmented with in-home sensor networks,
are influencing the subscriber’s quality of life.
The trend of users having constant and ubiquitous
mobile connectivity to an existing network is growing.
Activity data and IoT control commands are uploaded,
funneling a massive reporting of uplink data flow.
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Massive machine-to-machine (M2M) communication
and critical M2M communication are key functions in
industry and service delivery operations.
Since the population of Internet-connected devices
is anticipated to surpass hundreds of billions in the
2020s, the offload of networked data on unlicensed
bands will play a pivotal role in network load balancing,
offering guaranteed bit rate services and reducing
control signaling. It is thus vital that 5G offers seamless
compatibility with dense heterogeneous networks, to
satisfy the insatiable demand of real-time traffic so that
end-users can reliably connect to their network.
Fifth-generation wireless (5G), as the name implies,
is fifth-generation wireless technology, engineered to
increase the responsiveness and speed of wireless
networks. 5G subscribers will enjoy faster downloads
and greater network reliability.
Data transmission through 5G wireless broadband
connections happens at blinding speeds, over 20
Gbps by some estimates. The numbers surpass
wireline network speeds, and also provide a latency of
1 ms or even lower for specific uses that need real-
time feedback (latency refers to the time consumed
by devices to mutually respond over wireless
networks). 5G makes possible a drastic rise in data
amounts transmitted over wireless systems, due to
more accessible bandwidth and innovative antenna
technology. These 5G networks are powered by
mmWave (millimeter-wave) technology.
5G connectivity enables businesses to be super-
efficient. Consumers can quickly access a huge
quantity of information. Connected autonomous cars,
immersive education, and industrial IoT are only three
products and services which could utilize 5G.

CHAPTER 3
HOW 5G WORKS
As the generations of cellular telecommunications have evolved, each iteration has brought its own improvements. 5G is no
exception.

n First-generation (1G): These were analog phones, and historically the first cellular phones to be used. They
offered basic, low-level security, and were spectrum inefficient.

n Second-generation (2G): These incorporated digital technology and had comparatively better security,
spectrum efficiency, and multiple new features, like low data rate communications and text messages.

n Third generation (3G): This technology provided early high-speed data rates. The base technology was
improved to permit data-speeds up to 14 Mbps and more.

n Fourth generation (4G): This IP-centric technology offers data rates to a maximum of 1 Gbps.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
5G cellular technology is a substantial improvement over these earlier generations. It eliminates all previous
drawbacks, like an absence of coverage, reduced performance at cell edges, and dropped calls. 5G assures
enhanced coverage and connectivity.

Technology 1G 2G 3G 4G 5G

Features
Start/Deployment 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

Data Bandwidth 2kbps 64kbps 2Mbps 1Gbps Higher than 1Gbps

Technology Analog Cellular Digital Cellular Broadband with Unified IP & Unified IP &
Technology Technology CDMA IP Tech seamless combo seamless combo of
of broadband, broadband, LAN,
LAN, WAN & WAN, WLAN &
WLAN WWWW
Service Mobile Telephony Digital voice, SMS, Integrated high Dynamic Info Dynamic Info
(Voice) Higher capacity quality audio, access, Wearable access, Wearable
packetized data video and data devices devices w/AI
capabilities

Multiplexing FDMA TDMA, CDMA CDMA CDMA CDMA

Switching Circuit Circuit, Packet Packet All Packet All Packet

Core Network PSTN PSTN Packet N/W Internet Internet

5G technology has introduced advances in network architecture. The 5G New Radio is regarded as the
international standard for a better 5G wireless air interface, and encompasses spectrums unused in 4G. The new
antennas include massive MIMO (multiple inputs, multiple outputs) technologies that make it possible for several
receivers and transmitters to simultaneously transfer huge quantities of data.

5G technology, however, is not restricted to New Radio. It reinforces a converged and heterogeneous network
combining both unlicensed and licensed wireless technologies. This adds bandwidth for users.

5G improves digital experiences via machine-learning-aided automation. The demand for fraction of a second
response times (self-driving cars being a good example) compels 5G networks to develop automation
with machine learning (ML) and, in the longer run, artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL). Active
management and automated provisioning of services and traffic improve the connected experience, and also
reduce infrastructure costs.

