What is Network Frequency Band ? 2G 3G 4G Vs 5G Evolution. Mobile Data Network

In this Discussion Topics are covered for the Mobile Data Networks 2G 3G 4G Vs 5G Evolution.

1G – 1st Generation
2G – 2nd Generation
3G – 3rd Generation
4G – 4th Generation
5G – 5th Generation – Upcoming

The aim of wireless communication is to provide high quality, reliable communication. The evolution of network spectrum journey was started in 1979. From 1st Gen. and it is still continuing to 5th Gen. Each of the Generations have some standards & rules that must be followed to officially use the G term for it’s name. Each Generation has requirements & parameters that specifies throughput, delay, etc. All the mentioned parameters need to met, before considering it a part of that generation. Each Generation introduced upon the research and development in the previous generation. As the 1G was not used to identify Wireless Technology until 2G was released against it. That was the major jump in the technology when the wireless networks went from Analog To Digital. Thus, how 2G 3G 4G Vs 5G Evolution began.

1G – First Generation

This was the first generation of Cell Phone Technology.
The very first generation of commercial cellular network was introduced in the late 70’s with fully implemented standards being established throughout the 80’s.
It was introduced in 1987 by Telecom (known today as Telstra),
Australia received its first cellular mobile phone network utilising a 1G Analog System.
1G is an analog technology and the phones generally had poor battery life and voice quality was large without much security, and would sometimes experience dropped calls.
These are the analog telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s and continued until being replaced by 2G digital telecommunications.
The maximum speed of 1G is 4 Kbps.

2G – Second Generation

Cell phones received their first major upgrade when they went from 1G to 2G. The main difference between the two mobile telephone systems (1G and 2G), is that the radio signals used by 1G network are Analog, while 2G networks are Digital.
Main motive of this generation was to provide secure and reliable communication channel.
It implemented the concept of CDMA and GSM. Provided small data service like SMS and MMS.
2^nd Generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj) in 1991.
2G capabilities are achieved by allowing multiple users on a single channel via multiplexing.
During 2G Cellular phones are used for data also along with voice.
The advance in technology from 1G to 2G introduced many of the fundamental services that we still use today, such as SMS, internal roaming, conference calls, call hold and billing based on services e.g. charges based on long distance calls and real time billing.
The max speed of 2G with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is 50 Kbps or 1 Mbps with Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).
Before making the major leap from 2G to 3G wireless networks, the lesser-known 2.5G and 75G was an interim standard that bridged the gap.

Summary of keyfeatures of 2G,

2G, first introduced in 1992.
Data speeds of up to 64 kbps
Use of digital signals instead of analog
Enabled services such as SMS and MMS (Multimedia Message)
Provided better quality voice calls
It used a bandwidth of 30 to 200 KHz

3G – Third Generation

This generation set the standards for most of the wireless technology we have come to know and love. Web browsing, email, video downloading, picture sharing and other Smartphone technology were introduced in the 3^rd generation.
Introduced commercially in 2001, the goals set out for third generation mobile communication were to facilitate greater voice and data capacity, support a wider range of applications, and increase data transmission at a lower cost .
The 3G standard utilises a new technology called UMTS as its core network architecture – Universal Mobile Telecommunications System.
This network combines aspects of the 2G network with some new technology and protocols to deliver a significantly faster data rate. Based on a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunications use services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union.
One of requirements set by IMT-2000 was that speed should be at least 200Kbps to call it as 3G service.
3G has Multimedia services support along with streaming are more popular.
In 3G, Universal access and portability across different device types became possible (Telephones, PDA’s, etc.).
3G increased the efficiency of frequency spectrum by compressing the audio during a call. So, Compressed Audio increased the number of calls in the same frequency range.
The UN’s International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard requires stationary speeds of 2Mbps and mobile speeds of 384kbps for a “true” 3G.
The theoretical max speed for HSPA+ is 21.6 Mbps.

Like 2G, 3G evolved into 3.5G and 3.75G, the more features introduced in order to bring latest generation 4G. 3G Network phone cannot communicate through a 4G network, But newer 4G phones are backward compatible. It means 4G phones can communicate through a 3G or even 2G network.

Summary of 3G,

3G networks offering faster data transfer rates and are the first to enable video calls.
This makes them especially suitable for use in modern smartphones, which require constant high-speed internet connection for many of their applications.
Speed of up to 2 Mbps
Increased bandwidth and data transfer rates
Send/receive large email messages
Large capacities and broadband capabilities

4G – Fourth Generation

The purpose of 4G is to provide high speed, high quality and high capacity to users while improving security and lower the cost of voice and data services, multimedia and internet over IP.
Current applications includes mobile web access, IP Telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, 3D television, and cloud computing.
The key technologies that have made this possible are
- MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and
- OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing).
The two important 4G standards are
- WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) and
- LTE (Long Term Evolution) – has seen widespread deployment.

LTE (Long Term Evolution)

Here, LTE is a series of upgrades to existing UMTS technology and will be rolled out on Telstra’s existing 1800MHz frequency band.
The max speed of a 4G network when the device is moving is 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps for low mobility communication like when stationary or walking, latency reduced from around 300ms to less than 100ms, and significantly lower congestion.
When 4G first became available, it was simply a little faster than 3G.
4G is not the same as 4G LTE which is very close to meeting the criteria of the standards. To download a new game or stream a TV show in HD, you can do it without buffering.
New phone comes with backward-compatibile networks. It means a 4G phone can communicate through a 3G or even 2G network.
All carriers seem to agree that OFDM is one of the chief indicators that a service can be legitimately marketed as being 4G.
Here, OFDM is a type of digital modulation in which a signal is splitted into several narrow-band channels at different frequencies. There are a significant amount of infrastructure changes needed to be implemented by service providers in order to supply because voice calls in GSM, UMTS and CDMA2000 are circuit switched, so with the adoption of LTE, carriers will have to re-engineer their voice call network. And again, we have the fractional parts: 5G and 4.9G marking the transition of LTE (in the stage called LTE-Advanced Pro) getting us more MIMO, more D2D on the way to IMT-2020 and the requirements of 5G.

Summary of 4G,

4G is the fourth generation of mobile phone communications standards.
It is a successor of the 3G and provides ultra-broadband internet access for mobile devices.
The high data transfer rates make 4G networks suitable for use in USB wireless modems for laptops and even home internet access.

5G – Fifth Generation

5G is a generation currently under development, that’s due to improve 4G. The 5G promises significantly faster data rates, higher connection density, much lower latency, among other improvements.
Some of the plans for 5G include device-to-device communication, better battery consumption, and improved overall wireless coverage.
The max speed of 5G is aimed at being as fast as 46 Gbps, which is over 35 times faster than 4G.
Key technologies to look out for: Massive MIMO, Millimetre Wave Mobile Communications
Massive MIMO, millimetre wave, small cells, Li-Fi all the new technologies from the previous decade could be used to give 10 Gb/s to a user, with an unseen low latency, and allow connections for at least 100 billion devices. Different estimations have been made for the date of commercial introduction of 5G networks. Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance feel that 5G should be rolled out by 2020 to meet business and consumer demands.