An Introduction to 4G Wireless Mobile Technology

4G Mobile Technology

Till last year, we were thinking about the 3G technology and associated technological comforts like high speed. Now that we have at last come at ease with the 3rd generation tech, science is moving forward to the 4th generation of cellular wireless technology. Yes, the “4G” is on its way. Be prepared for even speedier and faster data transfer speed; the big bro is coming! Mobile phone making companies have started advertising their upcoming 4g phones (like HTC Evo 4G). Let us have a look at mobile technology development to better understand the forthcoming 4th generation.

Development of Cellular Wireless Technology:

It started with analogue transmission 1G and moved forward to 2G which was digitalised transmission. 2G is found in most basic cell phones, and features slow transmission of data (10 kb/s), phone calls, reception of basic emails and voice mails. Due to demand for fast transmission, 2G was replaced by 2.5G and with it came the very familiar GPRS. General Packet Radio Service took the mobile phone technology higher than before as now it offered better services and faster transmission. It supported emailing, web browsing and surfing, SMS, MMS and WAP access. This upgraded tech offered a speed of 56 kb/s to 114 kb/s. With the ever evolving technology, demand for better and quicker transmission kept growing. To cater this requirement of users, mobile technology developers came up with 2.75G introducing EDGE; Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution. EDGE is not only regarded as 2.75G feature but also a 3G feature. The main attributes were voice mails, phone calls, fax, rich emailing, maps and navigation, web browsing and a speed of 64 kb/s to 144 kb/s.

3G technology was being considered the best available tech for cellular phones till this year. The 3G tech introduced UMTS networks. It catered to most of the essentialities of corporate life like internet access, intranet access, interactive app sharing and video conferencing. Moreover, it offered global roaming, HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), TV streaming and a speed of 144 kb/s – 2 MB/s. Now, we are on the edge of a new revolutionary technological development i.e. 4G. Highlighting features of 4G are multi-carrier transmission and ultra-broadband i.e. gigabit speed.

Kinds of 4G Tech:

Basically, there are two kinds of this technology. These kinds are LTE and WiMax. Let us have a look at both of these.

LTE:

Though this is a pre-4G technology, it is associated with 3G and not with 3G. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. This is being so much liked all around the US that most of the mobile carriers in States have announced that they will convert their existing networks to the LTE. It is important to note that the LTE is such a network which treats each and everything that is transmitted by it as data, no matter it is voice. Theoretically talking, the LTE is capable of providing a high speed data transfer rate of 100MB/s regarding download and 50 MB/s while uploading, provided that a 20 MHz channel is used.

The carriers that are planning to upgrade their networks to LTE include Verizon and AT&T. Verizon says that their network offers a 40 to 50 Mbps download speed and 20 to 25 Mbps upload speed. Don’t forget that these are “Words”; practically the scenario will be different. Expect a 5 to 12 Mbps upload and 2 to 5 Mbps upload speed. AT&T is yet planning to upgrade to LTE, but this is a long term planning (probably for 2011).

WiMax:

This long abbreviation stands for even longer term; Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is better to associate it with Wi-Fi technology than to the cellular networks. It is capable of long distance transmission; 30 miles. The peak data transmission rates (as stated) are 128 Mbps downlink and 56 Mbps uplink. The only mobile phone carrier to embrace and accept WiMax with heart is Sprint. Currently, Clearwire and Sprint hold their WiMax network in around 27 cities. More cities are yet to be included in this list. Right now, Sprint does not possess a 4G phone. To treat this issue, they have introduced WiMax capable router. Sprint declares that with WiMax, they will be offering an average speed of 3 Mbps to 6 Mbps, with a peak speed of 10 Mbps.

Features of 4G Tech:

This approaching technology has some awesome features that are attracting users towards it. Though 3G is already doing a fine job (iPhone 3G is a perfect example), there is always room for better services and development; this is why people do not stop working after reaching a goal as goals are unlimited. Aims keep on appearing one after another. So is the case with mobile network technology.

Basically, 4G will be emphasizing on high speed data transmission without interruption. The ultra-broad band will provide speedier internet experience to the users and thus, better live streaming. This network is going to be IP based; i.e. packet switched. Though the data transfer rates are higher, charges will be low as there will be more and higher bandwidth. Video conferencing is also expected which will revolutionize the concept of e-commerce and corporate world. Also, it is going to create big difference in the teaching methodology and distant learning programs. Options are unlimited. Another important feature is global roaming, which is yet one more necessity for high officials, corporate personnel and professionals. Due to faster data transmission, video streaming will be more like fun. Let us get ourselves prepared for smoother, uninterrupted and continual web streaming experience. There is a word about video chat, too. This is a great feature for those who have relatives and friends living far away in other countries, and cannot see them unless they have a computer and internet access for video chat. Indeed, 4G sounds intelligent and genius.

There are rumors about use of senses for communicating to others and artificial intelligence, but this is not sure whether these developments are part of 4G or its next development.

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Tags: 4G, 4g mobile technology, 4G wireless mobile, 4g wireless technology