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First Generation (1G) Analog System:

1G is only modulated to higher frequency, typically 150 MHz and up.
IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone System) used two channels (one for sending, one for
receiving thus there was no need for push-to-talk). IMTS used 23 channels from 150 MHz to
450 MHz.
Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) can support 5 to 10 times more users in the same
100-mile area by dividing the area into 20 smaller cells that reuse the same frequency ranges. In
addition, smaller cells also require less powerful and cheaper, smaller devices to transmit and
receive information. (AMPS) was a frequency modulated analog mobile radio system using
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) with 30kHz channels occupying the 824MHz
894MHz frequency band and a first commercial cellular system deployed until the early 1990s.

Second Generation (2G) Network Digital System:

Second Generation (2G) cellular networks based on digital transmission. Digital transmissions
offer several benefits over analog.

Advantages:
The lower power emissions helped address health concerns.
Going all-digital allowed for the introduction of digital data services, such as SMS
and email
Enhanced privacy:

Disadvantages:
In less populous areas, the weaker digital signal may not be sufficient to reach a cell
tower. This tends to be a particular problem on 2G systems deployed on higher
frequencies, but is mostly not a problem on 2G systems deployed on lower frequencies.

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National regulations differ greatly among countries which dictate where 2G can be
deployed.
Analog has a smooth decay curve, digital a jagged steppy one. This can be both an
advantage and a disadvantage. Under good conditions, digital will sound better. Under
slightly worse conditions, analog will experience static, while digital has
occasional dropouts. As conditions worsen, though, digital will start to completely fail, by
dropping calls or being unintelligible, while analog slowly gets worse, generally holding
a call longer and allowing at least a few words to get through.
While digital calls tend to be free of static and background noise, the lossy
compression used by the codecs takes a toll; the range of sound that they convey is
reduced. You will hear less of the tonality of someone's voice talking on a digital cell
phone, but you will hear it more clearly.

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)The Popular 2G System:

Although there are many competing technologies in the 2G cellular network landscape, GSM by
far dominates the world today, with over 200 million users in over a hundred countries. GSM is
very popular in Europe and is now gaining popularity in the US also. These networks operate at
9.6 Kbps and are based on international standards defined by the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI). Due to the popularity of GSM, let us look at GSM somewhat closely.
GSM is completely designed from scratch (there is no backward compatibility with 1G
systems such as AMPS). It can deliver data rate up to 9.6 Kbps by using 124 channels per cell;
each channel can support 8 users through TDMA (maximum 992 users per cell, in practice about
500). Some GSM channels are used for control signals for mobile units to locate the nearest base
stations.
In addition to voice, GSM phones provide data services for wireless users; i.e., you
connect your GSM phone to your PC and it acts as a modem for email, fax, Internet browsing,
etc. GSM also permits roaming between North American countries and European countries. To
make it work, because of the frequency differences, you have to remove the user-specific SIM
card from inside the American networks phone and place it into a European networks phone, or
vice-versa.
GSMs air interface is based on narrowband TDMA technology, where available
frequency bands are divided into time slots, with each user having access to one time slot at
regular intervals. Narrowband TDMA allows eight simultaneous communications on a single
radio multiplexer and is designed to support 16 half-rate channels.

1.1. GSM Network Architecture:

The architecture of GSM network defines several interfaces for multiple suppliers. The
key players of this architecture are shown in Figure (3).

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Figure (3): GSM Network Architecture

Mobile station (MS): It represents the mobile user and communicates across the Um interface
(air interface) with a base station transceiver in the same cell as the MS. The main part of MS is
mobile equipment (ME) that represents physical terminals, such as a telephone or PDA. An ME
includes a radio transceiver, a digital signal processor, and a subscriber identity module (SIM).
GSM subscriber units are generic until SIM is inserted. SIMs are used to support roaming, as
indicated previously.
Base Station Subsystem (BSS): It consists of a base station controller (BSC) and one or more
base transceiver stations (BTS). Each BTS defines a single cell and includes radio antenna, radio
transceiver and a link to a base station controller (BSC). BSC reserves radio frequencies,
manages handoff of mobile units from one cell to another within BSS, and controls paging.
Mobile Switching Center (MSC): It is the nerve center of GSM. It provides links between
cellular networks and public switched telecommunications networks. Specifically, an MSC
controls handoffs between cells in different BSSs, authenticates users and validates accounts, and
enables worldwide roaming of mobile users. To support these features, an MSC consists of the
following databases:
Home location register (HLR) database stores information about each subscriber that
belongs to it.
Visitor location register (VLR) database maintains information about subscribers
physically in the region currently
Authentication center database (AuC) used for authentication activities and holds
encryption keys
Equipment identity register database (EIR) keeps track of the type of equipment that
exists at the mobile station

