The Race to 5G Era; LTE and Wi-Fi

We are on the brink of a new era for the wireless telecommunications, an era that will change the way that business is done. The fifth generation (5G) systems will be the first realization in this new digital era where the various networks will be interconnected forming a unified system. With support for higher capacity as well as low-delay and machine-type communication services, the 5G networks will significantly improve performance over the current fourth generation (4G) systems and will also offer seamless connectivity to numerous devices by integrating different technologies, intelligence, and flexibility. In addition to ongoing 5G standardization activities and technologies under consideration in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)-based technologies operating on unlicensed bands, will also be an integral part of a 5G eco-system. Along with the 3GPP-based cellular technology, the IEEE standards and technologies are also evolving to keep pace with the user demands and new 5G services. In this paper, we provide an overview of the evolution of the cellular and Wi-Fi standards over the last decade with a particular focus on the Medium Access Control and Physical layers, and highlight the ongoing activities in both camps driven by the 5G requirements and use-cases.