What is 5G?
5G is the fifth generation of mobile telecommunications, standardized under IMT-2020 by the ITU. It delivers peak speeds up to 20 Gbps downlink and 10 Gbps uplink, sub-millisecond latency, and the capacity to connect up to 1 million devices per km² — enabling a new era of connected intelligence across industries.
How Does 5G Work?
5G uses the New Radio (NR) air interface with flexible OFDM numerology across FR1 (sub-6 GHz) and FR2 (mmWave) spectrum. The 5G Core (5GC), built on Service-Based Architecture (SBA) with RESTful APIs, replaces the 4G EPC. Network slicing enables multiple virtual networks on shared physical infrastructure. NR supports both NSA (anchored to 4G) and SA (full 5G) deployment modes.
Use Cases
Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB): 8K video, AR/VR, cloud gaming. Ultra-reliable low-latency (uRLLC): remote surgery, factory automation, autonomous vehicles. Massive IoT (mMTC): smart cities, billions of connected sensors.
3GPP / Standards Reference
3GPP Release 15 onwards — TS 38.300 (NR Overall Description), TS 23.501 (5G System Architecture)
Related Terms
gNB | NR | NSA | SA | eMBB | uRLLC | mMTC | Network Slicing
Learn More
This glossary entry is part of the 5GWorldPro Complete 5G Glossary. To go deeper into 5G architecture and technology, explore our 5G Training courses.
