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August 6, 2019August 6, 2019

5G NR: New Radio

5G NR (New Radio) is a new radio access technology (RAT) developed by 3GPP for the 5G (fifth generation) mobile network. It was designed to be the global standard for the air interface of 5G networks.

The 3GPP specification 38 series provides the technical details behind NR, the RAT beyond LTE.

The study on NR within 3GPP started in 2015, and the first specification release was made available by the end of 2017. While the 3GPP standardization process was ongoing, industry had already begun efforts to implement infrastructure compliant with the draft standard, with the expectation that the first large scale commercial launch of 5G New Radio would occur in 2019.

5G NR: 3GPP Release 16 includes 5G definitions — 5G New Radio: 3GPP Release 16 includes 5G definitions

Frequency bands

The Frequency bands for 5G New Radio are being separated into two frequency ranges:[4]

Frequency Range 1 (FR1), including sub-6 GHz frequency bands
Frequency Range 2 (FR2), including frequency bands in the mmWave range (20-60GHz)

5G NR Development

In 2018, 3GPP published Release 15, which include what is described as “Phase 1” standardization for the 5G NR standard. 3GPP is expected to publish Release 16, which include the “Phase 2” of 5G NR, by the end of year 2019

5G NR Deployment modes

Initial launches will depend on existing LTE 4G infrastructure in non-standalone (NSA) mode, before maturation of the standalone (SA) mode with the 5G core network.

Non-Standalone mode

Non-Standalone (NSA) mode of 5G New Radio refers to an option of 5G NR deployment that depends on the control plane of existing LTE network for control functions, while 5G NR exclusively focused on user plane. The advantage of doing so is reported to speed up 5G adoption, however some operators and vendors have criticized prioritizing the introduction of 5G NR NSA on the grounds that it could hinder the implementation of the standalone mode of the network.

Standalone mode

Standalone (SA) mode of 5G New Radio refers to using 5G cells for both signalling and information transfer. It includes the new 5G Packet Core architecture instead of relying on the 4G Evolved Packet Core. It would allow the deployment of 5G without the LTE network. It is expected to have lower cost, better efficiency, and assist development of new use cases.

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August 6, 2019August 6, 2019

5G Frequency Bands

Frequency bands for 5G are divided into “sub 6GHz” and “mmWave” bands. “Sub 6” is generally for longer range coverage, with in-building penetration. “mmWave” bands use higher frequencies which offer short range, and no or little penetration of building structures.

This list of 5G frequency bands is taken from the latest published version of the 3GPP TS 38.101,the following tables list the specified frequency bands and the channel bandwidths of the 5G NR standard.

Note that the NR bands are defined with prefix of “n”. When the NR band is overlapping with the 4G LTE band, they share the same band number.

