Download 4G Speed vs. 3G

Generations of Mobile
Wireless Technology
3G & 4G
By: Saad AL-Subaie
ID:200600027
In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi opened the way for modern wireless
communications by transmitting the three-dot Morse code for the
letter ‘S’ over a distance of three kilometers using electromagnetic
waves. From this beginning, wireless communications has
developed into a key element of modern society. Wireless
communications have some special characteristics that have
motivated specialized studies. First, wireless communications
relies on a scarce resource – namely, radio spectrum state. In order
to foster the development of wireless communications (including
telephony and Broadcasting) those assets were privatized. Second,
use of spectrum for wireless communications required the
development of key complementary technologies; especially those
that allowed higher frequencies to be utilized more efficiently.
Finally, because of its special nature, the efficient use of spectrum
required the coordinated development of standards. The term
issued to describe modern wireless connections such as those in
cellular networks and wireless broadband internet, mainly using
radio waves. The Mobile wireless industry has started its
technology creation, revolution & evolution since early 1970s. In
the past few decades, mobile wireless technologies have been
classified according to their generation, which largely specifies the
type of services and the data transfer speeds of each class of
technologies. WHY WE USE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION? There
are several kinds of wireless technologies; the main difference
being their range. Some offer connectivity over an area as large as
your desktop whilst others can cover a medium-sized office space.
Our most familiar wireless network, the mobile phone, covers
whole continents. Wireless technology can offer businesses more
flexible and inexpensive ways to send and receive data.
The four key benefits of wireless technology are:
1. Increased efficiency - improved communications leads
to faster transfer of information within businesses and
between partners/customers.
2. You are rarely out of touch - you don't need to carry
cables or adaptors in order to access office networks.
3. Greater flexibility and mobility for users - office based
wireless workers can be networked without sitting at
dedicated PCs.
4. Reduced costs - relative to 'wired', wireless networks
are, in most cases, cheaper to install and maintain.
3G
3G refers to the third generation of mobile telephony (that is, cellular) technology.
The third generation, as the name suggests, follows two earlier generations.
The first generation (1G) began in the early 80's with commercial deployment of
Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) cellular networks. Early AMPS networks
used Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (FDMA) to carry analog voice over
channels in the 800 MHz frequency band.
The second generation (2G) emerged in the 90's when mobile operators deployed
two competing digital voice standards. In North America, some operators adopted
IS-95, which used Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to multiplex up to 64 calls
per channel in the 800 MHz band. Across the world, many operators adopted the
Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) standard, which used Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA) to multiplex up to 8 calls per channel in the 900
and 1800 MHz bands.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) defined the third generation
(3G) of mobile telephony standards IMT-2000 to facilitate growth, increase
bandwidth, and support more diverse applications. For example, GSM could
deliver not only voice, but also circuit-switched data at speeds up to 14.4 Kbps. But
to support mobile multimedia applications, 3G had to deliver packet-switched data
with better spectral efficiency, at far greater speeds.
However, to get from 2G to 3G, mobile operators had make "evolutionary"
upgrades to existing networks while simultaneously planning their "revolutionary"
new mobile broadband networks. This lead to the establishment of two distinct 3G
families: 3GPP and 3GPP2.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) was formed in 1998 to foster
deployment of 3G networks that descended from GSM. 3GPP technologies evolved
as follows.
• General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) offered speeds up to 114 Kbps.
• Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) reached up to 384 Kbps.
• UMTS Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) offered downlink speeds up to 1.92 Mbps.
• High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) boosted the downlink to 14Mbps.
Role of the ITU in the definition of 3G Mobile Standards;
In the mid 1980’s the ITU started work to define the next “generation” of mobile
radio
standards to move these networks from National and Regional standards onto a
global
basis. This necessitated finding a new globally available frequency band as well
as
attempting to maximize convergence within the many existing 2G wireless
technologies.
At the 1992 ITU World Radio Conference 230 MHz of new radio spectrum was
identified for ‘Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunication Systems”
(FPLMTS), later
to be known as International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000).
