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4G, 5G, 6G, 7G and Future Mobile Technologies

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 Review Article

iMedPub Journals 2021

American Journal of Computer
http://www.imedpub.com Science and Information Technology Vol. 9 No. 2: 75

4G, 5G, 6G, 7G and Future Mobile Estifanos Tilahun

Mihret1*and Getamesay
Technologies Haile2
Abstract 1
Department of Engineering and Technology,
Mettu University, Metu Zuria, Ethiopia
From past year wireless technology makes tremendous growth. Evolution and 2
School of Computing, Jimma Institute of
revolution of wireless technology is reached at 7.5G. Wireless technology FG Technology (JIT), Jimma University, Jimma,
(Future Generation) mobile communications will have higher data transmission Oromia, Ethiopia
rates than 6G and 7G. Wireless technology is continuously one of the hottest
areas that are developing at a high speed, with advanced techniques emerging in
all the fields of mobile and wireless communications. Current times are just the
beginning for deploying 5G mobile communication systems. At present we have
* Corresponding author:
many technologies each capable of performing functions like supporting voice
Estifanos Tilahun Mihret, Department
traffic using voice over IP (VoIP), broadband data access in mobile environment
of Engineering and Technology, Mettu
etc., but there is a great need of deploying such technologies that can integrate all
University, Metu Zuria, Ethiopia
these systems into a single unified system. 8G presents a solution of this problem
as it is all about seamlessly integrating the terminals, networks and applications.
In this paper an attempt has been made to provide a study of different cellular
technologies namely 4G, 5G, 6G, 7G, and FG respectively and detail comparison  [email protected]
among them.
Keywords: Cellular generations; Mobile technologies; Networks; Communication
Citation: Mihret ET, Haile G (2021) 4G, 5G,
6G, 7G and Future Mobile Technologies. J
Received: February 08, 2021; Accepted: February 22, 2021; Published: March 01, 2021 Comp Sci Info Technol Vol.9 No.2: 75.

Introduction to integrate 5G with satellite networks for global coverage. 7G

deals with space roaming. The paper is organized in five sections
The mobile communication systems and the wireless followed by conclusion, recommendation, acknowledgement and
communication technologies have been proving very fast day by references. Section II describes about 4G cellular technologies
day. Wireless communication is the transfer of information over in detail. Section III gives a detailed explanation about 5G
a distance without the use of enhanced electrical conductors or cellular networks. Section IV and V talks about 6G and 7G
"wires” When the context is clear, the term is often shortened cellular technologies respectively and section VI gives a detailed
to "wireless" It encompasses various types of fixed, mobile, and comparison of 4G, 5G, 6G, and 7G of cellular technologies.
portable two-way radios, cellular telephones, Personal Digital
Assistants (PDAs), and wireless networking [1]. In the past few 4G Cellular Technology
decades, the mobile wireless technologies have experience of
T4G is an IP-based technology that uses voice communication.
various generations of technology revolution and evolution,
LTE (Long Term Evolution), UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband) and
namely from 0G to 4G. Currently and on future, we are exposing
the IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) are considered to be 4G standards
to new cellular generations namely 5G, 6G, 7G, 8G and etc.
(Table 1) [2].
Consumers are demanding more advanced and useful
Network Peak value of download Peak value of upload
applications. Each generation has some standards, capacities,
techniques and new features which differentiate it from previous LTE 100 Mbit/s 50 Mbit/s
generations. Due to these new features, the number of mobile LTE advanced 1000 Mbps 500 Mbps
phone subscribers is increasing day by day. Hence, there is need WiMAX 128 Mbit/s 56 Mbit/s
of capacity improvements in wireless communications. The 4G Table 1: Components of haplotypic variation and paired FST value for
integrates 3G with fixed Internet to support wireless mobile the 38 complete genome sequences of SARS-COV-2 from South America.
Internet, which is an evolution to overcome the limitations of 3G Mobile Web access, IP telephony, gaming services, High Definition
and also raises the QoS, increases the bandwidth and reduces (HD) mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television are the
the cost of resources. The 5G brings forward a real wireless applications of 4G cellular networks.
world-Wireless World Wide Web (WWWW) while 6G is proposed