Frequency Range 1

Band	Duplex mode^{[A 1]}	ƒ (MHz)	Common name	Subset of band	Uplink^{[A 2]} (MHz)	Downlink^{[A 3]} (MHz)	Duplex spacing (MHz)	Channel bandwidths^[5] (MHz)
n1	FDD	2100	IMT	n65	1920 – 1980	2110 – 2170	190	5, 10, 15, 20
n2	FDD	1900	PCS^{[A 4]}	n25	1850 – 1910	1930 – 1990	80	5, 10, 15, 20
n3	FDD	1800	DCS		1710 – 1785	1805 – 1880	95	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
n5	FDD	850	CLR		824 – 849	869 – 894	45	5, 10, 15, 20
n7	FDD	2600	IMT‑E		2500 – 2570	2620 – 2690	120	5, 10, 15, 20
n8	FDD	900	Extended GSM		880 – 915	925 – 960	45	5, 10, 15, 20
n12	FDD	700	Lower SMH		699 – 716	729 – 746	30	5, 10, 15
n14	FDD	700	Upper SMH		788 – 798	758 – 768	−30	5, 10
n18	FDD	850	Lower 800 (Japan)		815 – 830	860 – 875	45	5, 10, 15
n20	FDD	800	Digital Dividend (EU)		832 – 862	791 – 821	−41	5, 10, 15, 20
n25	FDD	1900	Extended PCS^{[A 5]}		1850 – 1915	1930 – 1995	80	5, 10, 15, 20
n28	FDD	700	APT		703 – 748	758 – 803	55	5, 10, 15, 20
n30	FDD	2300	WCS^{[A 6]}		2305 – 2315	2350 – 2360	45	5, 10
n34	TDD	2100	IMT		2010 – 2025	N/A	5
n38	TDD	2600	IMT‑E^{[A 7]}		2570 – 2620	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n39	TDD	1900	DCS–IMT Gap		1880 – 1920	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40
n40	TDD	2300	S-Band		2300 – 2400	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80
n41	TDD	2500	BRS	n90	2496 – 2690	N/A	10, 15, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 90, 100
n48	TDD	3500	CBRS (US)		3550 – 3700	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 90, 100
n50	TDD	1500	L‑Band (EU)		1432 – 1517	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80^{[A 8]}
n51	TDD	1500	Extended L‑Band (EU)		1427 – 1432	N/A	5
n65	FDD	2100	Extended IMT		1920 – 2010	2110 – 2200	190	5, 10, 15, 20
n66	FDD	1700	Extended AWS^{[A 9]}		1710 – 1780	2110 – 2200^[6]	400	5, 10, 15, 20, 40
n70	FDD	2000	AWS‑4		1695 – 1710	1995 – 2020	300	5, 10, 15, 20^{[A 8]}, 25^{[A 8]}
n71	FDD	600	Digital Dividend (US)		663 – 698	617 – 652	−46	5, 10, 15, 20
n74	FDD	1500	Lower L‑Band (US)		1427 – 1470	1475 – 1518	48	5, 10, 15, 20
n75	SDL	1500	L‑Band (EU)		N/A	1432 – 1517	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n76	SDL	1500	Extended L‑Band (EU)		N/A	1427 – 1432	N/A	5
n77	TDD	3700	C-Band		3300 – 4200	N/A	10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 90, 100
n78	TDD	3500	C-Band	n77	3300 – 3800	N/A	10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 90, 100
n79	TDD	4700	C-Band		4400 – 5000	N/A	40, 50, 60, 80, 100
n80	SUL	1800	DCS		1710 – 1785	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
n81	SUL	900	Extended GSM		880 – 915	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n82	SUL	800	Digital Dividend (EU)		832 – 862	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n83	SUL	700	APT		703 – 748	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n84	SUL	2100	IMT		1920 – 1980	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n86	SUL	1700	Extended AWS		1710 – 1780	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 40
n90	TDD	2500	BRS		2496 – 2690	N/A	10, 15, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 90, 100
Band	Duplex mode^{[A 1]}	ƒ (MHz)	Common name	Subset of band	Uplink^{[A 2]} (MHz)	Downlink^{[A 3]} (MHz)	Duplex spacing (MHz)	Channel bandwidths^[5] (MHz)

^ Frequency division duplexing (FDD); time division duplexing (TDD); FDD supplemental downlink (SDL); FDD supplemental uplink (SUL)
^ UE transmit; BS receive
^ UE receive; BS transmit
^ Blocks A–F
^ Blocks A–G
^ Blocks A–B
^ Duplex Spacing
^ Downlink only
^ Blocks A–J

Chart showing 5G Frequency Bands

Frequency Range 2 (mmWave bands)

Band	ƒ (GHz)	Common name	Subset of band	Uplink / Downlink^{[B 1]} (GHz)	Channel bandwidths^[5] (MHz)
n257	26	LMDS		26.50 – 29.50	50, 100, 200, 400
n258	24	K-band		24.25 – 27.50	50, 100, 200, 400
n260	39	Ka-band		37.00 – 40.00	50, 100, 200, 400
n261	28	Ka-band	n257	27.50 – 28.35	50, 100, 200, 400
Band	ƒ (GHz)	Common name	Subset of band	Uplink / Downlink^{[B 1]} (GHz)	Channel bandwidths^[5] (MHz)

Time division duplexing (TDD) mode

Chart showing 5G mmWave bands

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June 26, 2019August 6, 2019

5G NR frequency bands

RF Frequency bands for 5G NR are being separated into two different frequency ranges.

Frequency Range 1 (FR1)

FR1 includes sub-6GHz frequency bands, some of which are bands traditionally used by previous standards, but has been extended to cover potential new spectrum offerings from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz.

Frequency Range 2 (FR2)

FR2 includes frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. Bands in this millimeter wave (mmWave, MMW) range have much shorter range but higher available bandwidth than bands in the FR1.

Frequency bands and channel bandwidths

From the latest published version of the 3GPP TS 38.101, the following tables list the specified frequency bands and the channel bandwidths of the 5G NR standard.

Note that the NR bands are defined with prefix of “n”. When the NR band is overlapping with the legacy 4G LTE band, they share the same band number.