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A number of control messages are exchanged between the key entities in the GSM
architecture. These messages are used to support mobility and connection management. Figure
(4) shows the GSM Protocol Architecture. The protocols, as can be seen, follow the typical 7layer model, where the lower layers provide transport over radio links (between the mobile
station and BTSs) and wired packet-switching network (between BTSs and MSCs). Protocols
above the link layer of the GSM signaling protocol architecture provide specific functions such
as the following:
Connection management connects end users (mobile stations) to the MSC or to other end
users. These protocols, at layer 6 of the protocol stack, are used when you dial a number, for
example, from your phone to another mobile or wired phone.
Mobility management provides location services and security controls. These protocols
are supported at the layer 5 of the protocol stack.
Mobile application part (MAP) is used between HLR and VLR to provide updates as the
users move around. These layer 4 protocols are used between an MSC and a BSC.
Radio resource management is used to control setup, termination and handoffs of radio
channels. For example, all communications between your cellular phone and the base
station are managed by using these layer 3 protocols.
BTS management is used for management of the base transceiver system also at layer 3.

Figure (4): GSM Protocol Architecture

1.2. 2G CDMA (IS-95):

GSM uses TDMA, but who uses CDMA in 2G? While some systems have appeared, IS95 is the best-known example of 2G with CDMA. Recall that in the case of CDMA, each user is

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assigned a unique code that differentiates one user from others. This is in contrast to TDMA
where each user is assigned a time slot. Why use CDMA for cellular? Although the debate
between CDMA versus TDMA has been raging for a while (see Section 8.5.5), there are several
advantages of CDMA for cellular networks. The main advantage of CDMA is that many more
users (up to 10 times more) can be supported as compared to TDMA. Although this leads to
some complications, the advantage of supporting more users far outweighs the disadvantage of
added complexity.
The IS-95 cellular system has different structures for its forward (base station to mobile
station) and backward links. The forward link consists of up to 64 logical CDMA channels, each
occupying the same 1228 kHz bandwidth. The forward channel supports different types of
channels:
Traffic channels (channels 8 to 31 and 33 to 63) these 55 channels are used to carry the
user traffic (originally at 9.6 Kbps, revised at 14.4 Kbps).
Pilot (Channel 0) used for signal strength comparison, among other things, to determine
handoffs
Synchronization (Channel 32) a 1200 bps channel used to identify the cellular system
(system time, protocol revision, etc.).
Paging (channels 1 to 7) messages for mobile stations
All these channels use the same frequency band the chipping code (a 64-bit code) is
used to distinguish between users. Thus 64 users can theoretically use the same band by using
different codes. This is in contrast to TDMA where the band has to be divided into slots one
slot per user. The voice and data traffic is encoded, assigned a chipping code, modulated and sent
to its destination. The data in the reverse travels on the IS-95 reverse links. The reverse links
consist of up to 94 logical CDMA channels, each occupying the 1228 kHz bandwidth. The
reverse link supports up to 32 access channels and up to 62 traffic channels. The reverse links
support many mobile unit-specific features to initiate calls, and to update location during
handoffs.
The overall architecture of 2G CDMA-based systems are similar to the TDMA-based
GSM systems (see Figure 4). The main difference is that the radio communication between the
Base Station Subsystem and Mobile System uses CDMA instead of TDMA. Of course, the MSC
now has to worry about handling soft handoffs, but the overall structure stays the same.

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Figure: 2G CDMA (IS-95) Network Architecture

1.3. CDMA Versus TDMA:

There are conflicting performance claims for CDMA and TDMA. The debate is raging
because hardware vendors have chosen sides and consequently the standardizing bodies have
been lobbied hard. The primary motivation for this level of debate is that vendors want their
selection to become the industry standard. Since both TDMA and CDMA have become TIA
(Telecom Industry Association) standards IS-54 and IS-95, respectively the debate goes on to
determine which standard is better. Technically speaking, CDMA has the following advantages
over TDMA.
Network capacity: In CDMA, the same frequency can be reused in adjacent cells because the
user signals differentiate from each other by a code. Thus frequency reuse can be very high and
many more users (up to 10 times more) can be supported as compared to TDMA.
Privacy: Privacy is inherent in CDMA since spread spectrum modulates data to signals
randomly (you cannot understand the signal unless you know the randomizing code).
Reliability and graceful degradation: CDMA-based networks only gradually degrade as more
users access the system. This is in contrast to the sudden degradation of TDMA based systems.
For example, if the channel is divided between ten users, then the eleventh user can get a busy
signal in a TDMA system. This is not the case with CDMA because there is no hard division of
channel capacity CDMA can handle users as long as it can differentiate between them. In case
of CDMA, the noise and interference increases gradually as more users are added because it
becomes harder to differentiate between various codes.

