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5G TERMS AND ACRONYMS

Find us at www.keysight.com Page 1 Common Terms & Acronyms

The promise of is faster and more reliable communications. 5G opens doors to exciting new connections to of Things networks, autonomous driving, broadband , and interruption-free video viewing. Whatever you develop 5G technology for, it will be imperative to understand design and test concepts and solutions across multiple dimensions.

There are a lot of 5G acronyms and more on the way. We’ve got you covered - here’s a list of what’s out there today.

2G 5G Second-generation digital cellular networks used by mobile Fifth-generation of mobile technology, phones, designed as a replacement for analog first-generation required by International Mobile Telecommunications for the (). Designed primarily for voice using digital standards. year 2020 (IMT-2020) standard to support an all Internet Protocol (IP) network. Supports faster data rates, higher connection density, and much lower latency. Currently under Third-generation wireless mobile telecommunications development. technology, required by International Mobile Telecommunications for the year 2000 (IMT-2000) standard from International AM Distortion Union (ITU) to support at least 200 kbps Undesirable distortion caused by amplitude variation in a at peak rate. First utilizing IP protocols - communications system. added text and image messaging to voice phone calls. PM Distortion 3GPP - 3rd Generation Partnership Project Undesirable distortion caused by phase deviation in a A mobile communications industry collaboration that organizes communications system. the development and management of mobile communications standards. With respect to 5G, 3GPP is managing the evolving AM/PM Distortion 5G standards. Undesirable distortion that causes signal degradation in a communications system, typically as the result of the interaction between an amplifier’s phase response and the Fourth-generation mobile telecommunications technology, power level (or amplitude) of the input signal. designed to succeed 3G. A mobile broadband standard designed to support an all Internet Protocol (IP) network for Antenna Reciprocity calls, video, data, and web access. The performance goals A theory that states that the transmit properties of an antenna will be of 4G were specified to be 100 Mbps for high-speed mobile identical to the receive properties of that antenna in a given medium. applications such as automobiles, and 1 Gbps for low-mobility use cases including pedestrians and fixed-location access. Backhaul The part of the network responsible for transporting communication data between the baseband unit (BBU) and

Find us at www.keysight.com Page 2 the core network. Connects smaller outlying networks with the Carrier Aggregation core network. Backhaul was often proprietary in earlier cellular A major feature introduced with LTE-Advanced, enabling mobile generations, but is moving to in 5G. network operators to combine multiple carriers in fragmented spectrum bands to increase peak user data rates and overall Base Station Network Emulator capacity of the network. A tool for simulating protocol and network traffic in a test environment. Works in concert with UE emulation and channel Cell Tower emulation to provide an end-to-end system for testing and Physical location of electronic communications equipment, measuring 5G network performance at scale. including antennas to support cellular communication in a network.

BBU - Baseband Unit Channel Emulator A component of the base station. Equipment which handles A tool for simulating the real-world environment that a radio radio communications and radio control processing functions. signal would propagate through. Channel emulators use The baseband unit converts data into a digital signal which is mathematical models to simulate and apply impairments to sent on to the (RRH) where it is converted that signal based on testing requirements. into an analog signal. In a C-RAN architecture, the baseband unit is usually geographically separated from the radio head. CoMP - Coordinated Multipoint A technique where multiple base stations can coordinate downlink Beam Acquisition transmission (from Base Station (BS) to User Equipment (UE)) and The process of discovering and connecting with UEs. This uplink transmission (UE to BS) to improve the overall reliability process is substantially changing in 5G with the deployment of and performance. highly directional antenna arrays and beamforming techniques. Control Plane Beamforming The part of a network that carries information that establishes The method of applying relative phase and amplitude shifts to and controls the network. It controls the of user each antenna element in order to shape and provide discrete information packets between network interfaces. control of the direction of a transmitted beam. Beamforming requires communication channel feedback to implement real- Core Network time control of the beam. The part of the network that provides services to mobile subscribers through the radio access network (RAN). It is also Beam Steering the gateway to other networks, for instance to the public- A set of techniques used to focus the direction and shape of a switched telephone network or to public clouds. radiation pattern. In wireless communications, beam steering is used to change the direction of the signal and narrow the width CP-OFDM - Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division of the transmitted signal, typically by manipulating relative phase and amplitude shifts of the signal through an array of An Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) multiple antenna elements. technique that uses cyclic prefixes (CP) instead of null guards, protecting OFDM signals from intersymbol interference (ISI). C-RAN - Centralized RAN A radio access network (RAN) architecture that separates CPRI - Common Public Radio Interface baseband functions from antennas and remote radio heads (RRH) An interface specification standard that defines a layer-1 and pools baseband functions in centralized baseband units (BBU). and layer-2 interface for connecting radio equipment such A competing architecture to Mobile Edge Computing (MEC).

