1G Vs. 2G Vs. 3G Vs. 4G Vs.

5G
Simply, the "G" stands for "GENERATION" . While you connected to internet, the speed of
your internet is depends upon the signal strength that has been shown in alphabets like 2G, 3G,
4G etc. right next to the signal bar on your home screen. Each Generation is defined as a set of
telephone network standards , which detail the technological implementation of a particular
mobile phone system. The speed increases and the technology used to achieve that speed also
changes. For eg, 1G offers 2.4 kbps, 2G offers 64 Kbps and is based on GSM, 3G offers 144
kbps-2 mbps whereas 4G offers 100 Mbps - 1 Gbps and is based on LTE technology .

The aim of wireless communication is to provide high quality, reliable communication just like
wired communication(optical fibre) and each new generation of services represents a big step(a
leap rather) in that direction. This evolution journey was started in 1979 from 1G and it is still
continuing to 5G. Each of the Generations has standards that must be met to officially use the G
terminology. There are institutions in charge of standardizing each generation of mobile
technology. Each generation has requirements that specify things like throughput, delay, etc. that
need to be met to be considered part of that generation. Each generation built upon the research
and development which happened since the last generation. 1G was not used to identify wireless
technology until 2G, or the second generation, was released. That was a major jump in the
technology when the wireless networks went from analog to digital .

1G - First Generation
This was the first generation of cell phone technology . The very first generation of commercial
cellular network was introduced in the late 70's with fully implemented standards being
established throughout the 80's. It was introduced in 1987 by Telecom (known today as Telstra),
Australia received its first cellular mobile phone network utilising a 1G analog system. 1G is an
analog technology and the phones generally had poor battery life and voice quality was large
without much security, and would sometimes experience dropped calls . These are the analog
telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s and continued until being
replaced by 2G digital telecommunications. The maximum speed of 1G is 2.4 Kbps .
2G - Second Generation
Cell phones received their first major upgrade when they went from 1G to 2G. The main
difference between the two mobile telephone systems (1G and 2G), is that the radio signals used
by 1G network are analog, while 2G networks are digital . Main motive of this generation was to
provide secure and reliable communication channel. It implemented the concept
of CDMA and GSM . Provided small data service like sms and mms. Second generation 2G
cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by
Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj) in 1991. 2G capabilities are achieved by allowing multiple
users on a single channel via multiplexing. During 2G Cellular phones are used for data also
along with voice. The advance in technology from 1G to 2G introduced many of the fundamental
services that we still use today, such as SMS, internal roaming , conference calls, call hold and
billing based on services e.g. charges based on long distance calls and real time billing. The max
speed of 2G with General Packet Radio Service ( GPRS ) is 50 Kbps or 1 Mbps with Enhanced
Data Rates for GSM Evolution ( EDGE ). Before making the major leap from 2G to 3G wireless
networks, the lesser-known 2.5G and 2.75G was an interim standard that bridged the gap.

3G - Third Generation
This generation set the standards for most of the wireless technology we have come to know and
love. Web browsing, email, video downloading, picture sharing and other Smartphone
technology were introduced in the third generation. Introduced commercially in 2001, the goals
set out for third generation mobile communication were to facilitate greater voice and data
capacity, support a wider range of applications, and increase data transmission at a lower cost .

The 3G standard utilises a new technology called UMTS as its core network architecture -
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. This network combines aspects of the 2G
network with some new technology and protocols to deliver a significantly faster data rate.
Based on a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunications use services
and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 ( IMT-
2000 ) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. One of requirements set by
IMT-2000 was that speed should be at least 200Kbps to call it as 3G service.

3G has Multimedia services support along with streaming are more popular. In 3G, Universal
access and portability across different device types are made possible (Telephones, PDA's, etc.).
3G increased the efficiency of frequency spectrum by improving how audio
is compressed during a call, so more simultaneous calls can happen in the same frequency
range. The UN's International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard requires
stationary speeds of 2Mbps and mobile speeds of 384kbps for a "true" 3G. The theoretical max
speed for HSPA+ is 21.6 Mbps.