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Frequency diversity: CDMA uses spread spectrum, thus transmissions are spread over a larger
frequency bandwidth. Consequently, frequency-dependent transmission impairments that occur
in certain frequency ranges have less effect on the signal.
Environmental: Since existing cells can be upgraded to handle more users, the need for new cell
towers decreases.
But, there are some drawbacks of CDMA cellular also:
Relatively immature: As compared to TDMA, CDMA is a relatively new technology but it is
catching up fast.
Self-jamming: CDMA works better if all mobile users are perfectly aligned on chip (code)
boundaries. If this is not the case, then some interference can happen. This situation is better with
TDMA and FDMA because time and frequency guard bands can be used to avoid the overlap.
Soft handoff: An advantage of CDMA is that it uses soft handoff (i.e., two cells can own a
mobile user for a while before the handoff is complete). However, this requires that the mobile
user acquires the new cell before it relinquishes the old a more complex process than hard
handoff used in FDMA and TDMA schemes.
The main advantage of CDMA is that the frequency reuse can be very high and many more users
can be supported in a cell as compared to TDMA. Although this leads to a soft handoff that is
more complicated than the hard handoff used in TDMA, the advantage of supporting more users
far outweighs the disadvantage of added complexity.

3.7. 2.5G Networks (GPRS):

2.5 G wireless cellular networks have been developed as a transition path to 3G.
Examples of these networks are GPRS and EDGE. These systems build packet-switching
systems on top of existing 2G systems to improve data rates significantly.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service):

GSM networks offer circuit-switched data services at 9.6 Kbps. Most GSM carriers are
developing a service called General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a 2.5G technology. GPRS
can theoretically provide IP-based packet data speeds up to a maximum of 160 Kbps. However,
typical GPRS networks operate at lower data rates. One proposed configuration is 80 Kbps
maximum (56 Kbps typical) for the downlink and 20 Kbps maximum (14.4 Kbps typical) for the
uplink. GPRS supports both IP and X.25 networking.
GPRS can be added to GSM infrastructures quite readily. It takes advantage of existing
200 kHz radio channels and does not require new radio spectrum. GPRS basically overlays a
packet switching network on the existing circuit switched GSM network. This gives the user an
option to use a packet-based data service. An architectural view of GPRS is presented in Figure
(5). The main component of a GPRS network is the GSN (GPRS Support Node) that receives the
packet data and transfers it to the Internet or other GPRS networks. To provide GPRS services on
top of GSM, the network operators need to add a few GSNs and make a software upgrade to

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BSCs and few other network elements. This quick upgrade capability has fueled the popularity of
GPRS.

Figure (5): GPRS Network Architecture

GPRS capability has been added to cell phones, and is also available in data-only devices
such as PC card modems. Pricing is either flat rate or based on the volume of information
communicated. GPRS is appealing because it offers higher data rates and also allows, because of
packet services, constant virtual connections without the need to constantly dial into the
network. The always-on, higher capacity, GPRS networks are very suitable for Internet based
content and packet-based data services. You can do Web browsing, email, and file transfer over a
GPRS enabled phone. To use GPRS, users specifically need a mobile phone or terminal that
supports GPRS (existing GSM phones do not support GPRS necessarily) and a subscription to a
mobile telephone network that supports GPRS.

3.8.

2.75G Networks (EDGE):

The phase after GPRS is called Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).
EDGE, generally considered a 3G technology, introduces new methods at the physical layer,
including a new form of modulation (8 PSK) and different ways of encoding data to protect
against errors. But the higher layer protocols stay the same. Thus EDGE can deliver maximum
data rates up to 500 Kbps using the same GPRS infrastructure (practical throughputs may be
only half the maximum rate).
EDGE has been designed to address some of the limitations of GPRS. For example,
GPRS impacts a networks existing cell capacity because voice and GPRS calls both use the
same network resources. The extent of the impact depends upon the number of timeslots, if any,

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that are reserved for exclusive use of GPRS. In addition, GPRS actual data rates are much lower
than advertised. Specifically, achieving the theoretical maximum GPRS data transmission speed
of 172.2 Kbps would require a single user taking over all eight timeslots without any error
protection. Finally, GPRS is based on a modulation technique known as Gaussian minimum-shift
keying (GMSK). EDGE is based on the eight-phase-shift keying (8 PSK) modulation that allows
a much higher bit rate across the air interface. Since 8 PSK is also used in 3G, network operators
need to incorporate it at some stage to make the transition to third generation mobile phone
systems.

