5G brings numerous novel concepts to cellular communications. The New Radio (NR) air interface enables 5G to achieve unprecedented radio network performance in the form of data rates, latency, and overall efficiency. Network Slicing and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) enable 5G to expand the reach of cellular communications to different types of industries. This chapter provides a compact introduction to 5G features…It is 5G in a Nutshell!

5G brings numerous novel concepts to cellular communications. The New Radio (NR) air interface enables 5G to achieve unprecedented radio network performance in the form of data rates, latency, and overall efficiency. Network Slicing and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) enable 5G to expand the reach of cellular communications to different types of industries. This chapter provides a compact introduction to 5G features…It is 5G in a Nutshell!

3GPP has defined the 5G network to be virtualization-friendly so that virtualization technologies can be used to design, deploy, and optimize the 5G network. 5G is expected to serve many different industries and numerous service use cases with widely different QoS requirements on a massive scale. These needs require the 5G network to be agile, flexible, and cost-effective. This chapter shows how virtualization and automation technologies can be exploited to meet the requirements of 5G.

3GPP has not designed 5G in isolation. Indeed, LTE and LTE-Advanced are used as the baseline. Enhancements to existing features have been made, and new capabilities are added to design 5G. If you know LTE and LTE-Advanced, this chapter can be a good refresher. Of course, if you are new to LTE or LTE-Advanced, consider this chapter as a prerequisite for 5G! If you are unsure about studying this chapter, take the podcast and video quizzes and Concept-o-Meter test and see if you may benefit from a refresher.

Open a historical report with a data traffic graph and change the years in the X axis. You will still see an exponentially-rising amount of data traffic! The question is…How do we support this traffic demand without breaking the bank? One of the low-cost mechanisms is getting access to more spectrum. Since the amount of licensed spectrum is limited, we can explore unlicensed spectrum. This chapter discusses how LAA and eLAA can be deployed in unlicensed spectrum to quickly and cost-effectively increase throughput.

3GPP has focused on eMBB and URLLC in its early work. Hence, 5G NR-specific Internet of Things (IoT) enhancements will appear after Release 15. However, we do have excellent IoT technologies that utilize LTE, LTE-M (also called eMTC) and NB-IoT. These Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) IoT technologies can serve a variety of IoT use cases. This chapter provides a comprehensive view of LTE-M and NB-IoT.

The communication between two devices typically passes through the radio network and the core network. However, in some cases, direct communications between two devices is needed without any reliance on the network. That’s where Proximity-based services (ProSe) enters the scene. ProSe uses Device-to-Device (D2D) communication. D2D communication can be extended to Vehicle-to-Anything (V2X) communications. This chapter provides an overview of ProSe, D2D communications, and V2X communications.

3GPP has defined a comprehensive, flexible, and modularized network architecture for 5G. The new architecture is touted as Service Based Architecture (SBA), where various network nodes or Network Functions offer their services to each other. Some network interfaces are non-service-based. This chapter provides a comprehensive view of the 5G system architecture.

A 5G device needs to carry out certain end-to-end (E2E) operations involving the radio network and the core network prior to data transfer. For example, the UE needs to register with the network to get authenticated and to set up security. The UE also needs an IP address. Furthermore, relevant logical connections between the UE and the edge of the network are established in preparation for data transfer. This chapter provides an overview of major E2E operations for both EN-DC and SA NR with the 5GC.

3GPP takes LTE’s air interface as the baseline and makes it more flexible and more efficient to create a New Radio (NR) air interface for 5G. In Part I of this book, we have discussed key features of the NR air interface. This chapter takes a closer look at specific aspects of the NR air interface such as the air interface protocol stack, 5G spectrum, physical signals and the channels for the downlink and the uplink, and advanced antenna techniques including beamforming.

The 5G NR air interface defined by 3GPP has unprecedented performance capabilities and flexibility. We have discussed the key features of the NR air interface in Chapters 1, 3, and 11. This chapter takes a closer look at major NR air interface operations by answering questions such as …How does the radio network become aware of the UE’s 5G capabilities? How does a UE find an NR cell? How is the Random Access Procedure carried out? How is data transferred on the DL and the UL? How is power managed in NR?

The beauty of cellular communications is that we can be on the move and still have seamless communications experience. 5G recycles the mobility management concepts from LTE and then adds enhancements to increase efficiency. For example, NR adds a new RRC state called RRC_INACTIVE that reduces the amount of the air interface signaling and accelerates the transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state for signaling and data transfer. This chapter summarizes mobility management for EN-DC and SA NR networks.

3GPP defined 5G Phase 1 as part of Release 15 (R15) in 2018. Commercial 5G deployments based on R15 have begun to appear. While R15-based 5G is being deployed, 3GPP is not on vacation! 3GPP has been working on Release 16 (R16) features and studying several work items for Release 17 (R17). This chapter provides an early peek at R16 and beyond as 3GPP prepares the stage for the next set of amazing features and capabilities of 5G.