CHAPTER 4
5G NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
The fifth-generation (5G) mobile systems model
is an all-IP centric mobile and wireless network
interoperability model. This All-IP Network (AIPN) can
satisfy burgeoning cellular communications market
demands. The AIPN employs packet switching, and
its continual improvement offers optimized cost
and performance. The 5G Network Architecture
is an assemblage of a user terminal and multiple
autonomous, independent, radio access technologies
(RATs), which all radio access technologies can use.
All IP-centric mobile services and applications in
5G Network Architecture, such as mobile health
care, mobile portals, mobile commerce, mobile

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government, and mobile banking are piped through
Cloud Computing Resources (CCR). Cloud computing
is a model for on-demand network access to multiple
configurable computing resources like networks,
services, servers, storage, and applications.
Consumers take advantage of cloud computing to
use applications without installing them, and they can
access personal data present within any computer
connected to the Internet. The CCR connects
Reconfigurable Multi-Technology Core (RMTC) to
remote reconfiguration data from the RRD attached to
the Reconfiguration Data models (RDM).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
RMTC’s principal challenge is to manage the growing
number of different radio access technologies. The
core is a confluence of radio, nanotechnology, and
cloud computing and radio, based on the AIPN
Platform. The core varies its communication functions
depending on the status of that network along with
user demands. The RMTC is connected to various
radio access technologies ranging from 2G/GERAN,
3G/UTRAN, and 4G/EUTRAN to 802.11x WLAN,
and 802.16x WMAN. A few other standards are also
qualified, such as IS/95, EV- DO and CDMA2000,
among others. Both RMTC and terminal take
advantage of interoperable mechanisms and process
criteria to select from heterogeneous access systems.

The advanced features of 5G technology include: n Uses remote management, enabling the user to get
a faster and better solution
n Architecture is device-centric, cloud-based,
distributed, and programmable n Speed of upload and download is blazingly fast

n Greater data rates, reduced battery consumption, n Provides high resolution for heavy cell phone users
and reduced infrastructure cost development and also bi-directional large bandwidth shaping

n Better connectivity independent of location, and n Provides a transporter class gateway with
bigger population of supporting devices unmatched consistency

The changeover from 4G to 5G means numerous transformational challenges. Challenges are inherent in the new
technologies that enable 5G, like integrating this technology to provide services in diverse application scenarios.
5G has been criticized for its high cost and its incompatibility with previous generations. Similar to 2G phones
failing to connect to 3G or 4G networks, the 3G and 4G phones cannot cross-pollinate the 5G network. A user is
forced to procure a new phone, which (in all probability) is pricier than a 4G/LTE compatible one.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
The cellular architecture must also undergo a radical design change to solve these challenges. To perform, the
5G ecosystem requires femtocells, green communications, longer battery life, stringent latency, and network
scalability. The challenge lies in not only satisfying such exacting requirements, but also to achieve the
simultaneous minimization of costs.

CHAPTER 5
5G REQUIREMENTS
All 5G developments follow the mobile communication specifications as defined by the ITU component of
IMT2020. The 5G standards are summarized as follows:

SUGGESTED 5G WIRELESS PERFORMANCE

PARAMETER SUGGESTED PERFORMANCE

Peak data rate A minimum of 20Gbps downlink and 10Gbps uplink for every mobile base
station. The rate signifies a 20-fold increase on downlink over LTE.

Connection Density At a minimum, 1 million connected devices every square kilometer (for
enabling IoT support).

Mobility From 0km/hour to "500km/hour high speed vehicular" access.

Energy Efficiency The 5G spec demands energy-efficient radio interfaces under load, but they
must also quickly drop into low energy mode when unused.
Spectral Efficiency Describes a 30 bits/Hz downlink and 15 bits/Hz uplink assuming 8x4 MIMO
(8 spatial layers down, 4 spatial layers up).

Real-world Data Rate This spec "only" requests 100Mbps for every user download speed and a
50Mbps upload speed.

Latency In ideal circumstances, 5G networks must provide users only 4ms maximum
latency compared to 20ms for LTE.

The 5G mobile cellular communications system is a tectonic shift in the mobile communications network space.
A brand new radio access network and a new core network underlie its exemplary performance.

5G New Radio (5G NR): The new name “5G new radio” is given to the 5G radio access network. It has different
elements needed for the newly launched radio access network. The system uses flexible technology to respond
to fluid mobile subscriber requirements depending on whether they are heavy data users, or a small IoT node.

5G NextGen Core Network: Although the 5G initial deployments use the core LTE network or possibly even
the 3G networks, the objective is to employ a new network that can manage massive data volumes and offer
substantially reduced latency levels.

