5G • RAN
Resource Element (RE)
Resource Element
Smallest discrete unit of physical resource in 5G, consisting of 1 subcarrier by 1 OFDM symbol.
Technical Explanation
A Resource Element (RE) is identified by the index pair (k, l), where k is the subcarrier index in the frequency domain and l is the OFDM symbol index in the time domain. An RE carries exactly one modulation symbol (e.g. 2 bits in QPSK, 8 bits in 256QAM) per antenna port.
Key Functions
- Smallest physical building block of the 5G time-frequency grid
- Carries exactly 1 complex modulation symbol per spatial layer
- Individually addressed by subcarrier index k and symbol index l
Specifications
3GPP TS 38.211
Interfaces
Uu
Related 5G Concepts
Want to memorize 5G concepts like this one?
Study it with SuperMemo SM-2 spaced repetition flashcards.