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The first release of LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard has been stores user-specific data very similar to 3G SIM card. This keeps
commercially deployed in 4G does not support circuit-switched information about the user’s phone number, home network
networks but it is an IP-based network system. 4G networks are identity and security keys etc.
the pillars as it integrates several radio access networks with fixed
Internet networks [3].
The E-UTRAN (The access network)
The architecture of evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access
In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced Network (E-UTRAN) has been illustrated in Figure 2.
(International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced)
requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements
for 4G service at 100 Mbit/sec for high mobility communication
(such as from trains and cars) and 1 Gbit/sec low mobility
communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users). One
of the key technologies for 4G and beyond is called Open Wireless
Architecture (OWA), supporting multiple wireless air interfaces in
an open architecture platform [4].
4G is used also Software Defined Radio (SDR) as one of its
technologies. SDR is used to configure or define the radio and
make a common platform which can be used across a number
of areas. And, it will develop a multi-band, multi-standard base
stations and terminals. In future, the terminal will adapt the air
Figure 2: E-UTRAN architecture.
interface to the available radio access technology, at present this
is done by the infrastructure [5].
The high-level network architecture of LTE is comprised of The E-UTRAN handles the radio communications between the
following three main components: the User Equipment (UE), the mobile and the evolved packet core and just has one component,
Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) and the evolved base stations, called eNodeB or eNB. Each eNB is a
the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) respectively. The evolved packet base station that controls the mobiles in one or more cells. The
core communicates with packet data networks in the outside base station that is communicating with a mobile is known as its
world such as the internet, private corporate networks or the serving eNB.
IP multimedia subsystem. The interfaces between the different LTE Mobile communicates with just one base station and one cell
parts of the system are denoted Uu, S1, and SGi (Figure 1). at a time and there are following two main functions supported
by eNB:
• The eBN sends and receives radio transmissions to all the
mobiles using the analogue and digital signal processing functions
of the LTE air interface.
• The eNB controls the low-level operation of all its mobiles, by
sending them signaling messages such as handover commands.
Each eBN connects with the EPC by means of the S1 interface
and it can also be connected to nearby base stations by the X2
interface, which is mainly used for signaling and packet forwarding
Figure 1: Basic LTE interfaces. during handover. A home eNB (HeNB) is a base station that has
been purchased by a user to provide femtocell coverage within
The User Equipment (UE) the home. A home eNB belongs to a closed subscriber group
The internal architecture of the user equipment for LTE is (CSG) and can only be accessed by mobiles with a USIM that also
identical to the one used by UMTS and GSM which is actually a belongs to the closed subscriber group.
Mobile Equipment (ME). The mobile equipment comprised of the The Evolved Packet Core (EPC-The core network)
following important modules:
The architecture of Evolved Packet Core (EPC) has been illustrated
• Mobile Termination (MT): This handles all the communication below. There are few more components which have not been
functions. shown in the diagram to keep it simple. These components are
• Terminal Equipment (TE): These terminals the data streams. like the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS), the
Equipment Identity Register (EIR) and Policy Control and Charging
• Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC): This is also known as
Rules Function (PCRF) (Figure 3).
the SIM card for LTE equipment. It runs an application known
as the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM). A USIM

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that is going on 5G aims at lower suspension and low battery

