Applicable Products

Objectives

The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SNYPER-5G Graphyte may need a SIM card to give more rounded survey results.

5G NR (New Radio) communication

5G is the fifth-generation wireless cellular technology, developed by 3GPP with faster speeds, higher capacity, lower latency, and increased reliability compared to 4G (LTE) architecture. It is designed to support a wider range of devices and applications, from smartphones to smart cities to driverless cars, generally the Internet of Things (IoT). There are two architectures that Network Operators employ for 5G network cellular communications.

NSA (Non-Stand Alone) and SA (Stand Alone)

• The NSA architecture was devised so that the operators could use the existing 4G (LTE) structure to take advantage of 5G. When a 5G call is made using NSA, the signals use 4G (LTE) to connect to the cells. The LTE cells then convert this to the 5G capable equipment to make use of the low latency and high bandwidth that 5G offers. Basically, 5G NSA is backwards compatible with 4G (LTE)

 

• The SA architecture (a 5G only infrastructure) was deployed around 2023 for operators to use for 5G capable equipment. This makes full use of 5G capabilities.

Why is it sometimes necessary to use a SIM card when using SNYPER 5G

SNYPER 5G, like all SNYPER Cellular Signal Strength analysers, surveys all the nearby cells without a SIM card and shows which networks are stronger in a specific area to allow the user to choose the best SIM card/Network for their cellular real estate.

When running a survey, the SNYPER 5G will show all cells using 5G (SA) and LTE technologies. It is however, incapable of showing 5G NSA communication, as it cannot “see” which 4G (LTE) cell was used to pass on the 5G signal (since network operators use the LTE infrastructure for the initial connection), then communicate with 5G capable equipment.

To overcome this issue, the SNYPER 5G should be equipped with a 5G SIM card. The SIM card then decodes which 4G LTE cell was used for 5G communication.

It should be noted that when using a SIM card in SNYPER 5G the results will only show the cells from the network that the SIM card belongs to. To overcome this, it is recommended that a Roaming SIM card is used, although the results will be limited to the networks that the Roaming SIM card can connect to.