Why 5G Core Is Needed
- Overview
5G Core (5GC) is crucial because it enables advanced applications like mission-critical services, Industry 4.0, and IoT by providing high speed, ultra-low latency, and high reliability through a new 3GPP architecture.
It supports applications such as better video streaming, remote healthcare, and autonomous vehicles, and is built with flexible, cloud-native technologies that allow for greater power efficiency and flexibility than 4G core.
Key benefits and features of 5GC:
1. Enhanced performance: Offers faster connectivity, significantly lower latency, higher bit rates, and improved reliability.
2. Enabling advanced applications: Facilitates mission-critical applications, Industry 4.0, and massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployments.
3. Specific use cases: Improves video streaming, voice calls, and enables safer transportation, remote healthcare, precision agriculture, and digitized logistics.
4. Architectural advantages:
- Uses a cloud-native, service-based architecture (SBA).
- Decouples the control and user planes for greater flexibility and efficiency.
- Supports network slicing to create customized virtual networks for specific services.
5. Improved efficiency: Designed to be more power-efficient and supports better energy management.
6. Modernized core: Functions are similar to 4G core but leverage modern cloud-native technologies for deployment on private or public clouds, improving flexibility and scalability.
- Why You Need A 5G Core
You need a 5G Core (5GC) to unlock the full potential of 5G because it is the central component that enables advanced features like ultra-low latency, high throughput, and massive device connectivity, which are crucial for applications like industrial IoT, autonomous vehicles, and remote surgery.
While Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G can use existing 4G networks, a 5G Core is necessary for Standalone (SA) 5G to deliver the performance, reliability, and flexibility required for next-generation services and to simplify network operations.
Key reasons to need a 5G Core:
- Enables 5G's full potential: The 5G Core is the fundamental part of a 5G network that is required to achieve ultra-low latency, high throughput, and massive connection density that the 5G New Radio (NR) alone cannot deliver.
- Supports advanced applications: It provides the capabilities for mission-critical applications such as industrial automation, remote surgery, smart grids, and self-driving vehicles, which require ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC).
- Enhances user experience: The 5G Core improves end-user experience by enabling faster connectivity speeds, better reliability, and more personalized services.
- Simplifies operations and service creation: It uses a cloud-native, microservices-based architecture that allows for automation, dynamic scaling, and easier service creation, which simplifies network operations and increases agility.
- Provides greater network flexibility: The 5G Core enables end-to-end network slicing, which allows communication service providers to dedicate network resources to specific use cases or services with different service level agreements (SLAs).
[More to come ...]