Because of the extensive deployment and investment in 2G radio technologies
during the 1990’s IMT-2000 became a “family of standards” offering
evolution/revolution options from the major existing 2G network standards. In
general an “evolution” option enabled backwards compatible evolution of a 2G
standard to its 3G equivalent within an operators existing spectrum allocation.
Whereas a “revolution” option typically required an operator to obtain
additional spectrum, build an overlay network, and utilize dual mode/band
mobile equipment. These 3G ITU standards were finalized in time for 3G
services to be initially launched in 2000. Not surprisingly an evolution option
was the first IMT-2000 technology to be deployed.
Wide range of industry views on what constitutes a 3G technology :
In order to separate 3G from 2G the ITU “raised the bar” and defined
performance levels
significantly in excess of those currently obtainable from 2G mobile networks, in
Particular minimum data speeds, for various specific radio operating
environments, were defined. IMT-2000 standards were based on industry
submissions which met these new ITU higher performance requirement
capabilities.
Some of the new “IMT-2000” radio spectrum, identified in 1992, was auctioned
in many
countries in the late 1990’s for vast sums of money and many country-specific
regulations controlled which IMT-2000 family option could be deployed in these
new
mobile frequency bands. This naturally resulted in major media focus on the
“revolutionary” members of the IMT-2000 family of standards, which led to a
belief in
many circles that this was the only real 3G.
In fact the “evolutionary” members of the IMT-2000 family represent the vast
majority of 3G users today and are likely to do so for a considerable period of
time. This is not at all surprising in view of the ease of evolving to 3G in an
operator’s existing frequency band, particularly when the 3G technology is
backwards compatible with the existing 2G
technology, i.e. the 3G network can serve both 2G and 3G users in the same
frequency
band. Many industry organizations only consider part of the IMT-2000 family of
3G standards as actual 3G technologies, in particular IMT-SC (EDGE) is excluded
from most 3G mobile statistics. This is particularly unfortunate because IMT-SC
is the “evolutionary” option for the vast installed GSM (2G) base and therefore
will almost certainly become the dominant 3G component in the near future.
IMT-SC is typically excluded because many within the industry view CDMA as the
only 3G wireless technology.
IMT-2000 “Evolutionary” 3G standards :
There are essentially two widely deployed “evolutionary” IMT-2000 standards:
- for evolution from the 2G CDMA standard IS-95 (cdmaOne) –IMT-MC
(cdma2000)
- for evolution from 2G TDMA standards (GSM/IS-136) – IMT-SC (EDGE)
Note that IS-136 can also evolve to IMT-MC since it has the same core network
(IS-41).
IMT-2000 “Revolutionary” 3G standards :
These are IMT-2000 standards that generally require operators to obtain a new
spectrum
allocation, for example IMT-DS (W-CDMA) because of the relatively wide
channels (5
MHz), and IMT-TC (TD-SCDMA/UTRA TDD) plus IMT-FT (DECT) because a TDD
frequency assignment is required. Note that it can in some cases be possible to
deploy
IMT-DS in existing cellular bands if sufficient spare bandwidth can be made
available.
Impact of technological advances:
Early work on 3G in the ITU was directed towards obtaining a global spectrum
allocation
since multi-band radios were at that time economically unattractive. Similarly a
single
global standard for 3G seemed at the time the only realistic solution. However it
became
rapidly clear that even the 230 MHz of new spectrum identified for IMT-2000 in
1992
would be insufficient for future mobile needs. At the ITU World Radio
Conference in
2000 all the major existing cellular bands were also added, increasing the
potential IMT-
2000 spectrum availability by approximately three times. Fortunately it also
became
practical to produce economical multi-band radios.
Due to the rapid growth of 2G mobile during the 1990’s it became necessary for
the ITU
to offer a number of possible routes from the various existing 2G systems to a 3G
capability. Fortunately it also became economically realistic to offer multimode/multiband mobile equipment to smooth the transition from 2G to 3G
operations.