4. Third Generation Network (3G) Internet System:

4.1. Overview:
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards
for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile
Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication
Union. Application
services
include
wide-area
wireless
voice telephone, mobile
Internet access , video calls and mobile TV, all in a mobile environment.
The first pre-commercial 3G network was launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan on 1998,
branded as FOMA. It was first available in May 2001 as a pre-release (test) of WCDMA technology. The first commercial launch of 3G was also by NTT DoCoMo in Japan on 1
October 2001, although it was initially somewhat limited in scope and broader availability of the
system was delayed by apparent concerns over its reliability.
11 December 2008, India entered the 3G arena with the launch of 3G enabled Mobile and
Data services by Government owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd MTNL in Delhi and later
in Mumbai. MTNL becomes the first 3G Mobile service provider in India. After MTNL, another
state operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) launched 3G services on 22 Feb 2009
in Chennai and later launched 3G as Nationwide. The auction of 3G wireless spectrum was
announced in April 2010 and 3G Spectrum allocated to all private operators on 1 September
2010.
The first Private-sector service provider that launched 3G services is Tata DoCoMo, on
November 5, 2010. And the second is by Reliance Communications, December 13, 2010.
Vodafone Launched their 3G by mid of March, 2011. Then, Bharti Airtel launched their 3G
services on 24 January 2011 in Bangalore and also launched in Delhi & Jaipur on March 4, 2011
(not GSM but only USB estick). Aircel also launched 3G in Kolkata in the month of February.
Idea also launched its 3G services in mid April. Other providers like Virgin are expected to
launch 3G services by Q1 2011.
All the operators provide 3G services on the 2100 MHz band. As of now, the Government
owned BSNL is the most successful company with the subscribers of 3G service. It has more
than 3 million subscribers of its 3G service. It also has the widest coverage with around 826

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cities across the country. The private operators like IDEA and Reliance are increasing their 3G
coverage as well as the number of subscribers.
The third-generation (3G) vision is to create a unified global set of standards
requirements that could lead to the commercial deployment of advanced multimedia wireless
communications. The goal of 3G systems is to enable wireless service providers to offer services
found on todays wireline networks.
3G is not one standard; it is a family of standards which can all work together. This is the
main reason why there are too many terms and standards in the 3G space. The International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) is coordinating this international harmonization of 3G
standards under the overall umbrella of International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT
2000). See the sidebar ITUs View of 3G for the requirements that are driving 3G
developments.
The goal of 3G wireless systems was to provide wireless data service with data rates of
144kbps to 384kbps in wide coverage areas, and 2Mbps in local coverage areas. Possible
applications included wireless web-based access, E-mail, as well as video teleconferencing and
multimedia services consisting of mixed voice and data streams. After ten years of development,
IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications-2000) has accepted a new 3G standard
from China, i.e TD-SCDMA. Thus, there are new three 3G cellular network standards. They are
CDMA2000 from America, WCDMA from Europe and TD-SCDMA from China.
The best known example of 3G is the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications
System) an acronym used to describe a 3G system that originated in Europe and is being used
elsewhere. In fact, several analysts claim that UMTS-3G. The overall idea is that UMTS users
will be able to use 3G technology all over the world under different banners. This roaming ability
to use devices on different networks will be made possible by satellite and land based networks.
UMTS provides a consistent service environment even when roaming via Virtual Home
Environment (VHE). A person roaming from his network to other UMTS operators experiences
a consistent set of services, independent of the location or access mode (satellite or terrestrial).
Whatever the name, 3G is designed to raise the data rate to 2 megabits per second (2
Mbps) a much higher rate than 2G and 2.5G. Specifically, 3G systems offer between 144 Kbps
to 384 Kbps for high-mobility and high coverage, and 2 Mbps for low-mobility and low
coverage applications. In other words, 3G systems mandate data rates of 144 Kbps at driving
speeds, 384 Kbps for outside stationary use or walking speeds, and 2 Mbps indoors. However,
the indoor rate of 2 Mbps from 3G competes with high-speed 802.11 wireless LANs that offer
data rates of 11 to 54 Mbps. The main attraction of 3G is the 384 Kbps data rate for outdoor use
as an IP-based packet-switching service over wide areas. This service can support wireless
Internet access over very wide geographical areas.
3G systems are based on packet switching instead of the older circuit-switching systems
used in 2G. What does this mean? In 2G cellular networks, most data communication, apart from
the Short Message Service (SMS), requires a circuit-switched connection in which a user must
connect to a server to check email, for example. The main limitation of this approach is that the

