5G is the term used to describe the next-generation of mobile networks beyond LTE mobile networks. According to ITU guidelines, 5G network speeds should have a peak data rate of 20 Gb/s for the downlink and 10 Gb/s for the uplink. Latency in a 5G network could get as low as 4 milliseconds in a mobile scenario and can be as low as 1 millisecond in Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication scenarios.  Not only will people be connected to each other but so will machines, automobiles, city infrastructure, public safety and more.

In telecommunication, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for high-speed wireless communication for mobile devices and data terminals.

3G, short for third generation, is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. It is the upgrade for 2G and 2.5G GPRS networks, for faster internet speed

Second generation wireless telephony technology (2G) refers to telecom network technologies. Second generation wireless is a set of standards made for mobile telecommunication which are maintained and described by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) is one generation beyond Long Term Evolution (LTE). It is a standard for 4G or fourth generation mobile communication. Whereas LTE Pro, released by 3GPP, is the next-generation cellular standard, supporting 3 Gbit/s data rates and License Assisted Access (LAA) to allow licensed and unlicensed spectrum sharing.

Small cells are low-powered cellular radio access nodes that operate in licensed and unlicensed spectrum that have a range of 10m to a few km. Recent FCC orders have provided size and elevation guidelines to help more clearly define small cell equipment.

Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) moves the computing of traffic and services from a centralized cloud to the edge of the network and closer to the customer. Instead of sending all data to a cloud for processing, the network edge analyzes, processes, and stores the data. Collecting and processing data closer to the customer reduces latency and brings real-time performance to high-bandwidth applications

The Radio Access Network (RAN) has been in use since the beginning of cellular technology and has evolved through the generations of mobile communications (1G through 5G). Components of the RAN include a base station and antennas that cover a given region depending on their capacity.

Network densification is a term commonly heard in the wireless industry. Thanks to smartphones and tablets, wireless subscribers are using more network resources than ever before—and that amount of consumption continues to rise. Operators need to add more capacity to their networks to continue handling all the traffic while providing the network speeds those users expect. Network densification is a means for doing so.

It’s not a physical entity – it is a network connected to create a single ecosystem, whilst delivering a range of services via the Internet. These services include data storage and networking, across remote servers, databases and software applications.

Like Massive Machine-Type Communications (Mmtc), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication exists between two devices via wired and wireless channels to exchange data without the need for human interaction, which is part of an IoT system.

Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) is a radio technology combining low-bandwidth and battery-powered devices with low bit rates for effective data communication, used in Internet of Thing (IoT) applications and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions.

Network architecture is the design of a computer network. It is a framework for the specification of a network's physical components and their functional organization and configuration, its operational principles and procedures, as well as communication protocols used. In telecommunication, the specification of a network architecture may also include a detailed description of products and services delivered via a communications network, as well as detailed rate and billing structures under which services are compensated.

Network Interoperability is the continuous ability to send and receive data among the interconnected networks, providing the quality level expected by the end user without any negative impact to the sending and receiving networks.

Evolving networks are networks that change as a function of time. They are a natural extension of network science since almost all real-world networks evolve over time, either by adding or removing nodes or links over time.

This technology successfully combines two or more carriers into one data channel, which is designed to increase bandwidth and enhance the data capacities. Carrier aggregation is essential to 4G and LTE to achieve high-data rates.

A mesh network (or ‘meshnet’) is a local network topology in which the infrastructure nodes (i.e. bridges, switches, and other infrastructure devices) connect directly, dynamically and non-hierarchically to as many other nodes as possible and cooperate with one another to efficiently route data from/to clients. This lack of dependency on one node allows for every node to participate in the relay of information. Mesh networks dynamically self-organize and self-configure, which can reduce installation overhead.

If you are implementing, consolidating or upgrading a new system, you will need to identify the source systems, assess the source data quality, define the requirements for migrating (e.g. design and architecture), prepare data subsets and carry out tests before executing.

Telco-OTT (Over-The-Top) is where a telecommunications service provider delivers one or more services across an IP network. It embraces a variety of telco services including communications (e.g. voice and messaging), content (e.g. TV and music) and cloud-based (e.g. compute and storage) offerings.

Heterogeneous Networks (HetNet) is a term used for modern mobile communications networks. A modern mobile communications network is comprised of a combination of different cell types and different access technologies. A heterogeneous network is a network connecting computers and other devices with different operating systems and/or protocols. For example, Local Area Networks (LANs) that connect Microsoft Windows and Linux based personal computers with Apple Macintosh computers are heterogeneous.

Beamforming is a type of Radio Frequency (RF) management in which an access point uses multiple antennas to send out the same signal.

Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is a framework that provides converged voice and data on 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks. While, Virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) is a framework used to virtualize the functions that are required.

Millimeter Wave (mmWave) technology is a Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum between 24GHz and 100GHz with a short wavelength that will be used by 5G networks will. This part of the RF spectrum is mostly unused, therefore mmWave technology is set to increase the amount of bandwidth available.

Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO) is a technology intended to multiply the capacity of a radio link to optimise the speed, range, and reliability of wireless data transmission by using two or more antennas.

Evolved Mobile Broadband (eMBB) offers existing 4G networks with high bandwidth and throughput of the network with high data rates of more than 10 Gbps. This means faster data rates and an improved user experience in comparison to current mobile broadband services.