3G, short form of third Generation, is the third generation of mobile

telecommunications technology.[1] This is based on a set of standards used

for mobile devices and mobile telecommunications use services and networks
that comply with the nternational !obile Telecommunications"#$$$ %!T"
#$$$& speci'cations by the nternational Telecommunication (nion.[#] 3G
'nds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile nternet access, ')ed
wireless nternet access, video calls and mobile T*.
3G telecommunication networks support services that provide an information
transfer rate of at least #$$ kbit+s. ,ater 3G releases, often denoted 3.-G and
3..-G, also provide mobile broadband access of several !bit+s to
smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers. This ensures it can be
applied to wireless voice telephony, mobile nternet access, ')ed wireless
nternet access, video calls and mobile T* technologies.
/ new generation of cellular standards has appeared appro)imately every
tenth year since 1G systems were introduced in 1011+101#. 2ach generation
is characteri3ed by new fre4uency bands, higher data rates and non5
backward"compatible transmission technology. The 'rst 3G networks were
introduced in 1001 and fourth generation 67G6 networks in #$$1.8everal
telecommunications companies market wireless mobile nternet services as
3G, indicating that the advertised service is provided over a 3G wireless
network. 8ervices advertised as 3G are re4uired to meet !T"#$$$ technical
standards, including standards for reliability and speed %data transfer rates&.
To meet the !T"#$$$ standards, a system is re4uired to provide peak data
rates of at least #$$ kbit+s %about $.# !bit+s&. 9owever, many services
advertised as 3G provide higher speed than the minimum technical
re4uirements for a 3G service. :ecent 3G releases, often denoted 3.-G and
3..-G, also provide mobile broadband access of several !bit+s to
smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers.
The following standards are typically branded 3G;
the (!T8 system, 'rst o<ered in #$$1, standardi3ed by 3G==, used primarily
in 2urope, >apan, ?hina %however with a di<erent radio interface& and other
regions predominated by G8! #G system infrastructure. The cell phones are
typically (!T8 and G8! hybrids. 8everal radio interfaces are o<ered, sharing
the same infrastructure;
The original and most widespread radio interface is called @"?A!/.
The TA"8?A!/ radio interface was commerciali3ed in #$$0 and is only
o<ered in ?hina.
The latest (!T8 release, 98=/B, can provide peak data rates up to -C !bit+s
in the downlink in theory %#1 !bit+s in e)isting services& and ## !bit+s in the
uplink.
the ?A!/#$$$ system, 'rst o<ered in #$$#, standardi3ed by 3G==#, used
especially in Dorth /merica and 8outh Eorea, sharing infrastructure with the
8"0- #G standard. The cell phones are typically ?A!/#$$$ and 8"0-
hybrids. The latest release 2*AF :ev G o<ers peak rates of 17.. !bit+s
downstream.
The above systems and radio interfaces are based on spread spectrum radio
transmission technology. @hile the G8! 2AG2 standard %6#.0G6&, A2?T
cordless phones and !obile @i!/H standards formally also ful'll the !T"
#$$$ re4uirements and are approved as 3G standards by T(, these are
typically not branded 3G, and are based on completely di<erent technologies.
The following common standards comply with the !T#$$$+3G standard;
2AG2, a revision by the 3G== organi3ation to the older #G G8! based
transmission methods, utili3ing the same switching nodes, base station sites
and fre4uencies as G=:8, but new base station and cellphone :I circuits. t is
based on the three times as eJcient 1=8E modulation scheme as supplement
to the original G!8E modulation scheme. 2AG2 is still used e)tensively due
to its ease of upgrade from e)isting #G G8! infrastructure and cell"phones.
2AG2 combined with the G=:8 #.-G technology is called 2G=:8, and allows
peak data rates in the order of #$$ kbit+s, Kust as the original (!T8 @?A!/
versions, and thus formally ful'lls the !T#$$$ re4uirements on 3G systems.
9owever, in practice 2AG2 is seldom marketed as a 3G system, but a #.0G
system. 2AG2 shows slightly better system spectral eJciency than the
original (!T8 and ?A!/#$$$ systems, but it is diJcult to reach much higher
peak data rates due to the limited G8! spectral bandwidth of #$$ k93, and it
is thus a dead end.
2AG2 was also a mode in the 8"13- TA!/ system, today ceased.
2volved 2AG2, the latest revision, has peaks of 1 !bit+s downstream and 7$$
kbit+s upstream, but is not commercially used.