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users have to be online even when they are not sending data, so they pay higher costs and
network capacity is wasted.
3G networks use a connectionless (packet-switched) communications mechanism. Data
are split into packets to which an address uniquely identifying the destination is appended. This
mode of transmission, in which communication is broken into packets, allows the same data path
to be shared among many users in the network. By breaking data into smaller packets that travel
in parallel on different channels, the data rate can be increased significantly. For example,
splitting a message into 6 packets can theoretically increase data rate six times (e.g. from 9.6
Kbps to 56 Kbps, roughly). In addition, users can stay online throughout and yet not be charged
for the time spent online. Rather, they only pay for the amount of data that they retrieve. This is
in contrast to a circuit-switched network like the regular voice telephone network where the
communication path is dedicated to the callers, thus blocking that path to other users for that
period of time. This means that although a 3G handset is, in effect, permanently connected to the
network, it only uses bandwidth when needed.
3G has evolved from 2G and is built on the success of GSM (GSM, GSM1800 and
GSM1900). Dual-mode terminals ease migration from 2G to 3G. Although many options for 3G
exist, the radio technology in 3G will likely be Wideband CDMA (Collision detect multiple
access). This is similar to local area network technologies such as Ethernet. In the US,
CDMA2000 will be used (this is similar to Wideband CDMA but backward compatible with IS95).

4.2. MMS - The Main Driver for 3G:

While different applications are being envisioned for 3G, MMS (Multimedia Message
Service) is getting the most attention. From an end-user point of view, MMS is the same as SMS
(Short Message Service) but with pictures. Let us examine the possible role of MMS in 3G
cellular networks.
Several 3G cellular providers, such as Ericsson, are counting on MMS to drive the 3G
developments because it is difficult to satisfy MMS requirements with 2G networks. Ericsson
has an estimated 40% market share and more than 50% of the global subscriber base of MMS.
Delivery of MMS services over 3G requires developments in handsets, infrastructure, content,
and systems integration. Examples of the MMS applications include push messaging, automated
data-generated graphics, picture messaging, cartoon delivery, and enhanced dating service
including photos. Some operators such as the Telecom Italia Mobile are offering access to
information on Italian football matches, TV program vignettes and Disney animated cards as part
of its mobile multimedia services. Another MMS application uses the latest traffic-status
information and knowledge of location to generate a map of the quickest route to a destination.

4.3 IEEE 802.11 versus 3G Cellular:

Although 3G cellular networks are getting a great deal of attention, the 802.11 WLANs
are proving to be a tough competitor to 3G.