Find us at www.keysight.com Page 3 as radio heads on towers to other radio equipment control connection. Enables service operators to deploy one packet infrastructure located at the base of the tower or in a network for /3G/LTE/WLAN or fixed access (e.g., cable or DSL). centralized facility. eNodeB/eNB - Evolved B Data Plane The part of the cell tower as defined by 4G LTE to be used The part of a network through which user packets are within the base station that provides radio access to the user transmitted. It is often included in diagrams and illustrations to equipment (UE). give a visual representation of user traffic. Also known as the user plane, forwarding plane, or carrier plane. EPS - Evolved Packet System Evolved end-to-end-architecture composed of the base DFT-s-OFDM - Delay Spread OFDM station and evolved packet core (EPC) that enables 4G mobile Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) spread (s) Orthogonal communication. Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a waveform adopted with 4G/5G, combining cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM with reduced E-UTRAN - Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR). Network A new radio interface specified by the 3GPP consortium DL - Downlink and introduced with LTE in 2008. It was designed meet The path of transmission from the base station to the user ever-increasing data transfer rates while reducing the radio equipment (UE). In 5G, the DL waveform is Orthogonal operation latency. Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). EVM - Error Vector Magnitude DUT - Device Under Test Error Vector Magnitude is a measurement used to quantify Device Under Test (DUT), Equipment Under Test (EUT), System the quality of a digital radio signal. The measurement is a Under Test (SUT) and Unit Under Test (UUT) are terms used to representation of how far the actual signal deviates from an refer to a device being subjected to measurement procedures. ideal representation of that same signal. eMBB - Enhanced Mobile Broadband FDD - Frequency Division Duplex One of three primary use cases defined in the IMT-2020 vision. Using two different radio frequencies for transmitter and receiver Enhanced Mobile Broadband refers to target 5G peak and operation to establish a full-duplex communications link. average data rates, capacity, and coverage as compared to conventional Mobile Broadband (MBB). eMBB specifies a 5G FD-MIMO - Full Dimension MIMO design capable of supporting up to 20 Gbps in the downlink, A MIMO technique added to the 3GPP specification with LTE- and 10 Gbps in the uplink. Advanced Pro (Release 13). FD-MIMO extends MIMO concepts to work in three dimensions: azimuth (horizontal), control eLTE eNB (range), and elevation (vertical). An evolved 4G eNodeB (or eNB) that can support connectivity to the 4G evolved packet core (EPC) as well as the 5G next- Fronthaul generation core network (NGC or NGCN). Refers to links in the C-RAN that connect radio equipment at the tower with centralized radio controllers (radio equipment EPC - Evolved Packet Core control). Fronthaul data is generally transported over fiber optics A standardized framework in Release 8 of the 3GPP standard using the CPRI (Common Public Radio Interface) standard. Each for converged voice and data on an Internet Protocol service manufacturer has a proprietary overlay to CPRI that exclusively architecture 4G LTE network. It is based on an always-on requires that vendor’s equipment on both ends of the link.

Find us at www.keysight.com Page 4 FWA - Fixed Wireless Access ISI - Intersymbol Interference A type of wireless broadband between Signal distortion caused when one or more symbols interfere two fixed locations and connected through wireless access with other symbols. Caused by amplitude and phase points and equipment. dispersion in the channel due to multipath propagation or non- linear frequency response. gNB or gNodeB Next-generation NodeB - The 5G New Radio (NR) variant ITU - International Telecommunication Union of a base station. In 4G, known as evolved NodeB (eNB), in A United Nations agency that makes recommendations to 3G, known as NodeB, and in 2G, known as base transceiver coordinate shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes station (BTS). The part of the cell tower defined by 5G NR to international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, works be used within the base station that provides radio access to to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing the user equipment (UE). world, and assists in the development and coordination of worldwide technical standards. HD - Half Duplex A two-party communication system for exchanging voice or Layer 1 data, where only one node can speak at a time. The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model has seven layers: Layer-1 is referred to as the Physical Layer and Harmonic governs the transmission of data in a point to point or A signal at a frequency that is an integer multiple of another broadcast connection, with a focus on electrical, optical, or RF reference signal. The respective harmonic signal can be termed as transmission properties. 2f, 3f and so on where f is the frequency of the reference signal. Layers 2/3 HSS - Home Subscriber Server The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model has seven Common database of subscriber information, keeps layers: Layer-2 is referred to as Data Link layer and Layer-3 authentication information as well as permissions (e.g., as Network layer. Together they are responsible for setting authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server). up connectivity between hosts, framing the information, and routing information to the right destination. Each layer serves IMT - 2020 the layer above it and is served by the layer below it. A term developed by the ITU’s (International Telecommunications Union) Radiocommunication Sector in 2012 to develop the Layers 4-7 vision of “IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) for The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model has seven layers: 2020 and beyond.” The ITU’s timeline calls for the standard to Layers 4-7 implement data exchange between relatively distant be finished in 2020. systems. Layer-4 is referred to as Transport, Layer 5 as Session, Layer-6 as Presentation, and Layer-7 as Application. IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identity Each layer serves the layer above it and is served by the layer A number that uniquely identifies 3GPP mobile devices. Used below it. by the telecommunications network to identify valid devices in case of loss or theft. LoS - Line of Sight Refers to a system where transmitter and receiver are in view IMSI - International Mobile Subscriber Identity of each other without any obstruction. AM/FM radio, satellite A unique number that identifies the subscriber identification transmission, and police radar are examples of line-of-sight module (SIM) card present in the device belonging to a subscriber. communication.