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 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
CHAPTER 6
5G TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNIQUES
Multiple technologies and techniques have been exist. OFDMA brings superlative overall performance
developed for 5G standards inclusion. These new without leaning too heavily on processing power.
techniques and technologies enable 5G to offer a
dynamic and flexible service. The 5G technologies Multiple Accesses: Several new access schemes
being developed include: are under investigation for 5G technology. The list
of techniques under consideration includes OFDMA,
Millimeter-Wave communications: These use IDMA, SCMA, NOMA, MUSA, and PDMA. The most
frequencies considerably higher in the frequency probable format, however, is OFDMA.
spectrum. It opens up several new spectrums and
also wide channel bandwidth - potentially 1 - 2 GHz. Note: These acronymns are defined in the glossary.
However, this poses new challenges to handset
Massive MIMO with Beam Steering: Even though
development, where maximum frequencies and
MIMO is used in a range of applications from LTE
bandwidths hover around 2 GHz and 10 - 20 MHz,
to Wi-Fi, the antennas are fairly limited. The use of
respectively. For 5G, frequencies above 50GHz
microwave frequencies makes possible the use of
represent hard challenges when it comes to circuit
multiple antennas on a single piece of equipment, due
design, technology, and the way the system gets used,
to the antenna sizes and spacing in wavelength terms.
as such frequencies do not travel far and obstacles
Such an arrangement would allow beams to be piloted
completely absorb them. Different countries also
to offer superior performance.
allocate different spectrums dedicated to 5G.
Dense networks: Cell size reduction makes for
Waveforms: New waveforms have elicited a lot of
better overall effective use of that available spectrum.
interest. OFDM has been successful in 4G LTE and
Techniques must be adopted to ensure that tiny cells
several high data rate systems. However, it suffers
present inside the macro-network and subsequently
from limitations in a few circumstances. The other
deployed as femtocells operate as planned.
waveform formats discussed include Universal
Considerable challenges are encountered during the
Filtered Multicarrier (UFMC), Filter Bank Multi-
addition of extra cells to a network, and methods are
Carrier (FBMC), and Generalized Frequency Division
being created to avoid such a possibility.
Multiplexing(GFDM). A perfect waveform does not

CHAPTER 7
5G APPLICATIONS/USE CASES
The three broad use cases of IMT 2020 or 5G are:

Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB): The eMBB parallels the modern mobile broadband evolution, enabling
bigger data volumes and improving the user experience. A prime example is the support of higher end-user data
rates. Typical eMBB applications include:

n UHD video (4K, 8K), 3D video n Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

n Tactile Internet, Cloud gaming, & Broadband kiosks n Real-time simulation and training

n Remote classroom, Holographic calls

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC): mMTC corresponds to services characterized by a large
device population, like remote sensors, equipment monitoring units, and actuators. The requirements for such
services include low device cost and economical device energy consumption. This enables a lengthier device
battery life, extending to several years. Each device takes in and generates only relatively small quantities of
data. It follows that support for high data rates has reduced importance in this instance.
Typical mMTC applications include:

n Smart Home

n Smart City

Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC): These services need extremely low latency and
tremendous high reliability. Examples include traffic safety, factory automation, and automatic control.
Typical URLLC applications include:

n Industrial Automation n Vehicular communication

n Self-driving vehicles n Drones

n E-health, hazardous environments, rescue missions

5G service is operational in many countries. Such early-generation 5G services are termed 5G non-standalone
(5G NSA). The technology used is a 5G radio which builds on an existing 4G LTE network infrastructure. The 5G
NSA will be quicker compared to 4G LTE. However, the high-speed and low-latency 5G technology the industry
has concentrated on is 5G standalone (5G SA). It should be commonly available before or by 2022.

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 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
CHAPTER 8
5G COMPONENTS AND DEVELOPMENT BOARDS
Antennas, connectors, development kits, software, and IC modules are available to execute design,
development, and projects on 5G Technology. A few examples include:

ANTENNAS
TE Connectivity GNSS, Antenna, GPS / 5G, PCB, 4.8 dBi Gain

This is an embedded ceramic patch antenna with through-hole assembly.

Minimal or no matching circuits are required. Bandwidth and performance
is dependent on ground plane size 70mm x 70mm; PCB ground should be
the top layer. It has a frequency range of 1559-1606 MHz. VSWR is
<3.0 : 1. It well suited for 5G and GPS wireless applictions.

