5G • RAN
CP-OFDM
Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
Baseline multicarrier modulation scheme utilized for both downlink and uplink transmissions in 5G New Radio.
Technical Explanation
Unlike 4G LTE which mandated SC-FDMA in the uplink to conserve power, 5G NR adopts CP-OFDM in both downlink and uplink. It enables high spectral efficiency, simple MIMO spatial multiplexing receiver architectures, and seamless multi-stream scheduling across wide bandwidths.
Key Functions
- Serves as default modulation waveform for DL and UL in 5G NR
- Eliminates Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) via cyclic prefix insertion
- Enables multi-stream MIMO spatial multiplexing up to 8 layers
Specifications
3GPP TS 38.211
Interfaces
Uu
Related 5G Concepts
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