consumption.
5G is designed for WWWW (World Wide Wireless Web) and IPv6
is a fundamental protocol used to 4G and 5G cellular networks
but since IPv6 assigns any IP address to any mobile node based
on location management; therefore, this would cause wastage
of 5G resources [6]. According to the resources, 5G would get
implemented around the year 2020. It has been noted that a new
generation has appeared after every 10th year since 1G cellular
network was introduced in 1981, 2G in 1992, 3G was in 2001
whereas 4G came into the market in 2012-2013.
5G core concept would possess three technologies:
Figure 3: Evolved packet core architecture.
• Nano technology
There is a brief description of each of the components shown in • Cloud computing and,
the above architecture:
• All flat IP platform
• The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) component has been
carried forward from UMTS and GSM and is a central database The 5th wireless mobile Internet networks are real wireless world
that contains information about all the network operator's which shall be supported by LAS-CDMA, OFDM, MC-CDMA, UWB,
subscribers. Network-LMDS and IPv6. IPv6 is a basic protocol for running on
both 4G and 5G. Moreover, to solve the wasting of 5G resources
• The Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) communicates due to IPv6 working nature (location management) and 5G
with the outside world ie. Packet data networks PDN, using SGi aim (WWWW based on network access management), the
interface. Each packet data network is identified by an access proposed the bandwidth optimization control protocol and the
point name (APN). The PDN gateway has the same role as the mix-bandwidth data path for future 5G real wireless world. The
GPRS support node (GGSN) and the serving GPRS support node Bandwidth Optimization Control Protocol (BDCP) is implemented
(SGSN) with UMTS and GSM. in between MAC layer and TCP/IP layer, which is used to establish
• The serving gateway (S-GW) acts as a router, and forwards data the mix-bandwidth [7].
between the base station and the PDN gateway. New mobile generations are typically assigned new frequency
• The Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) is a bands and wider spectral bandwidth per frequency channel
component which is not shown in the above diagram but it is (1G up to 30 kHz, 2G up to 200 kHz, 3G up to 5 MHz, and 4G up
responsible for policy control decision-making, as well as for to 40 MHz), but sceptics argue that there is little room for new
controlling the flow-based charging functionalities in the Policy frequency bands or larger channel bandwidths. From users’ point
Control Enforcement Function (PCEF), which resides in the P-GW. of view, previous mobile generations have implied substantial
increase in peak bit-rate (i.e. physical layer net bit-rates for
The interface between the serving and PDN gateways is known as short-distance communication). However, no source suggests 5G
S5/S8. This has two slightly different implementations, namely S5 peak download and upload rates of more than the 1 Gbps to be
if the two devices are in the same network, and S8 if they are in offered by ITU-R's definition of 4G systems. If 5G appears, and
different networks. reflects these prognoses, the major difference from a user point
of view between 4G and 5G techniques must be something else
5G Cellular Technology than increased maximum throughput. For example lower battery
5G mobile network is progressive version of the present 4G/ consumption, lower outage probability (better coverage), high
IMT-Advanced standards since 2011. 5G (5th generation mobile bit rates in larger portions of the coverage area, cheaper or no
networks or 5th generation wireless systems) is a name which used traffic fees due to low infrastructure deployment costs, or higher
to denote the next major phase of mobile telecommunications aggregate capacity for many simultaneous users (i.e., higher
standards. 5G is not a term officially used for any particular system level spectral efficiency).
specification or in any official document yet made public by
The ultimate goal of 5G is to offer 20 Mbps data rates, even when
telecommunication companies or standardization bodies such as
used in such scenarios as a vehicle traveling 200 kilometers per
3GPP, WiMAX Forum, or ITU-R. Moreover, new standard releases
hour. And, it will support the fixed wireless networks [8].
beyond 4G are in progress by standardization bodies, but are at
this not considered as new mobile generations but under the 4G Besides, 5G technology also used new computing concepts as
umbrella. follows:
The capacity of the 5G is aimed to be much higher than current Pervasive networks
4G. Higher capacity would allow higher density of mobile users,
A user can concurrently be connected to several wireless access
ultra reliability and massive communications. Also, research
© Under License of Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License 3
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American Journal of Computer
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technologies and seamlessly move between them.

Group cooperative relay
To make a high data rates available over a wider area of the cell.
Currently, data rates fall towards the cell edge where interference
levels are higher and signal levels lower.
Cognitive radio technology
The user equipment/handset to look at the radio landscape in
which it is located and choose the optimum radio access network,
modulation scheme and other parameters to configure itself to
gain the best connection and optimum performance.
Wireless mesh networks and dynamic Ad hoc Figure 5: IP based 5G architecture.
networking
The system comprising of a main user terminal and then a number
By using a variety of different access schemes, it will be possible
of independent and autonomous radio access technologies. Each
to link to others nearby to provide ad-hoc wireless networks for
of the radio technologies is considered as the IP link for the
much speedier data flows.
outside internet world. The IP technology is Moreover, to make
Smart antennas accessible routing of packets should be fixed in accordance with
the given policies of the user (Figure 6).
By using smart antennas, it will be possible to alert the
beam direction to enable more direct communications, limit
interference and increase overall cell capacity (Figure 4).