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In the very best case, 3G networks are supposed to deliver around 2 Mbps in an office
environment. This is in no way competition for 802.11 networks that can deliver from 11 Mbps
to 54 Mbps. For data applications such as Web browsing, remote database access and software
downloads, 802.11 is far superior to 3G. In addition to slower data rates, Web browsing on
cellular phones requires use of special protocols such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
and markup languages such as Wireless Markup Language (WML). In short, viewing Web pages
with 3G is inherently inferior to doing so with 802.11 LANs.
But 3G cellular networks are well suited for applications like instant messaging (IM),
Short Messaging Service (SMS),or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). However, IM is not
straightforward you cannot send messages from IM to someone using MMS or SMS on a
digital phone without a special gateway between the SMS/MMS servers and IM clients.
A very attractive alternative to 3G are the 802.11 hotspots that connect 802.11 LANs to
wired networks at airports, Internet cafes, shopping malls and Starbucks coffee shops. While
802.11 hotspots have far less range than 3G, they are much cheaper to set up a business class
hotspot can be deployed for about $1500, while most 3G base stations start around $100,000. In
addition, anyone can set up a hotspot but only a telephone carrier or corporation can afford 3G
base station.
In short, 802.11 WLANs are easier to install and cost far less than setting up a 3G
network. In addition, 3Gs fastest data rate of 2 Mbps is slow compared to the slowest data rate
of 802.11s 11 Mbps. As 802.11 WLANs move toward 54 Mbps, it is apparent that 3G cannot
compete with the data rate of WLAN. Another difficulty is that the WLAN industry is growing at
a stellar rate while 3G deployments have been slowed down considerably due to infrastructure
costs. In some sense, the growth of WLANs is coming at 3Gs expense. In reality, many of the
3G providers including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon have made announcements about
deploying WLAN services as their 3G plans are delayed. In particular, British Telecom is
planning to deploy more than 4,000 WLAN hotspots based on 802.11 by the summer of 2005.
But the limitations of 802.11 should be also noted. 3G cellular phone network cells can
transmit from 5 to 6 miles in diameter. Compare this to 802.11 access points which range only
between 300 to 900 feet. Thus you will need millions of 802.11 based access points to cover a
metropolitan area. Due to this, hybrid wireless networks that support hot spots and are
connected through 3G or other networks make more sense.
The success of 802.11 versus 3G is also leading to interesting new developments. For
example, Cisco has announced an 802.11 telephone that supports Voice Over IP (VOIP) over
WLANs. This not good news for 3G (see the sidebar, Voice Over 802.11 Competition to 3G).
Many MMS applications for 3G are being built on top of existing popular services by
adding images and audio to basic text services. As 3G makes higher bandwidth applications
possible, more applications will be developed.

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Figure (6): A Journey from 1G to 3G

Figure (7): Evolution to 3G

5. 4G Networks Integration System:

In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a
successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified
the IMT-Advanced(International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) requirements for 4G
standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/sec for high mobility

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communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 Gbit/sec for low mobility communication
(such as pedestrians and stationary users).
The world's first publicly available LTE service was opened in the two Scandinavian
capitals Stockholm (Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks systems) and Oslo (a Huawei
system) on 14 December 2009.
One of the key technologies for 4G and beyond is called Open Wireless
Architecture (OWA), supporting multiple wireless air interfaces in an open architecture platform.
A 4G system is expected to provide a comprehensive and secure all-IP based mobile
broadband solution to laptop computer wireless modems, smartphones, and other mobile
devices. Facilities such as ultra-broadband Internet access, IP telephony, gaming services, and
streamed multimedia may be provided to users.
In mid 1990s, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-2000 specifications for what
standards that should be considered 3G systems. However, the cell phone market brands only
some of the IMT-2000 standards as 3G (e.g. WCDMA and CDMA2000), not all (3GPP
EDGE, DECT and mobile-WiMAX all fulfil the IMT-2000 requirements and are formally
accepted as 3G standards, but are typically not branded as 3G). In 2008, ITU-R specified
the IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) requirements for 4G
systems.
IMT-Advanced compliant versions of LTE and WiMAX are under development and
called "LTE Advanced" and "WirelessMAN-Advanced" respectively. ITU has decided that LTE
Advanced and WirelessMAN-Advanced should be accorded the official designation of IMTAdvanced. On December 6, 2010, ITU recognized that current versions of LTE, WiMax and
other evolved 3G technologies that do not fulfill "IMT-Advanced" requirements could
nevertheless be considered "4G", provided they represent forerunners to IMT-Advanced and "a
substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third
generation systems now deployed."
As seen below, in all suggestions for 4G, the CDMA spread spectrum radio technology
used in 3G systems and IS-95 is abandoned and replaced by OFDMA and other frequencydomain equalization schemes. This is combined with MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out), e.g.,
multiple antennas, dynamic channel allocation and channel-dependent scheduling.
The 4G mobile system is an all IP-based network system. The features of 4G may be
summarized with one word- integration. 4G technology should integrate different current
existing and future wireless network technologies (e.g. OFDM, MC-CDMA, LAS-CDMA and
Network-LMDS) to ensure freedom of movement and seamless roaming from one technology to
another. These will provide multimedia applications to mobile users by accessing different
technologies in a continuous and always best connection possible.

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4G, 5G
4G networks can integrate several radio access networks with fixed internet networks as
the backbone. A core interface sits in between core network and radio access networks, and a
collection of radio interfaces is used for communication between the radio access networks and
mobile users. This kind of integration combines multiple radio access interfaces into a single
network to provide seamless roaming/handoff and the best connected services.