Find us at www.keysight.com Page 5 LTE - Long-term Evolution MEC - Mobile Edge Computing A standard for high-speed wireless communication, having an A network architecture where more processing, especially for all-IP network architecture with download rates approaching 300 latency-sensitive applications, stays closer to the edge of the Mbps and upload rates of 75 Mbps. It was the next generation mobile network. A competing architecture to Centralized RAN network after 3G. (C-RAN).

LTE-Advanced - Long-term Evolution Advanced MIPI Also known as “LTE Release 10,” LTE-A is one of the two A collection of more than 45 standard Mobile Industry Processor mobile communication platforms officially designated by Interface (MIPI) specifications designed to accelerate development the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the first of mobile and mobile-influenced products, most commonly used 4G technology (the other is LTE-Advanced Pro). It specifies in mobile handsets. data rates of 500 Mbps maximum upload speed and 1 Gbps maximum download speed with a latency (round-trip) of 5 ms. mMTC - Massive Machine-Type Communications One of three primary 5G use cases defined in the IMT-2020 LTE-Advanced Pro vision, Massive Machine-Type Communications supports 5G Also known as 4.5G, 4.5G Pro, 4.9G, pre-5G, its feature IoT use cases with billions of connected devices and sensors. functionality is defined in 3GPP Release 13 and 14. An evolution The use case is characterized by low and infrequent of Long Term Evolution (LTE) with speeds up to 1 Gbps. LTE- bursts of data, requiring long-life batteries. Advanced Pro incorporates new functionality including 256 QAM, FD-MIMO, LTE-Unlicensed, LTE IoT, and other technologies to mmWave - Millimeter Wave evolve existing networks towards the 5G standard. The band of spectrum between 30 GHz and 300 GHz where the wavelength is on the order of millimeters. Between the LTE-LAA - Long-term Evolution Licensed Assisted microwave and infrared spectrums, mmWave is used for high- Access speed wireless communications. Part of 3GPP Release 13 and a feature of LTE Advanced Pro. It uses carrier aggregation in both the unlicensed (5 GHz) MU-MIMO - Multiple User-Multiple Input Multiple Output and licensed spectrums to increase peak user data rates and An application of multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) overall capacity of the network. technologies where the base station communicates with two or more UEs simultaneously. MIMO - Multiple Input Multiple Output An antenna diversity technique using multiple antennas on NGC/NGCN both the transmit side and receive side to take advantage of The 5G next generation core network. NGC or NGCN is multi-path propagation and improve the quality and reliability of the part of the network that provides services to mobile wireless communication. subscribers through the radio access network (RAN). It is also the gateway to other networks, for instance to the public- Massive MIMO switched telephone or to public clouds. An extension of MIMO, using more transmit and receive antennas to increase transmission gain and . NLOS - Non-line of Sight There is currently no set minimum scale, though a system An RF signal path that is obscured by obstacles. Non-line-of- with greater than 8 transmit and 8 receive antenna is generally sight is commonly caused by obstacles including buildings, considered the threshold for massive. trees, hills, and mountains.

