1G: Where It All Began:: Emerging Technology For Engineering (KMC 102)
1G: Where It All Began:: Emerging Technology For Engineering (KMC 102)
1G: Where It All Began:: Emerging Technology For Engineering (KMC 102)
2
1G: Where it all began: The first generation of mobile networks – or 1G as they
were retroactively dubbed when the next generation was introduced – was launched by
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in Tokyo in 1979. By 1984, NTT had rolled out
1G to cover the whole of Japan. In 1983, the US approved the first 1G operations and
the Motorola’s DynaTAC became one of the first ‘mobile’ phones to see widespread use
stateside. Other countries such as Canada and the UK rolled out their own 1G networks a
few years later. However, 1G technology suffered from a number of drawbacks.
Coverage was poor and sound quality was low. There was no roaming support between
various operators and, as different systems operated on different frequency ranges, there
was no compatibility between systems. Worse of all, calls weren’t encrypted, so anyone
with a radio scanner could drop in on a call.
2G: The Cultural Revolution (From Analogue to Digital): The second generation of
mobile networks, or 2G, was launched under the GSM standard in Finland in 1991. For
the first time, calls could be encrypted and digital voice calls were significantly clearer
with less static and background crackling. But 2G was about much more than
telecommunications; it helped lay the groundwork for nothing short of a cultural
revolution. For the first time, people could send text messages (SMS), picture messages,
and multimedia messages (MMS) on their phones. The analog past of 1G gave way to the
digital future presented by 2G. This led to mass-adoption by consumers and businesses
alike on a scale never before seen. Although 2G’s transfer speeds were initially only
around 9.6 kbit/s, operators rushed to invest in new infrastructure such as mobile cell
towers. By the end of the era, speeds of 40 kbit/s were achievable and EDGE connections
offered speeds of up to 500 kbit/s. Despite relatively sluggish speeds, 2G revolutionized
the business landscape and changed the world forever.
3G: The ‘Packet-Switching’ Revolution (Web Browsing Arrives): 3G was launched by
NTT DoCoMo in 2001 and aimed to standardize the network protocol used by vendors.
This meant that users could access data from any location in the world as the ‘data
packets’ that drive web connectivity were standardized. This made international roaming
services a real possibility for the first time. 3G’s increased data transfer capabilities (4
times faster than 2G) also led to the rise of new services such as video conferencing,
Invention of 5G: No one company or person owns 5G, but there are several companies
within the mobile ecosystem that are contributing to bringing 5G to life. Qualcomm has
played a major role in inventing the many foundational technologies that drive the
industry forward and make up 5G, the next wireless standard. We are at the heart of the
3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the industry organization that defines the
global specifications for 3G UMTS (including HSPA), 4G LTE, and 5G technologies.
5G better than 4G: 5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G. While
4G LTE focused on delivering much faster mobile broadband services than 3G, 5G
is designed to be a unified, more capable platform that not only elevates mobile
broadband experiences, but also supports new services such as mission-critical
communications and the massive IoT. 5G can also natively support all spectrum
types (licensed, shared, unlicensed) and bands (low, mid, high), a wide range of
Use Cases of 5G in India: 5G is going to be the core technology to enable the digital
transformation of India. Hence it is important to study India Specific use cases and make
them part of the requirements influencing the development and standards of 5G. The
three broad use cases of IMT 2020 or 5G are: – Enhanced Mobile Broadband(eMBB) –
Massive Machine Type communication (MMTC) – Ultra Reliable Low Latency
communication (uRLLC). sThese broad use cases can be used to provide different types
of services in India for example rural broadband, enhanced broadband in urban areas,
enabling smart cities through support for IOT, enabling critical communication through
support for ultra reliable low latency communication.
Mobile broadband – eMBB: Providing connectivity and net services in rural India –
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) – One of the test configurations in rural eMBB is LMLC
or Low Mobility Large Cell. – This can be utilised to provide connectivity and net