The (niversal !obile Telecommunications 8ystem, created and revised by the
3G==. The family is a full revision from G8! in terms of encoding methods
and hardware, although some G8! sites can be retro'tted to broadcast in the
(!T8+@"?A!/ format.
@"?A!/ is the most common deployment, commonly operated on the #,1$$
!93 band. / few others use the 1-$, 0$$ and 1,0$$ !93 bands.
98=/ is an amalgamation of several upgrades to the original @"?A!/
standard and o<ers speeds of 17.7 !bit+s down and -..C !Git+s up. 98=/ is
backward"compatible with and uses the same fre4uencies as @"?A!/.
98=/B, a further revision and upgrade of 98=/, can provide theoretical peak
data rates up to 1C1 !bit+s in the downlink and ## !bit+s in the uplink, using
a combination of air interface improvements as well as multi"carrier 98=/ and
!!F. Technically though, !!F and A?"98=/ can be used without the 6B6
enhancements of 98=/B
The ?A!/#$$$ system, or 8"#$$$, including ?A!/#$$$ 1) and ?A!/#$$$
9igh :ate =acket Aata %or 2*AF&, standardi3ed by 3G==# %di<ering from the
3G==&, evolving from the original 8"0- ?A!/ system, is used especially in
Dorth /merica, ?hina, ndia, =akistan, >apan, 8outh Eorea, 8outheast /sia,
2urope and /frica.[3]
?A!/#$$$ 1) :ev. 2 has an increased voice capacity %in e)cess of three
times& compared to :ev. $ 2*AF :ev. G o<ers downstream peak rates of 17..
!bit+s while :ev. ? enhanced e)isting and new terminal user e)perience.
@hile A2?T cordless phones and !obile @i!/H standards formally also ful'll
the !T"#$$$ re4uirements, they are not usually considered due to their rarity
and unsuitability for usage with mobile phones.
Greak"up of 3G systems[edit]
The 3G %(!T8 and ?A!/#$$$& research and development proKects started in
100#. n 1000, T( approved 've radio interfaces for !T"#$$$ as a part of the
T(": !.17-. :ecommendationL @i!/H was added in #$$..[7]
There are evolutionary standards %2AG2 and ?A!/& that are backward"
compatible e)tensions to pre"e)isting #G networks as well as revolutionary
standards that re4uire all"new network hardware and fre4uency allocations.
The cell phones utilise (!T8 in combination with #G G8! standards and
bandwidths, but do not support 2AG2.[-] The latter group is the (!T8 family,
which consists of standards developed for !T"#$$$, as well as the
independently developed standards A2?T and @i!/H, which were included
because they 't the !T"#$$$ de'nition.
Fverview of 3G+!T"#$$$ standards[C]
T( !T"#$$$ compliant standards common name%s& bandwidth of data
pre"7G upgrade duple) channel description historical
areas
TA!/ 8ingle"?arrier %!T"8?& 2AG2 %(@?"13C& 2AG2 2volution likely
discontinuedIAA TA!/ evolutionary upgrade to G8!+G=:8[nb 1]
worldwide, e)cept >apan and 8outh Eorea
?A!/ !ulti"?arrier %!T"!?& ?A!/#$$$ 2*"AF(!G[nb #] ?A!/
evolutionary upgrade to cdmaFne %8"0-& /mericas, /sia, some
others
?A!/ Airect 8pread %!T"A8& (!T8[nb 3] @"?A!/[nb 7] 98=/ ,T2
family of revolutionary upgrades to earlier G8! family. worldwide
?A!/ TAA %!T"T?& TA"?A!/[nb -] TAA 2urope
TA"8?A!/[nb C] !ainland ?hina only
IA!/+TA!/ %!T"IT& A2?T none IA!/+TA!/ short"rangeL standard for
cordless phones 2urope, (8, ?anada
="FIA!/ @i!/H %222 1$#.1C& FIA!/ worldwide,
e)cept mainland ?hina
>ump up M ?an also be used as an upgrade to =A? or A"/!=8.
>ump up M development halted in favour of ,T2.[.]
>ump up M also known as IF!/L[1] (!T8 is the common name for a standard
that encompasses multiple air interfaces.
>ump up M also known as (T:/"IAAL @"?A!/ is sometimes used as a
synonym for (!T8, ignoring the other air interface options.[1]
>ump up M also known as (T:/"TAA 3.17 !cps high chip rate %9?:&
>ump up M also known as (T:/"TAA 1.#1 !cps low chip rate %,?:&
@hile 2AG2 ful'lls the 3G speci'cations, most G8!+(!T8 phones report
2AG2 %6#..-G6& and (!T8 %63G6& functionality.
