After 22 years of dominance in the technology, 3G networks are about to shut down due to the increased expansion of 4G and 5G networks. It will be shut down by the end of February 2022. The introduction of 3G revolutionized the communication system. Developments in 3G and the introduction of 4G uplifted the wireless networks.
Arrival of 3G
After the demand for high-speed technology in communications started to increase, the candy bar devices with 2G networks had little chance of withstanding the race of networks. Though 2G allowed the transfer of data in bits, the maximum transfer speed was still below 5kbps and was below the average marks of transferring the data. Initially introduced in Japan by Verizon 3G allowed faster data transfer as the spectrum bandwidth of 3G was expanded. 3G networks allowed the transfer of images, browsing on the internet with a speed ranging from 300kbps to 2mbps by focusing on the network protocol layer that is responsible for data transfer through the internet.
Fact: Launched in 2002 by Verizon and first introduced by a Japanese company- NTT DoCoMo.
CDMA 2000 Technology and EDGE
Technology that introduced 3G in the market used the CDMA 2000 technique where data is transferred in the form of codes along with the TDMA technique. CDMA uses multiple signal transfers with a single channel at the same time and thus increases the speed of the data transfer using maximum bandwidth. For GSM networks 3G was introduced with advancements in GPRS technologies named EDGE.
Fact: CDMA is a part of the ITU IMT-2000 family and this multiplexing technique is highly used while manufacturing mobile phones in the USA.
Video Conferencing and Streaming
Strong multimedia access and increased bandwidth allowed 3G devices to make video calls. Companies that introduced 3G networks upgraded their transmissions to increase the speeds. Online video streaming and video chatting needed a speed of at least 1 Mbps and 3G technology provided the needed speed for the same as it is 3 times faster than 2G networks. Along with this facility, it allowed downloading of music and backward compatibility of networks.
Fact: Companies like Blackberry and Apple launched 3G models and had the facilities of music, keyboards, and internet access.
Access to the Internet and Emails
3G helped the wireless networks to function as fast as broadband networks. The packet-based 3G connectivity allowed more bandwidth and IP connectivity. Increased bandwidth and faster speeds allowed users to access the internet facility through 3G networks which were least used in 2G technology. Users could access the multimedia applications and load the basic HTML pages with the help of a mobile network. One more sector that saw major changes in speed was emails and messages. Fast email services with media attachments and messages with multimedia were introduced.
Fact: The network uses in 3G was Wideband Code Division Multiple Access and has a bandwidth of 15-20
Moving to Next Generation
As new trends in technology were introduced in the market, the demand for faster and high-quality networks increased. Here, Verizon introduced 4G technology that provided fast web access, HD videos, high-quality video conferencing, and the introduction of the cloud.
Fact: Advances in 3G introduced 4G technology which also has a 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) that provides the fastest connection for mobile devices.
The shutdown of the technology that changed the “Generation” of the wireless networks may affect the technology sector a lot. Despite the advancements, users are still familiar with the old 3G technologies which in consequence will be shut down.
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