5G Network Architecture

Explore 5G Network Architecture with in-depth guides on NSA vs SA, 5G Core (5GC), EPC, network slicing, and 3GPP deployment options (Option 1–7). Learn how telecom operators design, deploy, and evolve 5G networks, including migration strategies from 4G to 5G, real-world use cases, and future-ready architectures.

Chapter 8. 5G Service Based Architecture

Learn the 5G service based architecture, service based interfaces, HTTP/2 and REST, NRF service discovery and the SCP, plus how Diameter and SBA really differ. Chapter 8. 5G Service Based Architecture.

Chapter 7. 5G System Architecture

Understand the 5G System architecture end to end, covering the access, transport and core domains, the N2, N3 and N4 interfaces, and how EPC and 5GC really differ. Chapter 7. 5G System Architecture.

Chapter 6. 5G Spectrum and Open RAN

Understand 5G spectrum bands, TDD and FDD duplexing, spectrum sharing and the O-RAN architecture with its Near-RT and Non-RT RIC controllers, xApps and rApps. Chapter 5. 5G Spectrum and Open RAN.

Chapter 5. 5G Radio Technologies

LTE fixed the subcarrier spacing at fifteen kilohertz for everyone. New Radio lets you choose, and that single change is how 5G delivers one millisecond latency. This chapter explains numerology and why doubling the spacing halves the slot, the frame structure that never changed, the real difference between massive MIMO and beamforming, and what bandwidth parts do for battery life and device cost. It closes with dynamic spectrum sharing and a direct comparison of LTE radio wi

Chapter 4. NG-RAN Architecture

In LTE the base station was a box. In 5G it is a logical node you can take apart and spread across three locations. This chapter explains exactly which protocol layers run in the Central Unit, the Distributed Unit and the Radio Unit, why 3GPP studied eight functional splits but only two reached deployment, and what that split really costs you in fibre. You will also learn what F1, NG and Xn connect, and which of them is not a 3GPP interface at all.

Chapter 3. 3GPP Releases and 5G Deployment Options

Option 3x. Option 2. NSA and SA. These terms get used in meetings every day, and half the room is guessing. This chapter fixes that. Learn how 3GPP turns a study item into a frozen specification, what each release from 15 to 19 actually delivered, and why the difference between Non Standalone and Standalone has nothing to do with the radio. Then follow the migration path operators really walked, including why voice turned out to be the hardest part.

Chapter 2. Need of 5G and IMT Service Requirements

Everyone quotes twenty gigabits per second. Very few can say where that number came from or why no live network will ever show it. This chapter follows the chain from ITU requirement to operator KPI. You will learn all eight IMT-2020 capability targets, why they conflict with each other by design, and how eMBB, URLLC and mMTC turn that conflict into three usable network behaviours. Then we map real enterprise and consumer use cases onto the category each one actually depends

Chapter 1. Evolution of Mobile Networks ( 2G to 5G )

5G is not a faster 4G. It is a different kind of network. This chapter traces the full path from 2G GSM through 3G UMTS and 4G LTE to the 5G System, showing what each generation solved and exactly where the LTE architecture ran out of room. You will learn why the Evolved Packet Core could not deliver slicing, edge breakout or enterprise isolation, how Service Based Architecture answers that, and how every 4G network function maps to its 5G successor.