Figure 6: Basic 5G layer.

The 5G Master Core is convergence point for the other

technologies, which have their own impact on existing wireless
network. Interestingly, its design facilitates Master Core to get
Figure 4: Features of 5G technology. operated into parallel multimode including all IP network mode
and 5G network mode. In this mode (as shown in the image given
Architecture of 5G is highly advanced; its network elements and below), it controls all network technologies of RAN and Different
various terminals are characteristically upgraded to afford a new Access Networks (DAT). Since, the technology is compatible and
situation. Likewise, service providers can implement the advance manages all the new deployments (based on 5G), it is more
technology to adopt the value-added services easily. efficient, less complicated, and more powerful (Figure 7).

However, upgrade-ability is based upon cognitive radio Surprisingly, any service mode can be opened under 5G New
technology that includes various significant features such as Deployment Mode as World Combination Service Mode (WCSM).
ability of devices to identify their geographical location as well WCSM is a wonderful feature of this technology; for example, if
as weather, temperature, etc. Cognitive radio technology acts a professor writes on the white board in a country – it can be
as a transceiver (beam) that perceptively can catch and respond displayed on another white board in any other part of the world
radio signals in its operating environment. Further, it promptly besides conversation and video. Further, new services can be
distinguishes the changes in its environment and hence responds easily added through parallel multimode service.
accordingly to provide uninterrupted quality service [9].
The system model of 5G is entirely IP based model designed for
the wireless and mobile networks (Figure 5).

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navigational satellite network is for Global Position System (GPS).

In 6G hand-off and roaming will be the big issue because those
satellite systems are different networks and 6G has four different
standards. Thus, the hand-off and roaming must take place
between those four different networks but how it will occur is
still a question.
In 6G the cost of mobile call will be relatively high but in
7G/7.5G/8G their problem will be reduced and lower level user
will benefit from them. In 6G, the globe will be decorated by fly
sensors with the help of 6G technology. These fly sensors will
provide information to their remote observer stations; further
these stations will check any activity upon a special area such as
the activity of terrorists, intruders etc., (Figure 8).

Figure 7: 5G master core.

6G Cellular Technology
6G mobile network/Internet uses an air fiber technology with
masts and transceivers on tall buildings and even lamp posts to
create a local network capable of delivering phenomenal speeds
instead of disappointing averages. The air fiber combination will
be the best method to broadcast much secured information from
transmitters to destinations. 6G’s converged network provides
local with a truly all-in-one solution: uploads, downloads, Figure 8: 6G network architecture.
super-fast broadband Internet, multiple line telephones, CCTV
monitoring, video conferencing every telecommunications 7G Cellular Technology
requirement your business needs is catered for with 6G.
7G mobile network is like the 6G for global coverage. It will be the
The 6th generation (6G) wireless mobile communication networks most advance generation in mobile communication but there will
shall integrate satellites to get global coverage. The global be some researches on demanding issues like the use of mobile
coverage systems have been developed by four countries. The phone during moving condition from one country to another
global position system (GPS) is developed by USA, the COMPASS country, because satellite is also moving in constant speed and in
system is developed by China, the Galileo system is developed by specific orbit, the standards and protocols for cellular to satellite
EU, and the GLONASS system is developed by Russia. Thus, these system and for satellite to satellite communication system.
independent systems are difficulty for space roaming. The task of
7th generation (7G) wireless mobile communication networks is The dream of 7G can only be true when all standards and
going to unite [10]. protocols are defined. May be this is possible in next generation
after 7G and can be named as 7.5G or 8G. When 7G will complete
6G Internets use a combination of the latest in radio and fiber all its weak points then there will be no issue of data capacity
optics technology. They deliver through via line of sight (LOS). coverage and hand-off left behind. At that time there will be only
Which means they don’t have to rely on the copper cable or base one demand from user which is the cost of mobile phone call
our speed on how to far your business is away from the exchange. and its services. This issue will again start evolutionary change
6G offer faster, more secure and cost-effective broadband in standard and technology, and will also open new horizons for
network. This mobile system for the global coverage will integrate computing research. This new revolution in technology for cost of
5G wireless mobile system and satellite network. These satellite mobile phone call and services will be called as 7.5G or 8G.
networks consist of telecommunication satellite network, earth
imaging satellite network and navigation satellite network. The Comparison of different cellular technologies
telecommunication satellite is used for voice, data, Internet, The comparison of different cellular technologies is been
and video broadcasting; the earth imaging satellite network is illustrated in Table 2.
for weather and environmental information collection; and the

