t from the deployment of small cells. In the following scenario, small cells are providing augmented indoor coverage where in-building penetration of the macro cell, especially in high-frequency range, might be quite difficult. Consequently, these small cells are deployed within a building to improve indoor coverage and capacity in some cases. However, for 5G, indoor coverage is an important aspect of small cells and indeed outdoor small cells will be routinely deployed. There are macro-level RAN nodes and small cells with the outdoor small cell deployment approach. These macro-level RAN nodes act as the master RAN nodes, whereas the small cells act as the secondary RAN node within the dual connectivity deployment. As the UE moves through the network, the blue line shows us the coverage that is experienced from the macro-level RAN nodes. The small cells provide data rate boosts to the UE as it moves through them. Therefore, in a dense urban environment, these small cells, which may only have a range of hundreds of meters, can provide that augmented data rate boost to the network while increasing the overall capacity. Master RAN Node providing macro coverage Macro Site Small cells providing data boosts (((p))) (((p))) (((p))) Figure 1.9 - Macro coverage with small cells These small cells can be set on the top of street poles, street furniture, lampposts, and SO on. Small cells are a strong deployment option for service providers to really achieve the data rates expected for 5G. 5G NR and NG-RAN Increased spectrum In meeting the target of 100 megabits per second as a mean data rate, or potentially 20 Gbps as a peak data rate, it is essential for the service providers to have access to a more licensed spectrum. Consequently, the licensed spectrum bands that are being considered for 5G operation have been greatly increased. For 5G deployments, there are several bands in use. They are below 1 GHz, 1-6 GHz, and 6-100 GHz bands. The below 1 GHz and 1-6 GHz bands are not new, and they are used by service providers quite 