Find us at www.keysight.com Page 6 Non-standalone NR mechanical motion and are expected to be the principle A 5G network deployment that uses existing 4G LTE radio and mmWave antennas used for 5G base stations and UEs. A evolved packet core network control plane but also allows carriers phased array antenna is formed by an array of smaller antenna to begin early trials using 5G UEs and 5G data (or user) plane. elements, such as individual patches or dipoles. By varying the relative phases and amplitudes of the signals applied to the NR - New Radio individual elements, the antenna array can shape and steer a Shorthand for “5G NR.” 5G NR is the standard for a new beam in a chosen direction. OFDM-based designed to support 5G devices, services, deployments, and spectrum. NR is used to describe Picocell 5G in the same way LTE is used to describe 4G. The 3GPP has A small cellular base station that is an alternative to a repeater three areas of focus for 5G NR: Enhanced mobile broadband or distributed antenna system to improve (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and reception indoors. ultra-reliable low-latency communications (uRLLC). QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation Numerology A modulation scheme with both digital and analog components. Refers to how cellular communications waveforms are created QAM doubles the effective bandwidth by combining two based on underlying structures. The 5G NR specification permits amplitude-modulated waveforms onto a single carrier. flexible numerology, meaning the OFDM frame can have variable subcarrier spacing, symbol timing, and flexible usage of symbol QoE - Quality of Experience A measure of the overall level of customer satisfaction with slots. 5G NR permits different numerologies to be transmitted on the network as measured by various success factors including the same carrier frequency. ease of use, reliability, security, and cost. OFDM - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing A frequency division multiplexing scheme encoding digital data QoS - Quality of Service A measure of the network’s ability to achieve specific on multiple frequency channels to increase bandwidth and performance thresholds for latency, error rate, and uptime. decrease response time. OFDM techniques allow for densely packed sub-carriers without the need for guard bands and RAN - Radio Access Network filters, increasing spectral efficiency and simplifying electronic The part of the telecommunications network that connects design. OFDM is especially good in severe channel conditions user equipment to other parts of a mobile network via a radio where narrowband interference exists. connection. Connects user equipment to the core network. OTA - Over the Air RAT - Radio Access Technology Testing the RF performance, demodulation, or RMM (radio The underlying physical connection method for a radio-based resource management) through the air interface, versus a communication network. Modern phones may support several cabled connection; often performed in an anechoic chamber. RATs in one device such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC (Near-Field PGW - Packet Data Network Gateway Communications), and 3G, 4G or LTE, and 5G. Equipment in the 4G LTE evolved packet core which connects RRH - Remote Radio Head the LTE network to other packet data networks. The component of a base station responsible for converting Phased Array Antenna the digital signal into an analog signal for transmission. The Remote Radio Head is usually located on the tower in proximity Phased array antennas are a means of creating narrow beams to the antenna(s) to minimize signal loss. and dynamically pointing them in the desired direction without

Find us at www.keysight.com Page 7 RRM - Radio Resource Management UE - User Equipment The management of radio resources and transmission A subscriber’s mobile device, such as a cell phone, tablet, or characteristics such as modulation scheme, transmit power, modem. beamforming, user allocation, data rates, handover criteria, and error coding scheme. UE Emulation The simulation of subscriber user equipment (UE) usage SDN - -defined Networking behaviors. An approach using open protocols for remote configuration of network switches and routers. UL - Uplink The path of transmission from the UE to the base station. In Standalone NR - Standalone New Radio 5G, the uplink waveform is CP-OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM. A 5G network deployment configuration where the gNB does not need any 4G assistance for connectivity to the core UPF - User Plane Function network; the 5G UE connects to the 5G next generation core The 5G equivalent of the packet gateway in a 4G LTE network. network (NGC or NGCN). The user plane function includes features to support packet routing and forwarding, interconnection to other data networks, SU-MIMO - Single User-Multiple Input Multiple Output and policy enforcement. Also known as the data plane. An application of multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) technologies for wireless communication, in which the base station uRLLC - Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications communicates with only one UE during the allotted time slice. One of three key use cases defined in 5G NR. uRLLC focuses on applications that require fail-safe, real-time communications. TDD - Time Division Duplex Examples include remote surgery, industrial internet, smart Duplex communication where the uplink is separated from grids, infrastructure protection, intelligent transportation downlink by different time slots in the same frequency band. systems and autonomous vehicles.

Transmit Diversity vEPC - Virtual EPC A technique to diminish the effects of fading by transmitting the A core network in an LTE system built with SDN-enabled same information from two or more independent sources. white-box switches and virtual network functions instead of purpose-built hardware. TTI - Transmission Time Intervals The duration of transmission allowed for a frame on a mobile Xn Interface network. 5G NR allows for different transmission time durations A logical interface that interconnects RAN nodes. That is, it based on the unique requirements of a class of traffic, creating interconnects gNB to gNB and eLTE eNB to gNB and vice versa. differentiated classes of service, similar to those found on an IP network.

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Find us at www.keysight.com Page 8 This information is subject to change without notice. © Keysight Technologies, 2018, Published in USA, June 19, 2018, 5992-2996EN