It is over two years since the auction of 3G spectrum. Every telecom operator has launched 3G services. But do you know what is 3G, and what is the significance of G in mobile telephony?
1G
This is the first generation of mobile technology that was introduced in the early eighties, and only supported voice calls.
2G
The second generation technology became available in the nineties. It could transfer data at speeds of 20kbps (kilobits per second). The improved speed made it possible for telecom majors to introduce SMS and caller ID on mobile phones. Conference calls too became possible with 2G.
2.5G
This technology became available in the middle nineties and operators launched utilities like gaming, web browsing, MMS and short audio and video clips since 2.5G supported data transfer at speeds of 30 kbps to 90 kbps.
3G
The 3G Partnership Project that was set up in 1998 made it possible to transfer data at speeds that ranged from 144 kbps to 2 Mbps. No wonder mobile telephony went ballistic with 3G, the third generation of mobile technologies. Telecom majors introduced full motion video, music streaming, 3D gaming and video conferencing.
4G
The world now awaits the implementation of 4G, a technology that will facilitate data transfers from 100Mbps to 1Gps. With it, mobile telephony will never be the same again.
Leave a Reply