The essential 5G glossary of key terms and phrases

5G explained: The essential 5G glossary

3^rd Generation Partnership Project

Various telecommunications organizations, including AT&T and the former Nortel Networks developed the 3GPP in 1998 to create standards for 3G technology with other companies, including British Telecom. Since then, 3GPP has continued to develop standards for succeeding wireless generations, including 5G. This project uses standards based on the Global System for Mobile Communications specifications and radio access technology.

5G

Fifth-generation cellular, or 5G, is the latest generation of mobile network technology. 5G offers higher speeds, lower latency and a more uniform user experience than 4G. Many new features -- addressed in this 5G glossary -- accompany 5G.

5G Advanced

5G Advanced, the latest initiative by 3GPP, uses AI and machine learning to further improve network performance and boost 5G's speed by as much as 20%. Release 18, introduced in 2024, laid the groundwork for the standard. In 2025, Release 19 continues the evolution of Release 18, and Release 20 is a hybrid release that finalizes key 5G Advanced enhancements. 5G Advanced addresses the growth in demanding applications, such as live video streaming and other real-time applications. It's designed to enable a wider set of use cases for organizations in vertical industries -- one of the initial promises of 5G. 5G Advanced is backward-compatible, so it can coexist with current 5G New Radio releases and serve legacy 5G devices.

5G New Radio

5G NR is a set of specifications that replaces the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard. It uses enhanced OFDM and other techniques to optimize the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, thereby enhancing 5G's features and capabilities. 5G NR serves as the global standard that defines the air interface of 5G networks.

Fixed wireless

Fixed wireless broadband is an alternative to 5G cellular, providing internet access and 5G services to users in areas without fiber optic internet infrastructure. Users get access through receivers that internet service providers install in fixed locations, such as offices and homes. For fixed wireless to work, the receiver can be no farther than about 10 miles from the service provider's tower.

Latency 

Network latency refers to the amount of delay or time it takes for packets to travel between points. Latency is a key difference between 4G and 5G. 4G offers latency of 60 to 98 milliseconds and 5G promises latencies as low as 3 ms. Ultralow latency enables users to experience real-time communication, including reliable audio and video streaming, and is expected to facilitate the delivery of virtual reality, IoT and AI.

LTE

LTE is a 4G wireless standard that set the groundwork for 5G technology. It offers increased capacity and speed, as well as high peak data transfer rates. 3GPP developed the specification in 2008 to unify global wireless broadband standards. LTE supports various types of traffic, including voice, video and messaging.

Millimeter wave

MmWave is a band of radio spectrum, between 30 GHz and 300 GHz, through which high-speed broadband connections can transfer data. 5G operates on this band. MmWave spectrum travels at high frequencies in short, direct wavelengths, called line-of-sight travel. MmWave also supports high-speed, point-to-point wireless LANs. Due to the nature of mmWave, its performance and signal strength can be affected by both atmospheric changes and physical barriers, such as doors and walls.

MIMO

MIMO stands for multiple input, multiple output, a technology that uses multiple antennas to transmit and receive information. By combining available antennas at both sending and receiving locations, MIMO enables faster data speeds and reduces the likelihood of transmission errors. 5G uses massive MIMO -- an extension that uses an even greater number of transmit and receive antennas to help providers prepare their networks to support increased amounts of data. Massive MIMO boosts users' bandwidth and supports more users per antenna.

Network slicing

Network slicing is a technique that separates virtual networks into individual partitions -- or slices -- each of which supports different services and applications. Slices reside on the same hardware, but each one has its own architecture, management and security. This network overlay architecture divides the user plane and control plane, allowing the user planes to move closer to the network edge. Network slicing is a key capability of 5G that is not available in earlier generations of the standard.

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing

OFDM is a technique that encodes data on multiple carrier frequencies. It splits a single data stream over separate narrowband subchannels, each with a different frequency. The use of separate channels helps reduce and avoid interference. OFDM encoding is part of 5G's framework, with channels between 100 MHz and 800 MHz.

Radio access networks

The RAN is the part of a telecommunications network that connects user devices to various parts of a mobile network using a radio connection. The most recent iteration of RAN divides the user plane and control plane into separate elements, which enables various 5G features, such as network slicing and MIMO, to function properly.

Real-time communications

RTC, one of 5G's most heralded benefits, enables users to share information and data instantly, with little to no latency. RTC provides direct access from sources to destinations; no storage is needed.

Small cell

Small cells are physically small, low-powered radio frequency base stations that can deliver low-, medium- and high-band radio signals, including mmWave. These cells fill in 5G service gaps in areas where high-band signals might not be able to penetrate or where reliable 5G signal strength is required. Unlike cell towers, which transmit signals at very low frequencies and are spaced miles apart, small cells are located every few blocks.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include additional 5G terms.