Figure (8): Comparison of 3G and 4G

The wireless telecommunications industry as a whole has early assumed the term 4G as a
shorthand way to describe those advanced cellular technologies that, among other things, are
based on or employ wide channel OFDMA and SC-FDE technologies, MIMO transmission and
an all-IP based architecture. Mobile-WiMAX, first release LTE, IEEE 802.20 as well as FlashOFDM meets these early assumptions, and have been considered as 4G candidate systems, but
do not yet meet the more recent ITU-R IMT-Advanced requirements.

6. 5G Networks - Real Wireless World System:

5G (5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems) is a name
used in some research papers and projects to denote the next major phase of mobile
telecommunications standards beyond the 4G/IMT-Advanced standards effective since 2011. At
present, 5G is not a term officially used for any particular specification or in any official
document yet made public by telecommunication companies or standardization bodies such
as 3GPP, WiMAX Forum, or ITU-R. New standard releases beyond 4G are in progress by
standardization bodies, but are at this time not considered as new mobile generations but under
the 4G umbrella.
The 5th wireless mobile internet networks are real wireless world which shall be
supported by LAS-CDMA, OFDM, MC-CDMA, UWB, Network-LMDS and IPv6. IPv6 is a
basic protocol for running on both 4G and 5G.
The problem is that 5G is designed for World Wide Wireless Web (WWWW) to mobile
users based on network access management, but IPv6 assigns any IP address to any mobile node

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Generations of Network: 1G, 2G, 3G,

4G, 5G
based on location management. This will cause 5G wireless networks resources waste and the
IPv6 is difficulty working on the World Wide Wireless Web (WWWW). In order to solve this
problem, we have proposed the bandwidth optimization control protocol and the mix-bandwidth
data path for future 5G real wireless world. The bandwidth optimization control protocol
(BOCP) is implemented in between MAC layer and TCP/IP layer, which is used to establish the
mix-bandwidth.
Were a 5G family of standards to be implemented, it would likely be around the year
2020, according to some sources. A new mobile generation has appeared every 10th year since
the first 1G system (NMT) was introduced in 1981, including the 2G (GSM) system that started
to roll out in 1992, 3G (W-CDMA/FOMA), which appeared in 2001, and "real" 4G standards
fulfilling the IMT-Advanced requirements, that were ratified in 2011 and products expected in
2012-2013. Predecessor technologies have occurred on the market a few years before the new
mobile generation, for example the pre-3G system CdmaOne/IS95 in 1995, and the pre-4G
systems Mobile WiMAX and LTE in 2005 and 2009 respectively.
The development of the 2G (GSM) and 3G (IMT-2000 and UMTS) standards took about
10 years from the official start of the R&D projects, and development of 4G systems started in
2001 or 2002. However, still no transnational 5G development projects have officially been
launched, and industry representatives have expressed scepticism towards 5G.
New mobile generations are typically assigned new frequency bands and wider spectral
bandwidth per frequency channel (1G up to 30 kHz, 2G up to 200 kHz, 3G up to 5 MHz, and 4G
up to 40 MHz), but sceptics argue that there is little room for new frequency bands or larger
channel bandwidths. From users point of view, previous mobile generations have implied
substantial increase in peak bitrate (i.e. physical layer net bitrates for short-distance
communication). However, no source suggests 5G peak download and upload rates of more than
the 1 Gbps to be offered by ITU-R's definition of 4G systems. If 5G appears, and reflects these
prognoses, the major difference from a user point of view between 4G and 5G techniques must
be something else than increased maximum throughput. For example lower battery consumption,
lower outage probability (better coverage), high bit rates in larger portions of the coverage area,
cheaper or no traffic fees due to low infrastructure deployment costs, or higher aggregate
capacity for many simultaneous users (i.e. higher system level spectral efficiency).

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Generations of Network: 1G, 2G, 3G,

4G, 5G

Figure (9): Mix-Bandwidth Data Path

7. The Journey of G from 1 to 5th Generation:

Until the controversial spectrum scams were brought up in the lime light many were
ignorant of what 1G, 2G or 3G stood for and all of a sudden a hike was found out amongst
laymen so as to be knowledgeable about it. Still a number of people are unaware of 1G or 2G
when the world has moved on to 4G.
The telecommunication service in World had a great leap within a last few year. 6 billion
people own mobile phones so we are going to analyze the various generations of cellular systems
as studied in the evolution of mobile communications from 1st generation to 5th generation
.Now almost all the service providers as well as the customers seek for availing these 3G and 4G
services.
We can analyze that this could be due to increase in the telecoms customers day by day.
In the present time, there are four generations in the mobile industry. These are respectively 1G
the first generation, 2G the second generation, 3G the third generation, and then the 4G the

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Generations of Network: 1G, 2G, 3G,

4G, 5G
fourth generation. Ericson a Swedish company is launching this high tech featured mobile into
the market. It is being first introduced in the Swedish Capital city, Stockholm.
Generation
(1G,2G,3G,
4G,5G)

Definition

1G

Analog

2G

Through
put/

Technology

Time
period

Features

14.4
Kbps
(peak)

AMPS,NMT,T
ACS

1970-1980

During 1G Wireless
phones are used for
voice only.