TE Connectivity GNSS, Antenna, GPS / 5G, 5.7 dBi Gain

This is an embedded ceramic patch antenna with through-hole assembly.

Minimal or no matching circuits are required. Bandwidth and performance
is dependent on ground plane size 70mm x 70mm; PCB ground should be
the top layer. It has a frequency range of 1559-1606 MHz. VSWR is <3.0 :
1. It well suited for 5G and GPS wireless applictions.

TE Connectivity 1570-1615 MHz GNSS ANTENNA, CHIP TYPE

This is an embedded ceramic patch antenna for SMT assembly.

Minimumal or no matching circuits are required. Bandwidth and
performance is dependent on ground plane size. Evaluation board size is
80mm x 40mm. It has a frequency range of 1570-1615 MHz. VSWR is <2.0
: 1. It well suited for 5G and GPS wireless applictions.

Molex 698-4000 MHz Flexible Antenna

LTE Cellular Flexible antenna with 180 mm Cable Length. It has an

adhesive mounting style and a packaging type made of PET film. It has a
gain of 2.7dBi. It’s compatible with U.FL /I-PEX MHF Connectors. It has a
gain of 2.7dBi, a 50-ohm input impedance, and 2W of input power. It has a
linear polarization and an omnidirectional radiation pattern.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
Molex 698MHz-6GHz Wide Band Antenna

Stand Alone Antenna with Cable with a 100 mm cable length and mates
with 73412-0110 Microcoaxial RF, 50 Ohm. It has an adhesive mounting
style and a packaging type made of PET film. It’s compatible with U.FL
/I-PEX MHF Connectors. It has a gain of 5dBi, a 50-ohm input
impedance, 2W of input power, linear polarization, and an omnidirectional
radiation pattern.

Molex 600MHz-6GHz Monopole Low-profile Flexible Antenna

Stand Alone Antenna with Cable with a 100 mm cable length and mates
with 73412-0110 Microcoaxial RF, 50 Ohm. It has an adhesive mounting
style and a packaging type made of PET film. It’s compatible with
U.FL /I-PEX MHF Connectors. It has a gain of 5.4dBi, a 50-ohm input
impedance, and 2W of input power. It has a linear polarization and an
omnidirectional radiation pattern.

CONNECTORS
Amphenol 2.92mm Female PCB Edge Launch Connector

The 2.92mm connector by AMPHENOL SV MICROWAVE was developed

for use to 40 GHz. The male pin is shorter than that of an SMA or 3.5mm
to ensure that the outer contacts of the male and female connectors
engage before the pin and female receptacle do. This ensures that the
pin and socket will not see excessive wear and mating stress seen by
misalignment in an SMA or 3.5mm connector. The 2.92mm connector also
has a thicker wall than a standard SMA.

Johnson RF/Coaxial Connector, SMA Coaxial, Edge Launch Jack

The 142-0711-821 by JOHNSON - CINCH CONNECTIVITY is a RF/Coaxial

Connector, SMA edge (end) launch jack receptacle with gold plated brass
body, gold plated contact, receptacle style, solder termination type and
PCB edge mount. It has a 50Ω Impedance, 18GHz Maximum frequency,
and a 5000MΩ Minimum insulation resistance. Typical applications
include: Military & Aerospace, Signal Processing, 5G Wireless.

Molex Mirror Mezz Hermaphroditic Connector

The Hermaphroditic Mirror Mezz connector by Molex lowers application

costs with stackable mating to support data speeds up to 56 Gbps per
differential pair for telecommunications, networking and other applications.
Self or cross-mating achieves the desired mated height. When mated in
combinations, a 2.50mm and 5.50mm height connector can obtain stack
heights of 11mm, 8mm, or 5.00mm.

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DEVELOPMENT BOARDS
The Avnet Zynq® UltraScale+TM RFSoC Development Kit

The Avnet Zynq® UltraScale+TM RFSoC Development Kit enables system

architects to explore the entire signal chain from antenna to digital, using
tools from MathWorks and RF components from Qorvo. The functionality
of the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZCU111 Evaluation Kit is extended
by adding a Qorvo 2x2 Small Cell RF front-end 1.8 GHz card for over-the-
air transmission, plus native connection to MATLAB® & Simulink® with
Avnet’s RFSoC Explorer® application.

