NR: The New 5G Radio Access Technology

This article provides an overview of the technology components and capabilities of the New Radio (NR) radio interface standard currently under development by 3GPP. NR will enable new use cases, requiring further enhanced data rates, latency, coverage, capacity, and reliability. This needs to be accomplished with improved network energy performance and the ability to exploit spectrum in very high frequency bands. Key technology components to reach these targets include flexible numerology, latency-optimized frame structure, massive MIMO, interworking between high and low frequency bands, and ultra-lean transmissions. Preliminary evaluations indicate that, with these technology components, NR can reach the 5G targets.