Mobile Communication Technology - Evolution from 1G to 4G

You may also have heard the buzz about 4G. Though 3G in India has still not been implemented fully in many cities,  the  attention has already turned to the next generation of mobile communications, i.e.
4G.  It is said 4G will provide data transfer speeds up to fifty times more than what you use to get with 3G. When first generation mobile phones were launched, they were capable of communicating only through voice. Then came second generation known as 2G which became popular for considerable duration of time. With 2G it was was possible to sent SMS, data, fax and MMS.  The third-generation (3G) technology has added multimedia facilities to 2G phones. And now talks are on for the next-generation mobile technology with more advanced features, i.e.4G, which is expected to be available soon in India.

Why 4G

The ever increasing growth of user demand, the limitations of the third generation   of   wireless   mobile  communication  systems  and   the emergence of  new  mobile  broadband technologies on the  market have brought  researchers  and  industries  to  a  thorough  reflection  on  the fourth  generation. Today, multiple IG and 2G standards are used in worldwide mobile communications. Different standards serve different applications with different levels of mobility, capability, and service area. Many standards are used only in one country or region, and are incompatible.

With the development of 3G technology in mobile communication, the interest of many research institute shifts towards future systems beyond 3G. Depending on the time such new systems are planned to be introduced and on the characteristic of improving or replacing existing systems they are called B3G (beyond 3G)  or  4G. The 3G technology also adds multimedia facilities to 2G phones by allowing video,audio, and graphics applications. Over 3G phones, you can watch streaming video or have video telephony. The idea behind3G is to have a single network standard instead of the different types adopted in the US, Europe, and Asia.

4G Features

A 4G system is expected to provide a comprehensive and secure all IP based mobile broadband solution to laptop computer wireless modems, smart phones, and other mobile devices. Facilities such as ultra-broadband Internet access, IP telephony, gaming services, and streamed multimedia may be provided to user.The 4g wireless uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Ultra Wide Radio Band (UWB),and Millimeter wireless. Data rate of 20mbps is employed. Mobile speed will be up to 200km/hr.The high performance is achieved by the use of long term channel prediction, in both time and frequency, scheduling among users and smart antennas combined with adaptive modulation and power control.

4G is being developed with the following objectives:

1. Speeds up to 50 times higher than of 3G. However, the actual available bandwidth of 4G is expected to be about 10 Mbps.
2. Three-dimensional virtual reality—imagine personal video avatars and realistic holograms, and the ability to feel as if you are present at an event even if you are not. People, places, and products will be able to interact as the cyber and real worlds merge.
3. User friendliness exemplifies and minimize the interaction between applications and users thanks to a well designed transparency that allows the users and the terminals to naturally interact.
4. Users can get traveling information in the most user friendly way: text, audio, or video format.