The 5G networks expected to start in 2020 will...

bandwidth at the start, and need to expand to 1 GHz to accommodate increasing data, voice and video traffic, he said. The goal will be to create a network with standard 1 Gbps download speeds and peaks reaching 10 Gbps, Benjebbour said. To achieve the faster speeds, most networks will rely on a system of main cellular towers with a range of 500 meters surrounded and connected via fiber to smaller microcells, each with up to 100 small antennas and a range of 10-15 meters. The system would allow the microcells to carry the high-frequency bandwidth for data and voice, leaving the larger towers free for video, including Ultra HD, said an NTT Docomo spokesman. The larger towers could be surrounded by up to 36 microcells in denser configurations, NTT Docomo officials said. The 5G networks “need to exist for about 10 years, so we need to have systems that are extensible for both short term and long term,” Benjebbour said: “The high-frequency band will go through the microcells because the larger base stations are already overloaded by hardware. The data and voice will need to be handled separately by the smaller cells, but as the system evolves there will be no difference” between the microcells and larger towers. The frequency used for 5G will likely be sorted out by the ITU, which sets standards for mobile networks and has its World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva in 2015, Benjebbour said. A 5G standard could be set by 2018, allowing the start of service two years later, he said. “It will depend on a worldwide harmonization” of standards for 5G, and “some interesting bets are already being realized by existing systems,” Benjebbour said. Among those pushing 5G technology, in addition to NTT Docomo, are Samsung and China’s Huawei.