Glossary

A Comprehensive List of 5G Terminology

Abbreviation: 4G/LTE

The fourth generation of mobile communication which evolved from 3G networks. 4G LTE has an all-IP flat architecture and provides 2.5x - 15x faster speeds and lower latency compared to 3G networks.

Abbreviation: 5GC

The core network for 5G that functions based entirely on cloud native software design, allowing for enhanced operational efficiency, increased flexibility, and improved time to market for new features.

Abbreviation: 5G NR

The fifth generation of mobile communication which evolved from 4G networks. This new radio frequency portion will become the foundation for the next generation of mobile networks and aims to deliver up to 100x faster speeds, more reliable coverage, and lower latency connectivity than earlier generations.

Abbreviation: AI

The ability of machines to learn processes and perform tasks that typically require human input.

Abbreviation: BSS

A critical component for effectively monetising 5G’s capabilities. BSS enables mobile operators to run business-facing elements of 5G services — including product management, customer management, revenue management, and order management — for its customers.

Abbreviation: Cloud Native

A term that describes the organisations, architectures, and technologies that support cloud-oriented business models. This gives improved operational efficiency and shorter time to market for new services thanks to the software being more decoupled from the underlying hardware and decomposed into smaller components, allowing for faster and more automated upgrades.

Abbreviation: Core

The heart and brain of the mobile network that provides Internet connectivity in addition to performing fundamental operations like authenticating subscriptions and authorising service access to users. The Core handles a wide area of mobility and contains the functionality needed to handle devices in idle mode, broadcast emergency messages, and manage the geographical position of devices.

Abbreviation: Edge

The deployment of applications closer to the users for improved performance by placing distributed cloud platforms further out in the radio network. This helps reduce lag time in instances involving AR/VR or mission critical use cases.

Abbreviation: eMBB

A service that caters to growing data traffic demands while providing the higher quality experience that consumers increasingly expect. It is also the first real use case of 5G. Among other benefits, eMBB will allow for:

  • Better delivery of sensory experiences like touch through devices
  • Greater realism in VR, AR and XR with lighter devices untethered to laptops or desktops
  • Stable and reliable connectivity in crowded spaces
  • New angles and interactions for both live and remote event spectators

Abbreviation: FWA

A solution to provide broadband connectivity using radio links between two fixed points without needing wired or physical connections. This allows high-speed, high-capacity broadband coverage to be supplied to low-income or rural areas which are often left underserved. It also opens up new avenues in remote working practices, healthcare, and education, including:

  • Seamless, high-quality virtual conferencing at home to boost productivity
  • Remote healthcare expertise with specialists smoothly consulting and diagnosing patients from afar
  • Engaging methods of digital teaching and learning through immersive content

Abbreviation: IoT

The connection of physical devices, vehicles, and appliances to facilitate the exchange and storage of data.

Abbreviation: low-band

Frequency radio bands below one GHz.

Abbreviation: MS

The practice of delivering network operations, maintenance, and optimisation to ensure the entire network is running well and performing at a high standard.

Abbreviation: mMTC

A set of applications requiring connectivity over large areas with a huge volume of connections and devices. These connections typically transmit low volume, non-critical data. This is the use case to support a very large number of devices in a small area which may only send data sporadically, such as IoT use cases. Some of the benefits of mMTC include:

  • Enhanced logistic networks with the ability to autonomously route goods based on real-world conditions
  • Full traceability down to the individual item at warehouses and ports
  • Increased use of IoT in agriculture to efficiently grow crops

Abbreviation: Massive MIMO

Technology that offers mobile operators the larger bandwidth of the mid-band and high-band to deliver powerful 5G experiences nationwide. Massive MIMO configuration has a much higher number of antenna elements in the RAN node, enabling a beamforming radio transmission to the mobile devices and giving improved coverage, capacity, and energy efficiency.

Abbreviation: mid-band

Frequency radio bands ranging between one and six GHz.

Abbreviation: mmWave

Higher frequency radio bands ranging from 24 GHz to 40 GHz.

Abbreviation: MOCN

A network that lets multiple mobile operators share the same common radio network while having separate core networks for implementing proprietary user services.

Abbreviation: NFVI

The networking hardware and software needed to support and connect VNFs in mobile networks. NFVI enables operators to deploy VNFs or cloud native functions from multiple vendors as well as OSS and BSS applications with speed while keeping ownership costs low.

Abbreviation: Slicing

A method that lets mobile network operators provide dedicated virtual networks with functionality specific to the service or customer over a common network. This is an effective strategy to build and manage a network that meets and exceeds the emerging needs from a wide range of users. Achieving a sliced network involves transforming it into a set of logical networks on top of a shared infrastructure. Each logical network is designed to serve a defined business purpose and is comprised of all the required network resources configured and connected end-to-end.

Abbreviation: NSA

A 5G deployment option that focuses on enhanced mobile broadband to provide higher data bandwidth and reliable connectivity. It is in line with the 3GPP specification that early rollouts of 5G networks and devices be brought under NSA operation. This refers to 5G networks that will be aided by existing 4G infrastructure.

Abbreviation: OSS

A system that enables mobile operators to efficiently monitor, control, analyse, manage, and operate services on its network.

Abbreviation: RAN

An infrastructure that connects individual devices to other parts of a network through radio connections while simultaneously linking up with the Core Network.

Abbreviation: SA

The deployment option considered to be the fully fleshed out iteration of 5G coverage. Coupled with cloud-native 5G Core, 5G SA networks provide the super-fast response times and faster access to higher data rates that are required for cloud gaming, immersive media, and vehicle or robot control. 5G SA networks will also increase capacity and coverage and enable end-to-end Network Slicing with higher scalability and enhanced quality-of-services management. This opens up new business models and use cases across all verticals and creates new revenue opportunities for mobile operators.

Abbreviation: Tactile Internet

A network that offers extremely low latency in combination with high availability, reliability and security. 5G URLLC will make it possible to transmit physical experiences and sensations from one point to another with near imperceptible delay. These applications will increasingly enable human-machine interaction based on haptic or tactile communication.

Abbreviation: 3GPP

A collaborative activity between well-established regional standard organisations with a shared goal of developing and maintaining global technical specifications. This ensures that network equipment and handset manufacturers can develop products that are interoperable all over the world.

Abbreviation: Transport

A network that connects all nodes in the RAN with the Core Network by fibre or microwave connections while carrying data traffic for processing.

Abbreviation: URLLC

A set of features that enables more reliable services for a wide range of time-critical tasks across most industry verticals. These applications will have set data delivery requirements regarding reliability, resilience, and instantaneous connectivity (e.g. data transfer within 50 milliseconds with 99.9 percent likelihood of delivery). This has strict requirements on latency and reliability for mission critical communications such as remote surgery, autonomous vehicles, Tactile Internet, wireless control of industrial manufacturing, and production processes.

Abbreviation: VNF

Services that are responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more virtual machines on top of the hardware networking infrastructure. This includes routers, switches, servers, cloud computing systems, and more.

Abbreviation: Virtualisation

The process of taking physical computing objects, such as servers and network gear, and turning them into software-based alternatives.