5G TERMS AND ACRONYMS

CUPS – Control user plane separation

What is CUPS? CUPS is the architectural principle in 5G (and evolved 4G) that decouples the control plane (signalling and session management) from the user

Data plane

What is Data Plane? The data plane (also called the user plane) is the part of a telecommunications network responsible for carrying user traffic —

DFF – Direct far field

What is DFF? DFF (Direct Far Field) is an over-the-air (OTA) test method used in 5G device and antenna testing. It involves mounting the device

DFT-s-OFDM – Discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

What is DFT-s-OFDM? DFT-s-OFDM is an uplink waveform option in 5G NR that reduces peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) by approximately 4–6 dB compared to standard

DL – Downlink

What is DL – Downlink? Downlink (DL) is the transmission direction from the base station (gNB in 5G) to the User Equipment (UE). It is

DUT – Device under test

What is DUT? DUT (Device Under Test) is a generic term used in telecommunications and electronics testing to refer to the specific device being evaluated.

E-UTRAN – Evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network

What is E-UTRAN? E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) is the radio access network of the 4G LTE system, consisting of a network of

Edge Cloud

What is Edge Cloud? Edge Cloud is a network and IT architecture where compute, storage, and networking resources are distributed across multiple sites closer to

EIRP – Effective isotropic radiated power

What is EIRP? EIRP is the total radiated power of a transmitting antenna system in its maximum gain direction, referenced to an ideal isotropic radiator.

eLTE eNB

What is eLTE eNB? An eLTE eNB is an evolved 4G eNodeB that has been upgraded to support connectivity to both the legacy 4G Evolved

eMBB – Enhanced mobile broadband

One of three primary use cases defined in the IMT-2020 vision. Enhanced Mobile Broadband refers to target 5G peak and average data rates, capacity, and

eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband)

What is eMBB? eMBB is one of the three primary 5G use case categories defined in ITU-R’s IMT-2020 framework. It targets significantly higher data rates,

EN-DC

What is EN-DC? EN-DC (also called Option 3x) is the most widely deployed early 5G architecture. It allows a UE to simultaneously maintain connections to

EN-DC – E-UTRAN New Radio – dual connectivity

What is EN-DC? EN-DC (also called Option 3x) is the most widely deployed early 5G architecture. It allows a UE to simultaneously maintain connections to

en-gNB

What is en-gNB? An en-gNB (E-UTRA-NR gNB) is a 5G NR base station node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards

eNB – Evolved Node B or eNodeB

What is eNB? The eNB (eNodeB) is the 4G LTE base station. Unlike 3G where the NodeB and Radio Network Controller (RNC) were separate, the

EPC – Evolved packet core

What is EPC? The EPC is the all-IP core network architecture for 4G LTE, standardised in 3GPP Release 8. It handles subscriber authentication, mobility management,

EPS – Evolved packet system

What is EPS? EPS (Evolved Packet System) is the complete end-to-end 4G system architecture comprising the radio access network (E-UTRAN) and the core network (EPC).