ITU drafts 5G specs: 20Gbps downloads, 4ms latency per cell

According to the latest draft report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) published on Thursday, the upcoming 5G standard must support one million connected devices per square kilometer and each single 5G cell will be required to have a total download capacity of 20Gbps.

Although the report is currently a draft, it is likely that the technical requirements for 5G will be approved this November. At that time, telecoms and chipset manufacturers can truly begin building the necessary technologies to power their 5G networks and devices. 5G will require at least 10Gbps uplink per each single cell.

IoT is currently an emerging technology but once more consumers and businesses adopt it, 5G networks will need to be adequately prepared to handle the increased demand.

Latency will also be improved by the new standard with the maximum latency of 5G set at 4ms. Currently LTE cells have a much higher maximum latency of 20ms. The ITU has even called for a 1ms latency for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC).

5G technology is still a ways off from being ready for consumer devices but this report does offer us a clear idea of what to expect over the course of the next two years as manufacturers and telecoms prepare to implement it in their networks and devices.

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