Maxim Integrated SC1905 Evaluation Kit

The SC1905 evaluation kit provides the hardware and software graphical
user interface (GUI) necessary for the evaluation of the SC1905. The
SC1905 is a pin-compatible upgrade of the SC1894 RF PA linearizer
(RFPAL) supporting signal bandwidths up to 100MHz. The SC1905 is a
fully adaptive, RFin/Rfout predistortion linearization solution optimized for
a wide range of amplifiers, power levels, and communication protocols.
The SC1905 uses the PA output and input signals to adaptively generate
an optimized correction function in order to minimize the PA’s self-generated distortion and impairments. Using
RF-domain analog signal processing enables the SC1905 to operate over wide-signal bandwidths and consume
very low power. Applications include 4G and 5G Cellular Infrastructure, Single/Multicarrier, Multistandard
(WCDMA, LTE, and TD-LTE), BTS Amplifiers, RRH, Booster Amplifiers, Repeaters, Small Cells, Microcells,
Picocells, DAS, AAS, and MIMO Systems.

IDT 8A34044 ClockMatrix Evaluation Kit

This is the evaluation kit for the IDT 8A34044 ClockMatrix Multichannel
DPLL / DCO. The IDT® ClockMatrix™ family of multi-channel clocking
devices deliver a timing performance that exceeds the 5G requirements
for time precision. These devices are already used in 5G base stations,
routers, switches and other networking equipment. The 8A34044
provides eight independent timing channels. Four of the channels can be
configured as Digtital PLLs (DPLLs) or as Digitally Controlled Oscillators
(DCOs); and four of the channels are dedicated DCOs. The DPLL channels can be used for jitter attenuation
and frequency translation. The DCOs can be programmed to synthesize the desired frequency and they can be
steered by external software with resolution of 1.11E-16. The DPLLs can lock to virtually any frequency from
1kHz to 1GHz and the DPLLs and DCOs can generate virtually any frequency from 0.5Hz to 1GHz with typical
jitter below 150fs RMS from 12kHz to 20MHz.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
CHIPSETS
IDT FemtoClock® NG Jitter Attenuator and Clock Synthesizer

The 8V19N490A is a fully integrated FemtoClock® NG jitter attenuator

and clock synthesizer designed as a high-performance clock solution for
conditioning and frequency/phase management of wireless base station
radio equipment boards. The device is optimized to deliver excellent
phase noise performance as required in GSM, WCDMA, LTE, and LTE-A
radio board implementations. The device supports JESD204B subclass
0 and 1 clocks. A two-stage PLL architecture supports both jitter
attenuation and frequency multiplication. The first stage PLL is the jitter attenuator and uses an external VCXO
for best possible phase noise characteristics. The second stage PLL locks on the VCXO-PLL output signal and
synthesizes the target frequency.

IDT JESD204B Compliant Fanout Buffer and Divider

The 8V79S680 is a fully integrated, clock and SYSREF signal fanout

buffer for JESD204B applications. It is designed as a high-performance
clock and converter synchronization solution for wireless base station
radio equipment boards with JESD204B subclass 0, 1, and 2 compliance.
The main function of the device is the distribution and fanout of high-
frequency clocks and low-frequency system reference signals generated
by a JESB204B clock generator such as the IDT 8V19N480, extending its
fanout capabilities and providing additional phase-delay.

IDT Four-Channel Universal Frequency Translator

The 8A34044 Four-Channel Universal Frequency Translator is a highly

integrated timing device with two Digital PLL (DPLL) channels and six
Digitally Controlled Oscillator (DCO) channels. The DPLLs can lock to
external references or operate in free run, and can be configured as
DCOs. Each of the DCOs can be synchronized by any of the DPLLs or
they can operate in free run. The DCOs can alternatively be controlled by
an external algorithm for Optical Transport Network (OTN) applications.
Typical applications include core and access IP switches/routers, synchronous Ethernet equipment, wireless
infrastructure for 4.5G and 5G network equipment, and more.

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NXP 4-CHL ANALOG BEAMFORMING INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

The MMW9002KC is a highly integrated 5G 4-channel bidirectional analog

beamforming IC and is digitally controlled via a high-speed SPI bus. The
MMW9002KC has a high bit phase and amplitude resolution. Each channel
consists of a transmit chain (Tx) and a receive chain (Rx). Both Tx and Rx
chains include a phase shifter and a variable gain amplifier (VGA). On-chip
power detectors allow measurement of the power levels on all RF antenna
pins. The SPI interface controls all device functional registers. The device
comes in a very small 4.39 mm × 3.59 mm × 0.5 mm package.

