Fig. 2 | Mobile technologies and performance 2015 2020 2025 Generation 4G 4.5G 5G Role of Macro Cells Coverage and primary capacity layer Wide area coverage, smalll cell backhaul and control Role of Small Cells Selective capacity increase in dense areas Primary capacity layer via high frequency spectrum Spectrum Sub–6 GHz, especially around 1-3 GHz Wide range from -700MHz to -90 GHz Peak Speeds 300 Mbit/s 1–3 Gbit/s 10 Gbit/s Average Speeds 4–25 Mbit/s 32–200 Mbit/s 1 Gbit/s Minimum Speeds 2–5 Mbit/s 10–20 Mbit/s 50 Mbit/s Source: Source: European Commission report ‘Costing the new potential connectivity needs’ Technologically, 5G will bring three main benefits compared to the previous wireless technologies: High capacity. Transmission speeds in user devices in GBs per second should be achievable (see Fig. 2). Purely as a technology 5G is only marginally more spectrally efficient compared to 4G, i.e. it cannot transmit multiples of data volumes compared to 4G from one antenna using a given amount of spectrum. However, it can still offer substantially higher capacity compared to 4G, because it uses more spectrum in new spectrum bands, and higher density of antennas. The latter will be achieved for example through small cells in streets, at homes, but also by using new technologies such as MIMO, as mentioned later in this report. Low latency, i.e. response time of the network. 5G is supposed to offer 1ms latency compared to over 25ms for 4G. This is relevant for example in gaming, virtual and augmented reality and remote management of objects such as cars, machinery, robots etc. Low latency is crucial for example for making virtual reality ‘feel’ like it is real as well as for the safety of moving objects. High number of connected devices. 5G can handle thousands of connected devices per site, dramatically more than 4G. This, combined with advancements in battery technologies, will allow significant numbers of sensors collecting data to be installed. This can be used for example in smart cities (to manage traffic, waste collection etc), eHealth (to provide early indications of health issues), industry and transportation (to provide early indications of machinery faults), agriculture (to monitor plants and livestock), security surveillance etc Fig. 3 | Three main advantages of 5G and implied use cases Enhanced Mobile Broadband Gigabytes in a Second 3D Video, UHD Screens Smart Home, Building Work and Play in Cloud Augmented Reality Smart City Voice Industry Automation Mission critical Applications, e.g. e-health Source: ITU, Digiteccs Associates 16 Massive Machine Type Communications Self Driving Car Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications