4G Vs. 3G

Gone are the days, when we purchased phones because they looked better or had a better camera. These are the days of 3G and 4G. When a layman comes across 4G or 3G phones, he is all lost and does not know what they are. They are terms used to describe different features available on mobile phones and the technology, which drives the cell phones. The 'G' in these terms stands for 'Generation'. The nomenclature of naming the phones started off with the introduction of 1G phones often called the 'First Generation' phones, which were also called 'brick phones'. They were indeed the first mobile phones to have been introduced in the market. Then came the 2G aka 'Second Generation' phones. The shift from analog to digital technology came with the introduction of the 2G phones in the market.

The Third Generation or 3G mobile phones ushered in faster data-transmission speeds, due to which one could use the cell phone in more data demanding ways. It is with the speed, that you can stream video, audio, and much more on your mobile phones. A lot of money has been spent by the various telephone companies to prove the importance of 3G network to the average person. The latest technology on the horizon is 4G. What are the technological differences between 4G and 3G is the question to which we will find an answer.

Difference Between 4G and 3G

To understand the difference between 4G and 3G , we will first have to understand, what exactly they are? This will help us understand the differences between them better.

What is 3G?
3G is a wireless technology, which has come with enhancement over the preceding wireless technologies. Some of the factors that render 3G a winner over its predecessors are high-speed transmission, advanced multimedia access, and global roaming facilities. The 3G technology is used to connect the cell phones to the Internet, or other IP networks, to make a voice or video call or to download and upload data and not to forget; to surf the net.

What is 4G?
When we speak about 4G, we are essentially talking about the change in the fundamental nature of the service offered, non backward compatible transmission technology and new frequency bands. It is expected to give a comprehensive and secure all-IP based solution, which will have facilities like IP telephony, ultra-broadband Internet access, gaming services and streamed multimedia facility to the user.

4G Vs. 3G
To understand difference between 3G and 4G, there are some points, which will have to be taken into consideration.

Speed
The first point of comparison between the 3G and the 4G network is the speed. Answering which one of them has better speed is tricky. The speed of 3G is dependent on how the network has been implemented. At this point, I would like to bring to your notice that the current 4G transmission speed is said to be at least 4 times faster than the 3G network. However, many experts opine, that the current 4G network can ideally be called advanced 3G. As a matter of fact a 4G network will be about 10 times faster, than the current 3G network. It has also been observed that there is scope for improving the speed of 3G transmission. It has been observed that if the speed of 3G is enhanced in GSM, it is equal to that of the 4G speed on a CDMA network.

Network
With the introduction of 3G, the cell phone user was able to use speech and data services simultaneously, at higher data rates. The 4G data rates are expected to be higher than the current ones provided by 3G. Along with the increase in data rate, 4G is expected to give its users gaming, multimedia, and Internet access support. On the 3G network, both voice communication as well as data communication is possible. Both these structures work parallel to each other.

Switching Technology
3G technology uses both packet switching and circuit switching network nodes. In 4G, only packet switching infrastructure is used. If you have to look at the bandwidth of 3G and 4G, you will notice that there is no difference. Hence, all the calls in 4G are inherently IP telephony calls, which is not the case with a 3G network.

Bandwidth
It is the data rate which makes the difference. Both 3G and 4G have a bandwidth of 5 - 20 MHz. For 4G network, the data rate has been set at 100 Mbit in moving vehicles and 1 Gits in stationary and walking users. The data rates specified by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for 3G are 2 Mbps for stationary or walking users, while it is set at 384 kbits in a moving vehicle.

Although 4G is going to be an advancement in the mobile technology, there are certain areas, which are not fixed in this update either. Call drop is one such area, which needs to be fixed urgently. Coverage gaps also results in loss in communication in a number of cases. Since mobile phones have been introduced in the market, people have complained about slow speeds during peak hours. It was hoped that these issues will be fixed with the 3G, however, it has not even been fixed with 4G either. Although 4G has been introduced, it has not been implemented in all cities, therefore, if a customer is traveling, he will not be able to use the 4G services. Also lag may be encountered, when there is data transmission between two different generations of network, namely 3G and 4G.

It is clear that 4G is certainly an advanced technology vis-à-vis 3G, however, the users will have to wait till 4G is also implemented. Implementation of 4G may take longer than expected, as 3G is still not being widely implemented, as it should have been, although measures are being taken for the same. According to experts, with the increase in data transmission speed, there will naturally be more data consumption, which in turn will result in higher data bills. There are many more features of 4G which have not been tested yet and choices about the hardware change with every passing day. Therefore, one will have to be patient, till all the potential benefits of the technology are clearer.