3G Technology: Present and Future Perspectives

By: piru

India is the fastest growing and the second largest telecom market in the world. The telecom revolution in India has a long history and we have had the advantage of jumping evolutionary steps and taking many short-cuts.

3G is the third generation of telecommunication hardware standards and general technology for mobile networking, superseding 2.5G. It is based on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards under the IMT-2000.
3G networks enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency. Services include wide-area wireless voice telephony, video calls, and broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment. Additional features also include HSPA data transmission capabilities able to deliver speeds up to 14.4 Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s on the uplink.

Implementation of 3G
The first commercial launch of 3G was by NTT DoCoMo in Japan on October 1, 2001. The 2nd network to go commercially live was by SK Telecom in South Korea on the 1xEV-DO technology in January 2002.
In Europe, the first commercial network was provided by Telenor in December 2001 on the W-CDMA technology and in USA, 3G network was first provided by Monet Mobile Networks, on CDMA2000 1x EV-DO technology, but this network provider later shut down its operation. The 2nd 3G network operator in the USA was Verizon Wireless in October 2003.
According to the latest data, about 190 3G networks were operating in 40 countries and 154 HSDPA networks were operating in 71 countries. In Asia, Europe, Canada and the USA, telecommunication companies use W-CDMA technology with the support of around 100 terminal designs to operate 3G mobile networks.

3G in India

Airtel and Vodafone
From August 2008, the Apple iPhone 3G is available in India on Airtel and Vodafone. Apple iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the iPhone SDK.

MTNL 3G 'Jadoo'
In December, 2008 the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) announced the 3G mobile services, ‘Jadoo’, currently available to select high-end users of MTNL mobile services in Delhi and Mumbai. The service will provide an array of choices to its subscriber’s high-speed internet on mobile, video-calling, video surveillance and live TV. MTNL will have the first-mover advantage in the 3G space in Delhi and Mumbai.

BSNL : Chennai Gets 3G
After MTNL's Jadoo in Delhi and Mumbai, BSNL has launched 3G services in Chennai in February, 2009. The city will now be able to experience the magic of faster internet on mobile phones. By month end, almost 12 cities in India will get a taste of 3G mobile telephony from BSNL.

Issues
Although 3G was successfully introduced to users across the world, some issues are debated by 3G providers and users:
• Expensive input fees for the 3G service licenses and agreements
• Numerous differences in the licensing terms
• Large amount of debt currently sustained by many telecommunication companies, which makes it a challenge to build the necessary infrastructure for 3G
• Lack of member state support for financially troubled operators
• Expense of 3G phones
• 3G networks use the KASUMI block crypto and a number of serious weaknesses in the KASUMI cipher have been identified.
• Lack of buy-in by 2G mobile users for the new 3G wireless services
• Lack of coverage, because it is still a new service

3G evolution (pre-4G)
The standardization of 3G evolution is progressing in both 3GPP and 3GPP2. The corresponding specifications of 3GPP and 3GPP2 evolutions are named as LTE and UMB, respectively. 3G evolution uses partly beyond 3G technologies to enhance the performance and to make a smooth migration path.
A 4g network is in the pipe line, capable of speeds of 100Mbit/s while moving and 1Gbit/s stationary. This however will not see the light of day until at least four, or even eight years time when they have the right equipment to use it. By that stage, bandwidth will be all around us to take advantage of.
WiMAX is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile internet access. The technology provides up to 72 Mbit/s symmetric broadband speed without the need for cables. This makes WiMAX a technology of choice as a backhaul for 3G, especially in a country like India where villages are far flung and isolated.