4.2.4. 5G

Cellular networks such as GSM, GPRS, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, and 5G have high data rate communication and bandwidth. This characteristic facilitates the transfer of a huge amount of data. Therefore, these technologies can be used in applications such as interchange among smart meters, MG control center, and supervisory level of the main grid, i.e., DMS in WAN environments. High-cost licensed spectrum and the uncertainty of stable connectivity in severe weather conditions are drawbacks of this technology, although cellular technologies could defeat interference and security issues of free bands by applying licensed bands. Cellular communication, which was initially introduced in the 1980s based on analogue signal communication, has been developed to IP-based communication such as 4G and 5G for increasing bandwidth and sustaining real-time communication. 4G, which is called Long-Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), increased the data rate of its predecessor generation, i.e., 3G from the range of 2–14 Mbps to the range of 100 Mbps-1 Gbps as well as latency and improvement of infrastructure energy consumption. Meanwhile, noticeable advancement in this technology is happening by the introduction of 5G to facilitate IoT application penetration in MGMS. The high performance of 5G has three characteristics, including Millimeter-Wave (mm-Wave), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), and ultra-dense cellular network. This technology brings benefits such as lower latency, higher bandwidth, a larger number of participants and nodes in MGMS, higher security, and so on. Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-reliable and Low-latency Communications (uRLLC), and Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) are services offered by 5G as The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) determined. While an eMBB service is a response to individual aspects of the world digitalization communication requirements, uRLLC and mMTC are related to higher scales of this trend, including industry and society aspects, respectively. Hence eMBB provides higher bandwidths for applications such as 3D and High-Definition (HD) Video and Virtual Reality (VR). This ultra-bandwidth can reach to 10 Gbps. On the other hand, uRLLC offers low latency limited to 1 ms for time and reliability sensitive applications such as driverless cars and industrial automation. Finally, mMTC represents the number of connected devices up to 1 million/km2, facilitates the implementation of smart homes and smart cities [50].
