Cellular Technology 101 - part 1
Posted on April 14, 2008
Filed Under David Morton, Mobility 101
As I go through my day, I am often asked questions about how cellular networks operate, how calls or mobile data connections are made.
The answers to these and other questions can be very simple or deeply complex. Google or Yahoo! may help some, but I’ve found it difficult to find a good primer on cellular technology.
Enter Mobility 101
To help answer some of these questions, I’ve started a section on FreshlyMobile.com called Mobility 101.
Mobility 101 articles will eventually cover a wide range of topics designed to provide some perspective on the technology and business of mobile communication, to explain common terms or to generally help take the mystery in how things work.
As with many things in life, all things mobile can involve some very complex concepts and technology. In Mobility 101, (and indeed much of FreshlyMobile) we will often tend towards easier to understand generalizations rather than the often impenetrable (but technically accurate) technical minutia. If we miss the mark, miss the point or are just plain mistaken, please let us know.
Cellular Tech 101
Today I would like to introduce the first in a four-part series that will take a brief look at the history, terminology, technology, and the general anatomy of cellular networks, which I call Cellular Tech 101.
You can download the slides for part one here.
Ever wonder 1G, 2G or 3G means? Well, the “G” in 1G, 2G, 3G, etc refers to a generation of technology in the cellular industry. The first mobile phones (you remember or have seen pictures of the big brick phone or a phone in a bag) are now generally called 1G phones. Service in this period was limited and very expensive. While few people had these phones, the technology was changing rapidly and in the 1990’s we began to move into the 2nd Generation or 2G era.
With 2G, the phones moved from analog to digital. This allowed quality and capacity to improve, eventually driving down prices (most phones used in the US today are 2G phones). With the move to digital and 2G, we found cellular companies divided into two technology camps, CDMA and GSM. We will look at these camps a bit more closely next time. In practical terms it meant that phones would not interoperate across networks with a different type of technology.
Here in the US, we have been slowly moving towards the 3rd Generation technologies. With 3G comes faster speeds for data. It makes browsing the Internet or watching videos much easier. Three of the 4 major carriers in the US (AT&T, Sprint and Verizon) have been operating 3G networks for some time. T-Mobile is currently in the process of upgrading their network to 3G and is currently offering something that is often called 2.5G.
2.5G is a marketing term and it is an interim step between the 2G and 3G worlds. All the carriers took this 2.5G step as it offered faster data service than 2G, without the pain and expense of upgrading the network to support 3G. Speaking of 2.5G and 3G, you may have heard some people say that the Apple iPhone only supports EDGE and not 3G (yet). EDGE is considered a 2.5G technology and is widely deployed by AT&T and T-Mobile in the US.
Please feel free to download the slides to see a bit more about what distinguishes the various generations of cellular technology. Also let me know if you have any questions, comments or corrections by leaving a comment or sending me an email.
Until next time….
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About Me
David Morton (mortonmanor)
Director, Mobile Strategies
University of Washington
We are on the cusp of making great strides towards the promise of mobility. This isn't a site about me, but rather I wanted a place where people can come to learn and talk about how the promise is being realized.
contact me: mortonmanor at freshlymobile dot com
UW Mobile Usage Stats. -
what kind of applications does “Tech 101″(mobile phone) support.
[...] Cellular Technology 101 - part 1Please feel free to download the slides to see a bit more about what distinguishes the various generations of cellular technology. Also let me know if you have any questions, comments or corrections by leaving a comment or sending me an … [...]