NIL IP CORNER

FIRST-MILE WIRELESS:
WHICH (G)ENERATION?
Robert Lesar, NIL

www.NIL.com
 FIRST-MILE WIRELESS: WHICH (G)ENERATION?
by Robert Lesar, CCIE/ CCSI at NIL Data Communications Ltd

Introduction
While some acronyms are just techno-babble that the layperson needn’t master, others are important for everyday
understanding. Though the expressions 1G, 2G, 2.5G and 4G might never have popped into your head, 3G very
likely has, given today’s emphasis on high-speed data usage from mobile phones. But what’s the difference
between all these technologies, and how do they affect you? This article will help you to understand and distinguish
between these systems.

1G
Remember analog brick phones and bag phones way, way back in the day? Cell phones began with 1G. In the world
of cell phones, the term 1G signifies first-generation wireless analog technology standards that originated in the
1980s. 1G was replaced by 2G (short for second generation) wireless digital standards.
1G was the first generation of wireless telephone technology — mobile telecommunications. The main difference
between the two successful mobile telephone systems, 1G and 2G, is that the radio signals that 1G networks use
are analog, while 2G networks are digital.

FIGURE 1: The antecedent to 1G technology is the mobile radio telephone, or 0G.

2G
Cell phones received their first major upgrade when they went from 1G to 2G. In the world of cell phones, the term
2G signifies second-generation wireless digital technology. 2G networks saw their first commercial light of day on
the GSM standard. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile communications. 2G on GSM standards were first used
in commercial practice in 1991. In addition to the GSM protocol, 2G also utilizes various other digital protocols,
including Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Integrated Digital Enhanced
Network (iDEN) and Personal Digital Cellular (PDC). GSM is based on TDMA.
Three primary benefits of 2G networks over their predecessors were that phone conversations were digitally
encrypted; 2G systems were significantly more efficient on the spectrum, allowing for greater mobile phone
penetration levels; and 2G introduced data services for mobile, starting with SMS text messages.
After 2G was launched, the previous mobile telephone systems were retrospectively dubbed 1G. Whereas radio
signals are analog on 1G networks, and digital on 2G networks, both systems use digital signaling to connect their
radio towers to the rest of the telephone system.

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 FIGURE 2: 2G cell phones

2G technologies
2G technologies can be divided into TDMA-based and CDMA-based standards, depending on the type of multiplexing
used. The main 2G standards are as follows:
z GSM (TDMA-based) is used on all six of the major inhabited continents.
z IS-95, a.k.a. cdmaOne (CDMA-based), is used in the Americas and parts of Asia.
z PDC (TDMA-based) is used exclusively in Japan.
z iDEN (TDMA-based) is a proprietary network used by Nextel in the United States and Telus Mobility in
Canada.
z IS-136, a.k.a. Digital AMPS or D-AMPS (TDMA-based), was once prevalent in the Americas, but most have
migrated to GSM.
2.5G services enable high-speed data transfer over upgraded existing 2G networks. Beyond 2G is 3G, with higher
data speeds, and even evolutions beyond 3G, such as 4G.

2.5G
Before making the major leap from 2G to 3G wireless networks, the lesser-known 2.5G interim standard was used.
In the world of cell phones, 2.5G wireless technology is a stepping stone that bridged 2G to 3G wireless technology.
While 2G and 3G have been formally defined as wireless standards, 2.5G has not been, and was created only for
the purposes of marketing. As an interim step from 2G to 3G, 2.5G saw some of the advances inherent in 3G
networks (including packet-switched systems). The evolution from 2G to 3G ushered in faster and higher-capacity
data transmission.

NOTE:
2.5G does not necessarily provide faster services, because bundling of timeslots is used
for circuit-switched data services as well.

2.5G provides some of the benefits of 3G and can use some of the existing 2G infrastructure in GSM and CDMA
networks. General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a 2.5G technology used by GSM operators. Some protocols, such
as Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) for GSM and CDMA2000 1x-RTT for CDMA, can qualify as 3G
services because they have a data rate of above 144 kbit/sec, but are considered by most people to be 2.5G
services (or 2.75G, which sounds even more sophisticated) because they are several times slower than "true" 3G
services.

3G
Following 2.5G, 3G ushered in faster data-transmission speeds, so cell phones could be used in more data-
demanding ways. This has meant streaming video, audio and much more. Cell phone companies today are spending
a lot of money to brand the importance of their 3G networks. But what is 3G, really, and where did it come from?
3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology. 3G supersedes 2G technology. 2.5G was a
temporary bridge between 2G and 3G. 3G technologies enabled faster data-transmission speeds, greater network
capacity and more advanced network services. The first pre-commercial 3G network was launched on May 2001,
and the first commercial launch of 3G in Japan followed on Oct. 1 of the same year.
International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000), better known as 3G or 3rd Generation, is a family of
standards for mobile telecommunications defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which
includes GSM EDGE, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and CDMA2000, as well as Digital
Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) and WiMAX. Services include wide-area wireless voice telephone,
video calls and wireless data — all in a mobile environment. Compared to 2G and 2.5G services, 3G allows
simultaneous use of speech and data services and higher data rates (up to 14.0 Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8
Mbit/s on the uplink). Thus, 3G networks enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced
services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency.

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 3G Features
Data rates - ITU has not provided a clear definition of the data rate that users can expect from 3G equipment or
providers. Thus, users who are sold 3G service may not be able to point to a standard and say that the rates it
specifies are not being met. While stating in commentary that "[…]it is expected that IMT-2000 will provide higher
transmission rates: a minimum data rate of 2 Mbit/s for stationary or walking users, and 348 kbit/s in a moving
vehicle," the ITU does not actually clearly specify minimum or average rates or what modes of the interfaces qualify
as 3G, so various rates are sold as 3G, intended to meet customers’ expectations of broadband data.
Security - 3G networks offer a greater degree of security than that of their 2G predecessors, by allowing the user’s
equipment to authenticate the network to which it is attaching.