© Under License of Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License 5

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Parameters Cellular technologies

4G 5G 6G 7G

Frequency 2-8 GHz 4G Frequency 95GHz-3THz 95GHz-3THz

Service Wi-Fi, VoIP, LTE, WiMAX WWWW Secured and global cellular Secured and global cellular
services services

Multiplexing OFDMA All with AI capabilities, MIMO,CDMA CDMA CDMA

Switching type Packet switching (All IPv6 but advancements are still to be All packet All packet
packer) done

Core network Internet Internet Internet Internet

Data rate 100-300 Mbps About 100+Mbps About 11 Gbps About 11+Gbps

Pros Speed, high speed hand Better coverage area, low battery Global coverage system No issue of data capacity
offs, MIMO tech, global consumption, availability of multiple coverage and hand off left
tech data transfer path, energy and behind, low cost of call
spectral efficiency is more and has a
high security

Cons Hard to implement, It is still under process and research Difficulty for space Similar with 5G and 6G
complicated hardware on its viability is going on, it is roaming, high cost of disadvantages
required difficult to achieve because of the mobile call and similar with
incompetent technological support in 5G disadvantages
most parts of the world, developing
infrastructure needs high cost,
security and privacy issue yet to be
solved

Location of first South Korea Not yet Not yet Not yet
commercialization

Time period Now Soon probably 2020 Soon probably 2030 Soon probably 2030

Handoff Horizontal and vertical Horizontal and vertical Horizontal and vertical Horizontal and vertical

Table 2: Components of haplotypic variation and paired FST value for the 38 complete genome sequences of SARS-COV-2 from South America.

Conclusion would cause wastage of 5G resources.

The world of mobile wireless communication is rapidly In 6G, hand-off and roaming are big issues due to its satellite
developing. The last few years have experienced a remarkable systems are working in different networks and standards. Thus,
growth in wireless industry. Attempts are being made to reduce the hand-off and roaming must take place between those four
the number of technologies to a single global standard resulting different networks but how it will occur is still a question.
in 5G, 6G and 7G. 5G aims a real wireless world with no limitations The dream of 7G can only be true when all its standards and
while 6G integrates 5G with satellite networks. Due to variable protocols are defined. May be this is possible in next generation
technologies and standards, with 6G handoff/roaming will be an after 7G. When 7G will complete all its weak points then there
issue. This drives the 7G of mobile wireless networks which aims will be no issue of data capacity coverage and hand-off left
to acquire space roaming. Trials have already started on 5G which behind. At that time there will be only one demand from user
may lead to its commercial availability around 2020. which is the cost of mobile phone call and its services. This issue
The world is trying to become completely wireless, demanding will again start evolutionary change in standard and technology,
uninterrupted access to information anytime and anywhere with and will also open new horizons for computing research. This
better quality, high speed, increased bandwidth and reduction in new revolution in technology for cost of mobile phone call and
cost. services will be called as 7.5G or 8G.
In future, the terminal will adapt the air interface to the
Recommendations available radio access technology, at present this is done by
In 5G research that is going on its aims at lower suspension and the infrastructure. In addition, the main barrier for future
low battery consumption. Besides, IPv6 assigns any IP address to technologies success is the incompetent technological support
any mobile node based on location management; therefore, this (old devices) in most parts of the world. So, all of them need to

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be replaced with new one. Generally, 5G, 6G and 7G requires a

high cost for developing infrastructure as well as their security
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