Many people have heard of 3G cell phones, whether it be by way of advertisements or word of mouth, realizing that 3G is “good” with little information beyond that suggested fact. In fact, the 3G of 3G no contract cell phones simply means “third generation”, referring to the third “generation” or wave of technical advances which may have upped the efficiency and technological capacity of cell phones and mobile devices, including CDMA and GSM standards.
Especially, 3G cell phones are those fulfilling certain specifications permitting use of wide area voice and data telecommunication, internet access, video messaging, television – and most of the modern applications we associate with typical smartphones. By IMT-2000 features, to be classified as 3G, a device must provide peak rates of data transfer at 200 kilobits a second.
Before 3G cell phones, there were needless to say cell phones of the first and second generation. A new “generation” has become widely available nearly every ten years, each offering new frequency bands, higher rates of data transfer and non backwards compatible transmission technology. The first generation, 1G, relates to the first generation of analog based mobile phones created during the eighties. This was replaced by 2G on the GSM standard in 1991, which was the first digital standard allowing data to be digitally encrypted for the first time.
It also offered data services to mobile devices for the first time, starting with SMS text messaging which has become revolutionary, but also including picture messages, email, and file transfers. Though 3G cell phones are the current standard, with 4G looming over the horizon, 2G networks are still fully functional in numerous parts of the world.
3G cell phones first stumbled on fruition in 2003 when the first 3G network was introduced. By 2007, 200 million people had subscribed to any one of the 190 3G networks operating in 40 countries. Still, only about 7% of cell phones users are subscribed to a 3G network, given that most cell phones users are in places like East Asia or the Middle East where networks are slower to roll out and technology is still a few years behind places like Europe or North America.
Set to succeed 3G cell phones, 4G is slowly beginning to find its way to the market. The 4G standard of data transfer is 100 megabits a second for users in a state of increased mobility, such as behind the wheel or on a moving train, and 1 gigabit for pedestrian or stationary users. This enhancement in data transfer will allow 4G to improve and continue using features established by 2 and 3G, such as video calls and broadband internet access, as well as newer technologies such as streaming HDTV. For 4G, the CDMA standard is set to be left behind, in lieu of the newer OFDMA.