Like 2G, 3G evolved into 3.5G and 3.75G as more features were introduced in order to bring
about 4G. A 3G phone cannot communicate through a 4G network , but newer generations of
phones are practically always designed to be backward compatible, so a 4G phone can
communicate through a 3G or even 2G network .
4G - Fourth Generation
4G is a very different technology as compared to 3G and was made possible practically only
because of the advancements in the technology in the last 10 years. Its purpose is to provide high
speed , high quality and high capacity to users while improving security and lower the cost of
voice and data services, multimedia and internet over IP. Potential and current applications
include amended mobile web access, IP telephony , gaming services, high-definition mobile
TV, video conferencing, 3D television, and cloud computing.

The key technologies that have made this possible are MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output)
and OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). The two important 4G standards
are WiMAX (has now fizzled out) and LTE (has seen widespread deployment). LTE (Long
Term Evolution) is a series of upgrades to existing UMTS technology and will be rolled out on
Telstra's existing 1800MHz frequency band. The max speed of a 4G network when the device is
moving is 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps for low mobility communication like when stationary or
walking, latency reduced from around 300ms to less than 100ms, and significantly lower
congestion. When 4G first became available, it was simply a little faster than 3G. 4G is not the
same as 4G LTE which is very close to meeting the criteria of the standards. To download a new
game or stream a TV show in HD, you can do it without buffering .

Newer generations of phones are usually designed to be backward-compatible , so a 4G phone

can communicate through a 3G or even 2G network. All carriers seem to agree that OFDM is
one of the chief indicators that a service can be legitimately marketed as being 4G. OFDM is a
type of digital modulation in which a signal is split into several narrowband channels at different
frequencies. There are a significant amount of infrastructure changes needed to be implemented
by service providers in order to supply because voice calls
in GSM , UMTS and CDMA2000 are circuit switched, so with the adoption of LTE, carriers
will have to re-engineer their voice call network. And again, we have the fractional
parts: 4.5G and 4.9G marking the transition of LTE (in the stage called LTE-Advanced Pro)
getting us more MIMO, more D2D on the way to IMT-2020 and the requirements of 5G .

5G - Fifth Generation
5G is a generation currently under development , that's intended to improve on
4G. 5G promises significantly faster data rates, higher connection density, much lower latency,
among other improvements. Some of the plans for 5G include device-to-device communication,
better battery consumption, and improved overall wireless coverage. The max speed of 5G is
aimed at being as fast as 35.46 Gbps , which is over 35 times faster than 4G.

Key technologies to look out for: Massive MIMO , Millimeter Wave Mobile Communications
etc. Massive MIMO, milimetre wave, small cells, Li-Fi all the new technologies from the
previous decade could be used to give 10Gb/s to a user, with an unseen low latency, and allow
connections for at least 100 billion devices . Different estimations have been made for the date
of commercial introduction of 5G networks. Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance feel that
5G should be rolled out by 2020 to meet business and consumer demands.
What are the differences between 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, and 5G networks?

Simply, the “G” stands for “GENERATION”. While connected to the internet, the speed of the connection
depends upon the signal strength that is shown in abbreviations like 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc. on any mobile
device. Each generation of wireless broadband is defined as a set of telephone network standards that
describe the technological implementation of the system.

The aim of wireless communication is to provide high quality, reliable communication just like wired
communication and each new generation represents a big leap in that direction. Mobile communication
has become more popular in the last few years due to fast reform in mobile technology. For the
comparison of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G we first need to understand the key features of all these technologies.