NXP Power Amplifier Module for LTE and 5G

The AFSC5G23D37 is a fully integrated Doherty power amplifier module

designed for wireless infrastructure applications that demand high
performance in the smallest footprint. Ideal for applications in massive
MIMO systems, outdoor small cells, and low power remote radio heads.
The LDMOS power amplifiers are designed for TDD and FDD LTE systems.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 5G
CHAPTER 9
GLOSSARY
CDMA: Code-division multiple access is a channel access method used by various radio communication
technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information
simultaneously over a single communication channel.

FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access is a channel access technique found in multiple-access protocols as
a channelization protocol. FDMA permits individual allocation of single or multiple frequency bands or channels.

FBMC: Filter Bank MultiCarrier is a form of multi-carrier modulation that has its origins within OFDM. It is a
development of OFDM and aims to overcome some of the issues, although this comes at the cost of increased
signal processing. FBMC has a much better usage of the available channel capacity and is able to offer higher
data rates within a given radio spectrum bandwidth, and therefore it has a higher level of spectrum efficiency.

GSM: The Global System for Mobile Communications is a standard developed by the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital
cellular networks used by mobile devices.

GFDM: Generalized frequency division multiplexing is a promising non-orthogonal multicarrier transmission

scheme that has recently received a great deal of attention for future fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks.

IP: The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying
datagrams across network boundaries.

ITU: The International Telecommunication Union, originally the International Telegraph Union, is a specialized
agency of the United Nations that is responsible for issues on information and communication technologies.

IMT2020: Stands for International Mobile Telecommunications-2020. The term was developed by the ITU’s
Radiocommunication Sector in 2012 to develop the vision of “IMT for 2020 and beyond.” The ITU has set a
timeline that calls for the standard to be finished in 2020.

IDMA: Stands for Interleave Division Multiple Access. To overcome the shortcomings of existing medium access
control (MAC) protocols based on TDMA or CDMA in satellite networks, the IDMA technique is introduced into
satellite communication networks.

LAN: A Local Area Network is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area.

LTE-A: LTE Advanced is the upgraded version of LTE, which increases the stability, bandwidth, and speed of
traditional LTE networks. According to 3GPP - “The main new functionalities introduced in LTE-Advanced are
Carrier Aggregation (CA), enhanced use of multi-antenna techniques (MIMO) and support for Relay Nodes (RN).”

MUSA: Stands for Multi-User Shared Access technology. Data are respectively spread by the special spreading
sequences, then each user’s data spread are overlapped to be transmitted. It uses an advanced SIC receiver to
demodulate and recover the data of each user at the receiving end.

NOMA: Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access, which has been recently proposed for the 3rd generation partnership
projects long-term evolution advanced (3GPP-LTE-A), constitutes a promising technology of addressing the

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challenges in 5G networks by accommodating several users within the same orthogonal resource block.

OFDMA: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access. A cellular air interface based on OFDM for multiple,
simultaneous users. The multi-user capability is achieved by assigning each user a subset of OFDM subcarriers.

OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique for transmitting large amounts of digital data
over a radio wave. The technology works by splitting the radio signal into multiple smaller sub-signals that are
then transmitted simultaneously at different frequencies to the receiver.

PSTN: The Public Switched Telephone Network is the aggregate of the world’s circuit-switched telephone
networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephone operators, providing infrastructure and
services for public telecommunication.

PDMA: Pattern Division Multiple Access in 5G Systems is a novel non-orthogonal multiple access scheme,
which has been proposed for the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) to enhance spectrum
efficiency and increase connection capability.

SCMA: Sparse code multiple access is a new frequency domain non-orthogonal multiple-access technique that
can improve the spectral efficiency of wireless radio access.

TDMA: Time-division multiple access is a channel access method for shared-medium networks. It allows several
users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots.

UFMC: Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier Modulation is seen as a generalization of Filtered OFDM and FBMC (Filter
Bank Multi-carrier) modulations. The entire band is filtered in filtered OFDM, and individual subcarriers are filtered
in FBMC, while groups of subcarriers (sub-bands) are filtered in UFMC.

WAN: A wide area network is a network that exists over a large-scale geographical area. A WAN connects
different smaller networks, including the local area, for the primary purpose of computer networking.

WLAN: Stands for “Wireless Local Area Network,” a network that allows devices to connect and communicate
wirelessly. Unlike a traditional wired LAN, in which devices communicate over Ethernet cables, devices on a
WLAN communicate via Wi-Fi.

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