4g: The Anytime, Anywhere Connection

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What is 4G?

4G is the fourth generation wireless technology — the “next” generation of technology that will be used by cellular phone companies making it possible to deliver superior quality video and data in addition to voice. It is so futuristic that it is dubbed as the ‘mobile broadband everywhere’ technology. It is expected to allow any mobile device to seamlessly roam over different wireless technologies automatically, using the best connection available for the intended use. In other words it would be “anytime, anywhere, anything” technology.

Basically, every new generation of technology refers to the rate at which data is transmitted. 4G is projected to provide data at the rate of 20 megabits, at least. As is common with most R&D projections, there is hope that it will reach even 100 Mbits/second, with some even predicting mobile data delivery at the rate of 1 Gigabits/second. The latest excitement around it is because it was originally slotted for a 2010 launch, but a 2006 entry seems to be on the horizon. Also, in India, the new communications and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran has announced a national centre of excellence to work in the 4G arena.

So is 3G technology in use now?

No. The world largely uses advanced second generation cellular services, referred to as 2.5 as well as parallel Wi-Fi technologies. In India too, it is mostly 2.5 G technology in use. Mobile telephony service providers give services based on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), or CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) — variants in the second generation stable.

Work on 3G has been on since mid-Nineties with the view to achieve efficient highspeed data delivery, including hitch-free access to the Net. Applications such as transactional wireless communications like location-based services, wireless shopping, personal services, e-mail and multimedia data transfer were being talked about. Standards have been evolved, but deployment is happening in Japan and parts of Europe — some of which are mere trials by Vodafone, Hutch and others.

In a separate development, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) is also being adopted. In India too, it has also caught on after the government delicenced the 2.4 G frequency for deployment of the use of 802.11b technology. But then Wi-Fi — basically a high-speed access to Net within 50 metres of a base-station — is also being constantly improved upon. It has progressed to WiMAX which supports a more robust standard 802.16a. This standard is optimised for broadband operation in the wide area network.

How can we reach fourth generation even before third?

That is the beauty of technology. You can leapfrog to the advanced version without going through the intermediate one. This is possible because “speed” is of essence in communication technologies. The terms 2G, 3G and 4G essentially stand for the rate at which data is transmitted. 2G refers to speed of 9.6 kbit/sec which is about six times slower than an ISDN fixed line connection.

For third generation mobile (3G) data rates are 384 kbps (download) maximum, typically around 200kbps, and 64kbps upload.

In contrast, 4G refers to transmission at 20 Mbps. This is about 2,000 times faster than mobile data rates, and about 10 times faster than top transmission rates, planned in the final build out of 3G broadband mobile. It is about 10-20 times faster than standard ASDL services, introduced for internet connections over traditional copper cables some years ago.

Who is developing 4G technologies?

Mostly cellular phone companies such as Alcatel, Nortel, Motorola and so on, though IT companies like HP , Hughes, LG Electronics and others are also getting involved.

Much of the work is taking place in the Asia Pacific — Japan in particular. Japanese Company NTT DoCoMo is actively pursuing it. In fact, Japan, China and Korea have agreed to jointly develop communications and other technologies for 4G which this may lead to a unified communications protocol — which may even become a global standard. According to the 4G Mobile Forum, by 2008 over $400 billion would be invested in 4G mobile projects. Unlike 3G, work will not be restricted to cellular companies though.

Where does Wifi belong then?

As mentioned earlier, WiMax is also progressing rapidly and may mimic 4G capabilities. US-based companies like, Flarion, Navini, ArrayComm and Broadstorm and others are developing products at such high speeds that WiMax is dubbed as a migration path to 4G. However, all Wifi technologies address “fixed” broadband access whereas 4G may develop as a rival to Wi-Fi that offers wider coverage, or as a wireless alternative to the cable and digital subscriber-line (DSL) technologies that now provide broadband access to homes and offices. In fact it is being positioned as MAGIC — an acronym for

Mobile multimedia communications;

Anywhere, anytime with anyone;

Global mobility support;

Integrated wireless solution; and

Customised personal service.