New 5G Innovations boost Mobile Data Speeds

The next generation of mobile networking, known as 5G, is expected to be commercially available around 2020, but Ericsson already has live indoor and outdoor 5G test networks in Sweden and the US.

Ericsson’s latest 5G initiative sounds deceptively simple; a 5G mobile device connects to several 5G cells at the same time, this is known as multipoint connectivity. It provides the resiliency to ensure that the device maintains a high-quality connection with the 5G network as it moves between cells. It also enables the transmission of several different sets of data signals (Multiple Input Multiple Output, or MIMO, streams) to the mobile device over the same radio frequency channel. This is called distributed MIMO, and it can increase downlink throughput by 100%.