SECOND GENERATION (2G)

2G refers to the second generation of mobile networks based on GSM. The radio signals used by the 1G
network were analog, while 2G networks were digital. 2G capabilities were achieved by allowing
multiple users on a single channel via multiplexing. During 2G, Cellular phones were used for data along
with voice. Some of the key features of 2G were:

Data speeds of up to 64 kbps

Use of digital signals instead of analog

Enabled services such as SMS and MMS (Multimedia Message)

Provided better quality voice calls

It used a bandwidth of 30 to 200 KHz

THIRD GENERATION (3G)

The 3G standard utilizes Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) as its core network
architecture. 3G network combines aspects of the 2G network with new technologies and protocols to
deliver a significantly faster data rate. By using packet switching, the original technology was improved
to allow speeds up to 14 Mbps. It used Wide Band Wireless Network that increased clarity. It operates at
a range of 2100MHz and has a bandwidth of 15-20MHz. Some of the main features of 3G are:

Speed of up to 2 Mbps

Increased bandwidth and data transfer rates

Send/receive large email messages

Large capacities and broadband capabilities

International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) were the specifications by the International

Telecommunication Union for the 3G network. Theoretically, 21.6 Mbps in the max speed of HSPA+.

FOURTH GENERATION (4G)

The main difference between 3G and 4G is the data rate. There is also a huge difference between 3G
and 4G technology. The key technologies that have made 4G possible are MIMO (Multiple Input
Multiple Output) and OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). The most important 4G
standards are WiMAX and LTE. While 4G LTE is a major improvement over 3G speeds, it is technically not
4G. What is the difference between 4G and LTE?

Even after it was widely available, many networks were not up to the required speed of 4G. 4G LTE is a
“fourth generation long term evolution”, capable of delivering a very fast and secure internet
connection. Basically, 4G is the predetermined standard for mobile network connections. 4G LTE is the
term given to the path which has to be followed to achieve those predefined standards. Some of the
features of 4G LTE are:

Support interactive multimedia, voice, video.

High speed, high capacity and low cost per bit (Speeds of up to 20 Mbps or more.)
Global and scalable mobile networks.

Ad hoc and multi-hop networks.

Following is the comparison between 4G and 5G speeds:

Theoretical 5G vs 4G speed

Theoretical-5g-vs-4g-speed

Live 5G vs 4G speed test performed via RantCell App

Practical-5g-vs-4g-speed

We conducted a comparison test campaign of 4G and 5G with our RantCell app. The result displays 4G
and 5G data points with peak throughput in a particular location for ‘23415’ mobile network operator
i.e. Mobile network code for Vodafone as shown in the image below:

Comparison-of-4g-5g

FIFTH GENERATION (5G)

5G uses the rarely used radio millimeter bands in the 30 GHz to 300 GHz range. Testing of 5G range in
mmWave has produced results approximately 500 meters from the tower. Using small cells, the
deployment of 5G with millimetre wave based carriers can improve overall coverage area. Combined
with Beamforming, small cells can deliver extremely fast coverage with low latency.

Low latency is one of 5G’s most important features. 5G uses a scalable orthogonal frequency-division
multiplexing (OFDM) framework. 5G benefits greatly from this and can have latency as low as one
millisecond with realistic estimates to be around 1 – 10 seconds. 5G is estimated to be 60 to 120 times
faster than the average 4G latency.
Active antenna 5G encapsulated with 5G massive MIMO is used for providing better connections and
enhanced user experience. Big 5G array antennas are deployed to gain additional beamforming
information and knock out propagation challenges that are experienced at mmWave frequency ranges.

Further, 5G networks clubbed with network slicing architecture enables telecom operators to offer on-
demand tailored connectivity to their users that is adhered to Service Level Agreement (SLA). Such
customised network capabilities comprise latency, data speed, latency, reliability, quality, services, and
security.

With speeds of up to 10 Gbps, 5G is set to be as much as 10 times faster than 4G. Following is a brief
comparison of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G.

2G vs 3G vs 4G vs 5G

Each generation in some way has improved over its predecessor. There is a lot of ground to compare the
cell networks over. Following is the comparison between 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G.

The comparison of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G clearly shows the differences in the technologies. The comparison
of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G also makes it evident that 5G is going to be one of the most ambitious leaps in the
history of cell network technologies