Digital
Narrow
band
circuit data

9.6/14.4
Kbps

TDMA,CDMA

1990-2000

2G capabilities are
achieved by allowing
multiple users on a
single channel via
multiplexing. During
2G Cellular phones are
used for data also
along with voice.

2.5G

Packet
Data

171.2
Kbps(pea
k)
20-40
Kbps

GPRS

2001-2004

In
2.5G
the
internet becomes
popular
and
data
becomes
more
relevant.2.5G
Multimedia
services and streaming
starts to show growth.
Phones
start
supporting
web
browsing
though
limited and very few
phones have that.

3G

Digital
Broadband
Packet
Data

3.1 Mbps
(peak)
500-700
Kbps

CDMA 2000
(1xRTT,
EVDO)
UMTS, EDGE

2004-2005

3G
has Multimedia
services support along
with streaming are
more
popular.In

Speed

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Generations of Network: 1G, 2G, 3G,

4G, 5G
3G, Universal
access and
portability across
different device types
are made possible.
(Telephones, PDAs,
etc.)
3.5G

Packet
Data

14.4
Mbps
(peak)
1-3 Mbps

HSPA

2006-2010

3.5G supports higher

throughput
and
speeds to
support
higher data needs of
the consumers.

4G

Digital
Broadband
Packet
All IP
Very high
throughput

100-300
Mbps
(peak)
3-5 Mbps
100 Mbps
(Wi-Fi)

WiMax
LTE
Wi-Fi

Now
(Transition
ing to 4G)

Speeds for 4G are

further increased to
keep up with data
access demand used by
various services.High
definition streaming is
now supported in 4G.
New phones with HD
capabilities surface. It
gets pretty cool.In
4G, Portability is
increased
further.World-wide
roaming is not a distant
dream.

5G

Not Yet

Probably
gigabits

Not Yet

Soon
(probably
2020)

Currently there is no
5G
technology
deployed. When this
becomes available it
will provide very high
speeds
to
the
consumers. It would
also provide efficient
use
of
available
bandwidth as has been
seen
through

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Generations of Network: 1G, 2G, 3G,

4G, 5G
development of each
new technology.
Figure: A Journey From 1G to 5G.

8. Present Status
Countries:

of

Telecommunication

Services

in

Asian

Now we are in the midst of 4G. In China, the 3G service came into existence only by last
February. Therefore, that it may take time for exposing to other states. But we should also realize
many other countries such as the Asian countries were using these services since last decade.
Due to these reasons, we can hope that the 4G may enter within a few years. The 3G (Third
Generation) had also reached India recently. There is no doubt that within a few years India will
be the first in telecom users also.

9. Conclusion:
In this paper, we have reviewed the 1st, 2nd and 3 rd generation mobile communication
technology and predicted the future generations of 4th, 5th generation. The first generation (1G)
wireless mobile communication system is analog system which was used for public voice service
with the speed up to 2.4kbps. It was introduced around the year1980. The second generation
(2G) is based on digital technology and network infrastructure. As compared to the first
generation, the second generation can support text messaging. It was introduced around the year
1990. The third generation wireless system (3G) was to provide wireless data service with data
rates of 144kbps to 384kbps in wide coverage areas, and 2Mbps in local coverage areas, which
can connect with internet. It was introduced around the year 2000.
In order to provide wireless mobile internet to users as the same quality as the fixed
internet networks, 4G shall integrate current existing cellular networks and Wireless LAN with
fixed internet networks. Thus, the feature of 4G is one word - integration. It can be introduced
around the year 2010.
This kind of integration may cause the handoff issue once the mobile users moving from
one technology to another, which limit the movement of mobile users. The Mixbandwidth
data path is designed to solve this problem and make the 5G in real wireless world. It can
be introduced around the year 2020.

10. References:
1. http://www.wikipedia.org/
2. www.ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/guesthome.jsp

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