3G Technology

Introduction

3G wireless technology represents the convergence of various 2G wireless telecommunications systems into a single uniform global system which includes terrestrial and satellite components in its functioning.
3G or the third-generation wireless refers to near future developments in personal & business wireless technology, especially relating to mobile communications. 3G or The Third Generation will usher in many benefits as roaming capability, broad bandwidth and high speed communication (upwards of 2Mbps).

Network operators & telecommunications service providers are embracing the recently adopted global third generation (3G) wireless standards in order to cater to emerging user demands and to offer new services to their customers.3G wireless technology represents a shift from voice-centric services to multimedia-oriented like video, voice, data, fax services.

The most interesting & useful aspect of 3G wireless technology is its ability to unify existing cellular standards such as GSM, CDMA and TDMA.

3G Mobile Phone Technology

Introduction

A short perusal of the major tech blogs on the internet, like Mobile Magazine, will inevitably result in at least a small handful of entries drooling over 3G mobile phone technology, with everyone drooling over the latest 3G offering coming out of cell phone manufacturers in Korea, Japan, and the rest of the world. But what exactly does3G mean?

Current Technology

By and large, most of the mobile phones on the market today are a part of the second generation, or "2G". This includes such standards as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications: like the services offered by T-Mobile), and iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network: as developed by Motorola and deployed by Sprint/Nextel).

Several handsets and networks are also capable of higher speed data than standard 2G technology. These are often referred to as part of the 2.5G or 2.75G. The most common 2.5G technology is GPRS, or General Packet Radio Service, which works in tandem with GSM networks. Further along the spectrum are such technologies as CDMA2000 1xRTT (1 times Radio Transmission Technology) and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution). Each successive generation has provided faster and faster data transfer rates, in order to keep up with high demand services like picture messaging, ringtone downloading, and mobile web.

So What's the Big Deal with 3G?

3G Mobile Phone Technology is said to be a substantial leap forward in data transfer rates for cellular phones, and as people demand more and fuller content, mobile networks need to keep up and send the data faster than ever.

Video Telephony

Video conferencing was said to be the "killer app" for 3G. As such, many 3G handsets feature not one, but two cameras. The "primary" camera is typically on the back of the phone and is a megapixel (or better) picture taker. Finding phones with 2-megapixel cameras or better is no longer out of the ordinary, with some units offering as high as 8 megapixels. The "secondary" camera, however, is usually next to the display and a simple VGA unit. This is meant to be used for video telephony. However, in areas where 3G is more prevalent, like urban regions of Japan, video telephony has not been as popular as previously predicted.

Mobile TV and Web

For more on mobile TV, check out the official Mobile TV article here on LoveToKnow Cell Phones. While mobile television is technically a separate issue from 3G mobile phone technology, the two are often discussed in the same breath. Oftentimes, users download short video clips and even streaming movies using 3G technology, especially where "conventional" mobile television -- like T-DMB -- is not available.

Ringtones, Music, and More

Where 3G has really begun to shine, even before it has reached widespread deployment in the United States and Canada, is its use in downloading mobile content. Cell Phone Ringtones are incredibly popular, with several services being offering allowing users to customize their mobile phones with unique ringtones, especially since so many handsets are capable of MP3 ringtones these days. Instead of a standard ring, imagine hearing your phone blast out the latest Lil Jon hit, or a classic Frank Sinatra song.

Musicphones, like the Walkman line from Sony Ericsson, are also growing in prevalence. In fact, some have said that by 2010, over-the-air mobile music services -- that is, downloading music onto your cell phone directly on a purely wireless basis, rather than using your home computer as an intermediary -- will have more users than online music stores (read: iTunes). 3G technology (and successive generations) have had, and will continue to have a lot to do with this trend.

3G Standards

There are three main 3G standards that have already been deployed in selected regions around the globe.

• W-CDMA: Not to be confused with standard CDMA (which is the direct competitor for GSM), W-CDMA is "Wideband" Code Division Multiple Access, and is allied with 2G GSM. There are two main forms:
• UMTS stands for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, and is sometimes referred to as 3GSM. UMTS is said to be capable of data transfer rates of up to 1920 kbit/sec.
• FOMA stands for Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access and is the brand name for 3G services offered through NTT DoCoMo of Japan. A pioneer in 3G, FOMA was officially launched way back in 2001.

• 1xEV-DO, initially designed by Qualcomm, is CDMA's answer to W-CDMA, if that makes any sense. EV-DO stands for Evolution Data Optimized, and is a broadband data standard that has already been adopted by such wireless service providers as Telus Mobility of Canada and Verizon Wireless, the latter of which marketing its EV-DO services as "V CAST". EV-DO's data transfer rate is right in line with W-CDMA, offering approximately 2Mbit/sec downlinks.

• TD-SCDMA is being developed by and for the People's Republic of China. Standing for Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access, TD-SCDMA was meant to provide the Chinese people with high speed data that wasn't "dependent on Western technology". TD-SCDMA testing is currently underway, with full deployment expected before the end of the year.

What the Future Holds

• HSDPA: Even before 3G has been fully adopted, cellular phone technology companies have already started working on and testing the next sub-generation of wireless data. As part of the 3.5G, HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) is a new mobile telephony protocol, and it is said to be an extension of WCDMA in much the same way that CDMA2000 was improved upon to become EV-DO.

• HSUPA: Whereas HSDPA allowed for "downlinks" (cell phones receiving data), HSUPA allows for "uplinks" (cell phones sending data). In this way, it naturally accompanies HSDPA, and is said to be 3.75G.