What Is The Difference Between LTE And 5G NR Resource Block

What Is The Difference Between LTE And 5G NR Resource Block

What Is The Difference Between LTE And NR Resource Block is quite simple. In LTE a resource block is two dimensional while in 5G NR a resource block is one dimensional.

Resource Block in LTE

So, resource block in LTE is measured in both time domain and frequency domain. A resource block in LTE consists of 12 sub carriers in frequency domain and one slot in time domain

Resource Block in 5G NR

Resource block in 5G is one dimensional. This means NR resource block consists of only 12 sub carriers in frequency domain.

Why NR Has Only  Subcarriers In Resource Block

The reason behind 5G resource block having only frequency domain is the flexibility in time duration for different transmission.

How UE Finds the Resource Block In 5G NR ?

To decode resource block, the device needs to where in the carrier the resource blocks are located. In LTE it is straightforward as there is only one numerology and all devices support full bandwidth. So finding resource block is simple after initial synchronization.  But this gets little bit complicated in 5g NR. In 5G NR all devices does not support full carrier bandwidth. There is a concept of Bandwidth part in 5G which will be explained in next blog. In 5G NR we have different numerologies.

So, to decode a resource block in 5G, the device needs to know the reference point known as Point A and the notion of two types of resource blocks, physical resource block and common resource block. Reference point A coincides with sub carrier 0 of common resource block 0 for all sub carrier spacings.

The physical resource blocks which actual signal transmitted

Click here for 5G NR Physical layer Overview: Numerologies, waveform and frame structure.