In wireless, the technical changes have been more of an evolutionary nature, unlike the revolution of wireline domain. Just like most technologies have started from the core and expanded to the edge, wireless has followed the same pattern. Only recently, have the end users started to enjoy Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and WiFi. When it comes to wireless, there is a plethora of acronyms which can scare even the brave of hearts. An attempt has been made to make sense of the evolution of 3G. In mobile telephony, third-generation protocols support much higher data rates, measured in Mbps, intended for applications other than voice. 3G networks' trials started in Japan in 2001. 3G networks started in Europe and part of Asia/Pacific by 2002 and in the US later. 3G supports bandwidth-hungry applications such as full-motion video, video-conferencing and full Internet access. It is CDMA-based and 3G services were developed under the IMT-2000 blueprint of the International Telecommunication Union. While 3G has been slow in its deployment, the new generation of 'smart phones' will push it to grow in this decade.

0 G

0G refers to pre-cellular mobile telephony technology. These mobile telephones were usually mounted in vehicles, and briefcase models were also made. The transceiver (transmitter-receiver) was mounted in the vehicle trunk and attached to the "head" (dial, display, and handset) mounted near the driver seat.

They were sold through Wireline Common Carriers (WCCs), also known as the telephone companies, Radio Common Carriers (RCCs), and two-way radio dealers. Users included loggers, construction foremen, realtors, and celebrities. One such technology is the Autoradiopuhelin (ARP) launched in 1971 in Finland as the country's first public commercial mobile phone network. Standards included Push to Talk (PTT), Mobile Telephone System (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone System (IMTS), Advanced Mobile Telephone System, Public Automated Land Mobile (PALM) and Autoradiopuhelin (ARP).

1 G

1G is short for First Generation wireless telephone technology. These are the analog cellphone standards that were introduced in the 80s and later replaced by 2G digital cellphones. Standard included Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT), used in Nordic countries, Eastern Europe and Russia, Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) used in the United States, Total Access Communications System(TACS) in the United Kingdom.

2 G

2G stands for Second Generation wireless telephony. While 1G networks process analog data, 2G networks are digital. This allowed for better voice quality (less distortion), and increased call capacity (multiplexing). 2G is the current generation of full digital mobile phone systems. It transmits Primarily voice but is used for circuit-switched data service and SMS as well.

In US, Sprint was the pioneer in 2G but called it Personal Communications Service (PCS). Depending upon the type of multiplexing used, 2G technologies can be divided into Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-based standards. TDMA based standards include Global System for Mobile (GSM), which started from EU but spread globally, IDEN, proprietary network used by Nextel in the US and Telus Mobility in Canada, IS-136 also known as D-AMPS or simply TDMA in the Americas and PDC used in Japan. CDMA based standards include IS-95 also called cdmaOne, or just CDMA, and are used in America and parts of Asia.

2.5 G

As the name suggests, 2.5G is a stop-gap arrangement between 2G and 3G cellular wireless technologies and this term was coined by marketing having no official standing. It refers to the existing 2G-systems that have implemented a packet switched domain in addition to the circuit switched 2G infrastructure in GSM and CDMA networks. The commonly known 2.5G technique is GPRS. WAP falls under 2.5.

3 G

3G is the Third Generation of mobile phone systems. They provide both packet-switched and circuit-switched domains from the beginning. It requires a new access network, different from that already available in 2G systems. Some protocols such as EDGE for GSM and CDMA2000 1x-RTT for CDMA, officially qualify as "3G" services (because they have a data rate of above 144 kbit/s). Some of the standards include W-CDMA, UMTS, FOMA, CDMA2000, 1xEV and TD-SCDMA. A number of TELCOS around the world offer this. In the interest of simplicity, 3.5G and 3.75G (yes) must be mentioned under 3G. Familiar standard under 3.5G is High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) a packet-based data service in W-CDMA downlink with data transmission up to 8-10 Mbit/s, and under 3.75G is High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), a data access protocol for mobile phone networks with upload speeds up to 5.8 Mbit/s.

4 G

4G refers to the Fourth Generation wireless access technology. It describes two different but overlapping ideas. First, high-speed mobile wireless access with a very high data transmission speed, (up to 20 Mbps). It has been used to describe wireless LAN technologies like Wi-Fi, as well as other potential successors of the current 3G mobile telephone standards. Second, Pervasive networks; a concept where the user can be simultaneously connected to several wireless access technologies and can seamlessly move between them (handover). These access technologies can be Wi-Fi, UMTS, EDGE or any other future access technology. Included in this concept is also smart-radio technology to efficiently manage spectrum use and transmission power as well as the use of mesh routing protocols to create a pervasive network.

What will come after 4G? Your guess is as good as mine, but I am sure someday we will be enjoying it and writing about that.

The writer is a BSc. (EE) from USA and is completing his MBA. He is MCSE, CCNA, NGDLC, ATM and NGN certified. He has worked in Telecommunications sector, and taught at various universities. Currently he is working as a Telecom/IT Consultant in UAE and running an online Telecom/IT newsletter (htt://www.farooq.com.pk).
He can be reached at info@farooq.com.pk