4G
4G is the short name for fourth-generation wireless, the stage of broadband mobile
communications that will super cede the third generation (3G ).
Carriers that use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) instead of time
division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA) are
increasingly marketing their services as being 4G, even when their data speeds are
not as fast as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) specifies. According
to the ITU, a 4G network requires a mobile device to be able to exchange data at 100
Mbit/sec. A 3G network, on the other hand, can offer data speeds as slow as 3.84
Mbit/sec.
From the consumer's point of view, 4G is more a marketing term than a technical
specification, but carriers feel justified in using the 4G label because it lets the
consumer know that he can expect significantly faster data speeds.
Although carriers still differ about whether to build 4G data networks using Long
Term Evolution (LTE) or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access WiMAX, all
carriers seem to agree that OFDM is one of the chief indicators that a service can be
legitimately marketed as being 4G. OFDM is a type of digital modulation in which a
signal is split into several narrowband channels at different frequencies. This is more
efficient than TDMA, which divides channels into time slots and has multiple users
take turns transmitting bursts or CDMA, which simultaneously transmits multiple
signals on the same channel.
When fully implemented, 4G is expected to enable pervasive computing, in which
simultaneous connections to multiple high-speed networks will provide
seamless handoffs throughout a geographical area. Coverage enhancement
technologies such as femtocell and picocell are being developed to address the
needs of mobile users in homes, public buildings and offices, which will free up
network resources for mobile users who are roaming or who are in more remote
service areas.
3G VS 4G
Parameters
3G
4G
Network Architecture
cell-based
Integration of various wireless
technologies
Speeds
384 Kbps to 2 Mbps
Frequency Band
Dependent
on
country
100 Mbps to 1 Gbps
or
Higher
frequency
bands
continent (1800-2400 MHz)
GHz)
Bandwidth
5-20 MHz
100 MHz (or more)
Switching Scheme
Circuit and Packet
Packet
Access Technologies
W-CDMA, 1xRTT, Edge
OFDM and MC-CDMA
IP
No. of air link protocols
All IP (IP6.0)
(2-8
4-G Systems
Wireless MAN-Advanced
o
o
IMT-A compliant version of WiMAX or WiMAX 2 based on IEEE 802.16m
WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is an IP based, wireless broadband
access technology
o
Wireless MAN is under development.
o
Present implementation of WiMAX does not comply with 4G specifications
o
Uses OFDM in uplink and downlink.
o
Mobile WiMAX, IEEE 802.16e standard offers peak data rates of 128 Mbit/s downlink and
56 Mbit/s uplink over 20 MHz wide channel.
4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) Advanced
·
IMT-A complaint version of LTE, also referred to as E-UTRA (Evolved
·
UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) or E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial
Radio Access Network).
UMTS Long Term Evolution (LTE) was introduced in 3GPP Release 8
which supports data rates of up to 300 Mbps (4x4 MIMO) and up to 150 Mbps
(2x2 MIMO) in the downlink and up to 75 Mbps in the uplink. Release 10 of
LTE is likely to approach IMT-A, download upto 1 Gaps and upload up to 500
·
Mbps.
Uses OFDMA for downlink & Uses Single Carrier Frequency Division
·
·
·
Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) for uplink.
Uses 64QAM modulation
Uses MIMO and beam forming with up to 4 antennas
All IP Network
Moving Beyond 4G
4G is not the end of all. "5G Technology" is already in research arena and is
bound to up the data rate further.5G is going to alter the way of our usage of
our cellphones; may replace our Desktop PCs/laptops. Coupled with
innovations being done in the field of smart sensors, 5G mobile phones with
extremely high data rates, IP core, and world-wide coverage will offer features
which have not imagined so far.
Currently 5G is not a term officially used for any particular specification,
however, it is being used in research papers and standardization bodies for
the future wireless standards.