Applications
3G offers a wide range of applications, which are mainly made possible due to the enhanced data rates as a result
of the 3G’s 2 Mbps bandwidth availabilities. The following list describes some of the applications:
z Mobile TV. Due to the high data-transfer rate being offered by 3G, TV can be viewed on mobile phones. For
this service, the user must tie up with a service provider, through which the content can be accessed.
z Videoconferencing. It is possible to conduct a video conference by using the available network, thanks to the
2 Mbps bandwidth.
z Tele-medicine. This extended feature of videoconferencing enables a person to be examined remotely by a
doctor who is located at a different place.
z Location-based services. These services, accessed via the service provider, include weather updates, viewing
live road and traffic conditions and tracking vehicles.
z Video on demand. Videos can be viewed on demand from a service provider. Again, this feature is possible
thanks to the high buffering speeds that are possible on the 3G network.

Issues
Although 3G has been introduced successfully to users around the world, some issues are debated by 3G providers
and users:
z Expensive input fees for the 3G service licenses in some jurisdictions
z Differences in licensing terms between states
z Level of debt incurred by some telecommunication companies, which makes investment in 3G difficult
z Lack of state support for financially troubled operators
z Cost of 3G phones
z Lack of coverage in some areas
z Demand for broadband services in a handheld device
z Inadequate battery life in 3G phones

Evolution Toward 4G
Both 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) are currently
working on further extensions to 3G standards, named Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Ultra Mobile Broadband
(UMB), respectively. Being based on an all-IP network infrastructure and using advanced wireless technologies,
these specifications already display features characteristic of International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced
(IMT-Advanced), or 4G, the successor of 3G. However, falling short of the bandwidth requirements for 4G (1 Gbit/s
for stationary operation and 100 Mbit/s for mobile operation), these standards are classified as 3.9G or Pre-4G.
3GPP plans to meet the 4G goals with LTE Advanced, whereas Qualcomm has halted development of UMB in favor
of the LTE family.
On December 14, 2009, TeliaSonera announced in an official press release that it would be the first operator in the
world to offer customers 4G services. With the launch of this network, initially TeliaSonera is offering services in
Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway.

4G
No technology would be complete without a looming upgrade for tomorrow. What’s on the horizon for 4G? What
improvements will it bring beyond 3G, and when might we expect 4G to go live? Following the evolutionary line of
cell phone technology standards spanning 1G, 2G, 2.5G and 3G, 4G describes the entirely brave new world beyond
advanced 3G networks. 4G, which is also known as beyond 3G or fourth-generation cell phone technology, refers to
an entirely new evolution and a complete 3G replacement in wireless communications. Just as data-transmission
speeds increased from 2G to 3G, the leap from 3G to 4G promises even higher data rates than existed in previous
generations. 4G promises voice, data and high-quality multimedia in real-time (“streamed”) form — all the time and
anywhere. Various standardization and regulatory bodies estimate the launch of 4G networks commercially between
2012 and 2015.
4G is being developed to accommodate the quality-of-service and rate requirements set by further development of
existing 3G applications such as wireless broadband access, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), video chat and
mobile TV, but also new services such as HDTV content, minimal services like voice and data, and other services
that utilize bandwidth. It may allow roaming with wireless local area networks, and be combined with digital video
broadcasting systems.
Following are the objectives of the 4G wireless communication standard:
z Flexible channel bandwidth, between 5 and 20 MHz, optionally up to 40 MHz.
z Spectrally efficient system (in bits/s/Hz and bits/s/Hz/site).

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 z High network capacity, with more simultaneous users per cell.
z Nominal data rate of 100 Mbit/s while the client physically moves at high speeds relative to the station, and
1 Gbit/s while client and station are in relatively fixed positions as defined by the ITU Radiocommunication
Sector (ITU-R).
z Data rate of at least 100 Mbit/s between any two points in the world.
z Smooth handoff across heterogeneous networks.
z Seamless connectivity and global roaming across multiple networks.
z High quality of service for next-generation multimedia support (real-time audio, high-speed data, HDTV video
content, mobile TV, etc.).
z Interoperability with existing wireless standards.
z IP packet-switched network.

4G Features
According to the members of the 4G working group, the infrastructure and the terminals of 4G will implement
almost all the standards from 2G to 4G. Although legacy systems are in place to adopt existing users, the
infrastructure for 4G will be exclusively packet-based (all-IP). Some proposals suggest having an open Internet
platform. Technologies considered to be early 4G include Flash-OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing),
the 802.16e mobile version of WiMax, and High Capacity Spatial Division Multiple Access (HC-SDMA).

Summary
In the history of mobile communications, repeated attempts have been made to reduce a number of technologies to
a single global standard. Projected 4G systems offer this promise of a standard that can be embraced worldwide
through its key concept of integration.
Future wireless networks will need to support diverse IP multimedia applications to allow sharing of resources
among multiple users. There must be a low complexity of implementation and an efficient means of negotiation
between end users and wireless infrastructure. The fourth generation promises to fulfill the goal of PCC (personal
computing and communication) — a vision that affordably provides high data rates everywhere over a wireless
network.

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Doc. No. IPC-0110 4/4
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ABOUT NIL

NIL is one of the leading European data communications service-oriented groups of companies, focusing on the
high-value segments in the Service Provider and Enterprise data networking market. NIL offers a full range of
services, including consulting, design and implementation of large networks, assistance in network operation,
and associated advanced training.

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