Evolution of Mobile Services: An Analysis

Evolution Of Mobile Telephony – From 0G To 4G

Since the introduction of 1G standard in 1981/82, a new generation of cellular standards has appeared approximately every tenth year. Each generation of mobile standards are characterized by new frequency bands, higher data rates and non-backward compatible transmission technology. The various generations of mobile standards are as follows:

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  The Zero Generation (0G) refers to the predecessors of the first generation of cellular telephones. The main technologies used were Push to Talk (PTT or manual), Mobile Telephone System (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS), and Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS) systems.

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  The First Generation (1G) is the analog telecommunications standards introduced in the 1980s. These systems use digital signaling to connect the radio towers, and during the call, modulated to higher frequency, typically 150 MHz and above.

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  The Second Generation (2G) was first launched in Finland in 1991. These systems digitized not only the control link but also the voice signal, thereby providing better quality and higher capacity at lower cost. 2G provided speeds ranging from 9.6 Kbit/s to 28.8 Kbit/s and were primarily built for voice services and slow data communication.

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  The Third Generation (3G) standards fulfill the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. It is expected that IMT-2000 will provide higher transmission rates - a minimum speed of 2Mbit/s for stationary or walking users, and 348 kbit/s in a moving vehicle (Office of the Secretary-General). The bandwidth and location information available to 3G devices gave rise to data heavy applications like Mobile TV, Video on demand, Video conferencing, Tele-medicine and Location-based services.

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  The Fourth Generation (4G) standards specified by IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) is expected to provide a comprehensive and secure all-IP based mobile broadband solution to laptop computer wireless modems, smartphones, and other mobile devices. 4G standards have set peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s for high mobility communication (such as from vehicles) and 1 Gbit/s for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users) (ITU-R). This will provide end users facilities such as ultra-broadband Internet access, IP telephony, gaming services, and streamed multimedia