Frequency Range 1

Band	Duplex mode	ƒ (MHz)	Common name	Subset of band	Uplink (MHz)	Downlink (MHz)	Duplex spacing (MHz)	Channel bandwidths (MHz)
n1	FDD	2100	IMT		1920 – 1980	2110 – 2170	190	5, 10, 15, 20
n2	FDD	1900	PCS^{[A 4]}	n25	1850 – 1910	1930 – 1990	80	5, 10, 15, 20
n3	FDD	1800	DCS		1710 – 1785	1805 – 1880	95	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
n5	FDD	850	CLR		824 – 849	869 – 894	45	5, 10, 15, 20
n7	FDD	2600	IMT‑E		2500 – 2570	2620 – 2690	120	5, 10, 15, 20
n8	FDD	900	Extended GSM		880 – 915	925 – 960	45	5, 10, 15, 20
n12	FDD	700	Lower SMH		699 – 716	729 – 746	30	5, 10, 15
n20	FDD	800	Digital Dividend (EU)		832 – 862	791 – 821	−41	5, 10, 15, 20
n25	FDD	1900	Extended PCS		1850 – 1915	1930 – 1995	80	5, 10, 15, 20
n28	FDD	700	APT		703 – 748	758 – 803	55	5, 10, 15, 20
n34	TDD	2100	IMT		2010 – 2025	N/A	5
n38	TDD	2600	IMT‑E^{[A 5]}	n41	2570 – 2620	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n39	TDD	1900	DCS–IMT Gap		1880 – 1920	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40
n40	TDD	2300	S-Band		2300 – 2400	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80
n41	TDD	2500	BRS		2496 – 2690	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100
n50	TDD	1500	L‑Band (EU)		1432 – 1517	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80^{[A 6]}
n51	TDD	1500	Extended L‑Band (EU)		1427 – 1432	N/A	5
n66	FDD	1700	Extended AWS^{[A 7]}		1710 – 1780	2110 – 2200^[6]	400	5, 10, 15, 20, 40
n70	FDD	2000	AWS‑4		1695 – 1710	1995 – 2020	300	5, 10, 15, 20^{[A 6]}, 25^{[A 6]}
n71	FDD	600	Digital Dividend (US)		663 – 698	617 – 652	−46	5, 10, 15, 20
n74	FDD	1500	Lower L‑Band (US)		1427 – 1470	1475 – 1518	48	5, 10, 15, 20
n75	SDL^{[A 8]}	1500	L‑Band (EU)		N/A	1432 – 1517	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n76	SDL^{[A 8]}	1500	Extended L‑Band (EU)		N/A	1427 – 1432	N/A	5
n77	TDD	3700	C-Band		3300 – 4200	N/A	10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100
n78	TDD	3500	C-Band	n77	3300 – 3800	N/A	10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100
n79	TDD	4700	C-Band		4400 – 5000	N/A	40, 50, 60, 80, 100
n80	SUL^{[A 9]}	1800	DCS		1710 – 1785	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
n81	SUL^{[A 9]}	900	Extended GSM		880 – 915	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n82	SUL^{[A 9]}	800	Digital Dividend (EU)		832 – 862	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n83	SUL^{[A 9]}	700	APT		703 – 748	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n84	SUL^{[A 9]}	1900	IMT		1920 – 1980	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20
n86	SUL^{[A 9]}	1700	Extended AWS	n80	1710 – 1780	N/A	N/A	5, 10, 15, 20, 40

Frequency Range 2

Band	ƒ (GHz)	Common name	Subset of band	Uplink / Downlink(GHz)	Channel bandwidths (MHz)
n257	26	LMDS		26.50 – 29.50	50, 100, 200, 400
n258	24	K-band		24.25 – 27.50	50, 100, 200, 400
n260	39	Ka-band		37.00 – 40.00	50, 100, 200, 400
n261	28	Ka-band	n257	27.50 – 28.35	50, 100, 200, 400

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May 24, 2019June 26, 2019

5G Terminology: The gNB

5G specifications are ongoing, so there are new acronyms to remember.
So after the BTS (Base Transceiver Station) in 2G, the NodeB in 3G, the eNB in 4G, here comes the gNB in 5G.

Tnew radio access technology is called “NR” and replaces “LTE”, and the new base station is called gNB (or gNodeB), and replaces the eNB (or eNodeB or Evolved Node B).

Generation	Radio Technology	Base Station Name
2G	GSM	BTS (Base Transceiver Station)
3G	UMTS	NodeB
4G	LTE	eNB, Evolved NodeB
5G	NR	gNB, G???? NodeB

The “g” in gNB stands for “Next Generation NodeB”

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