3G VS 4G
3G and 4G are standards for mobile communication. Standards specify how the airwaves
must be used for transmitting information (voice and data). 3G (or 3rd Generation) was
launched in Japan in 2001. As recently as mid-2010, the networks for most wireless carriers
in the U.S. were 3G. 3G networks were a significant improvement over 2G networks, offering
higher speeds for data transfer. The improvement that 4G offers over 3G is often less
pronounced. Analysts use the analogy of standard vs. Hi-Def. TV to describe the difference
between 3G and 4G.
Comparison chart
3G
4G
Data Throughput:
Up to 3.1mbps
Practically speaking, 3 to 5 mbps but
potential estimated at a range of 100
to 300 mbps.
Peak Upload Rate:
50 Mbit/s
500 Mbit/s
Peak Download
Rate:
100 Mbit/s
1 Gbit/s
Switching
Technique:
packet switching
packet switching, message switching
Network
Architecture:
Wide Area Cell Based
Integration of wireless LAN and
Wide area.
Services And
Applications:
CDMA 2000, UMTS, EDGE etc
Wimax2 and LTE-Advance
3G
4G
Forward error
correction (FEC):
3G uses Turbo codes for error
correction.
Concatenated codes are used for error
corrections in 4G.
Frequency Band:
1.8 – 2.5GHz
2 – 8GHz
4G Speed vs. 3G
How much faster is 4G compared to 3G? Unfortunately for
consumers, the answer to this question is more nuanced than one
would like. The speed of a 3G network depends upon how it is
implemented. In the US, by 2010 Sprint and Verizon
(both CDMA networks) had reached the limits of how fast they
could make their 3G networks. Upgrading to 4G networks allowed
them to offer data transmission speeds up to four times faster than
their 3G networks. However, the 3G networks of GSM carriers
AT&T and T-Mobile were designed such that there was room to
upgrade 3G speeds. As of mid-2010, it is anticipated that when
AT&T and T-Mobile upgrade their 3G networks, their speeds will
become comparable to 4G from Sprint and Verizon.
Speed Test Results
Results from a speed test comparing Sprint's 4G and 3G
networks (using a Samsung Epic 4G phone) and AT&T's 3G
network (using a Dell Streak) show that Sprint 4G is
considerably faster than both Sprint 3G and AT&T 3G. These
test results were posted in October 2010.
Design Principle and Applications
Both 2G and 3G networks were designed primarily for voice
communications rather than data. On the other hand, 4G is
designed especially for data transmission rather than voice. So 4G
offers faster access to data using mobile phones. For example,
streaming video works better with 4G, with less stuttering and a
higher resolution. Similarly, video conferencing and multi-player
online games work better with the faster data transmission offered
by 4G.
CONCLUSION
Mobiles have become very essential part of our everyday life.
Their current development is the outcome of various
generations.
GSM or global system for mobile communication is a digital
cellular system. It was originated in Finland Europe .however
now it is throughout the world. GSM (Global System for
Mobile Communication) accounts for 80% of total mobile
phone technologies market. There are over more than 3 billion
users of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication)
now. GSM technology got its popularity, when people used it
to talk to their friends and relatives. The use of GSM (Global
System for Mobile Communication) is possible due to the
SIM (subscribers identity module) GSM (Global System for
Mobile Communication) is easy to use, affordable and helps
you carry your cell phone everywhere. GSM (Global System
for Mobile Communication) is a 2G technology. There are
many frequency ranges for GSM (Global System for Mobile
Communication) however 2G is the most used frequency.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) offers
moderate security. It allows for encryption between the end
user and the service base station. The use of various forms of
cryptographic modules is part of GSM technology.
REFERENCES:
http://www.ijcaonline.org/volume5/number4/pxc3871282.pdf
http://searchtelecom.techtarget.com/definition/3G
http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/4G
http://www.engineersgarage.com/articles/4G-technology?page=6
http://www.itu.int/ITUD/tech/FORMER_PAGE_IMT2000/DocumentsIMT2000/What_really_3G.pdf
http://www.diffen.com/difference/3G_vs_4G