9istory[edit]
3G technology is the result of research and development work carried out by
the nternational Telecommunication (nion %T(& in the early 101$s. 3G
speci'cations and standards were developed in 'fteen years. The technical
speci'cations were made available to the public under the name !T"#$$$.
The communication spectrum between 7$$ !93 to 3 G93 was allocated for
3G. Goth the government and communication companies approved the 3G
standard.[0] The 'rst pre"commercial 3G network was launched by DTT
Ao?o!o in >apan in 1001,[1$] branded as IF!/. t was 'rst available in !ay
#$$1 as a pre"release %test& of @"?A!/ technology.[11] The 'rst commercial
launch of 3G was also by DTT Ao?o!o in >apan on 1 Fctober #$$1, although
it was initially somewhat limited in scopeL[1#][13] broader availability of the
system was delayed by apparent concerns over its reliability.[17]
The 'rst 2uropean pre"commercial network was an (!T8 network on the sle
of !an by !an) Telecom, the operator then owned by Gritish Telecom, and
the 'rst commercial network %also (!T8 based @"?A!/& in 2urope was
opened for business by Telenor in Aecember #$$1 with no commercial
handsets and thus no paying customers.
The 'rst network to go commercially live was by 8E Telecom in 8outh Eorea
on the ?A!/"based 1)2*"AF technology in >anuary #$$#. Gy !ay #$$# the
second 8outh Eorean 3G network was by ET on 2*"AF and thus the 8outh
Eoreans were the 'rst to see competition among 3G operators.
The 'rst commercial (nited 8tates 3G network was by !onet !obile
Detworks, on ?A!/#$$$ 1) 2*"AF technology, but this network provider
later shut down operations. The second 3G network operator in the (8/ was
*eri3on @ireless in >uly #$$# also on ?A!/#$$$ 1) 2*"AF.[1-] /TNT !obility
is also a true 3G (!T8 network, having completed its upgrade of the 3G
network to 98(=/.
The 'rst pre"commercial demonstration network in the southern hemisphere
was built in /delaide, 8outh /ustralia by m.Det ?orporation in Iebruary #$$#
using (!T8 on #,1$$ !93. This was a demonstration network for the #$$# T
@orld ?ongress. The 'rst commercial 3G network was launched by 9utchison
Telecommunications branded as Three or 636 in >une #$$3.[1C]
2mtel launched the 'rst 3G network in /frica.
/doption[edit]
8ee also; 3G adoption
Depal Telecom adopted 3G 8ervice for the 'rst time in /sia. 9owever its 3G
was relatively slow to be adopted in Depal. n some instances, 3G networks
do not use the same radio fre4uencies as #G so mobile operators must build
entirely new networks and license entirely new fre4uencies, especially so to
achieve high data transmission rates. Fther ?ountries delays were due to the
e)penses of upgrading transmission hardware, especially for (!T8, whose
deployment re4uired the replacement of most broadcast towers. Aue to these
issues and diJculties with deployment, many carriers were not able to or
delayed ac4uisition of these updated capabilities.
n Aecember #$$., 10$ 3G networks were operating in 7$ countries and 1-7
98A=/ networks were operating in .1 countries, according to the Global
!obile 8uppliers /ssociation %G8/&. n /sia, 2urope, ?anada and the (8/,
telecommunication companies use @"?A!/ technology with the support of
around 1$$ terminal designs to operate 3G mobile networks.
:oll"out of 3G networks was delayed in some countries by the enormous
costs of additional spectrum licensing fees. %8ee Telecoms crash.& The license
fees in some 2uropean countries were particularly high, bolstered by
government auctions of a limited number of licenses and sealed bid auctions,
and initial e)citement over 3GOs potential.
The 3G standard is perhaps well known because of a massive e)pansion of
the mobile communications market post"#G and advances of the consumer
mophone. /n especially notable development during this time is the
smartphone %for e)ample, the i=hone, and the /ndroid family&, combining the
abilities of a =A/ with a mobile phone, leading to widespread demand for
mobile internet connectivity. 3G has also introduced the term 6mobile
broadband6 because its speed and capability make it a viable alternative for
internet browsing, and (8G !odems connecting to 3G networks are becoming
increasingly common.
!arket penetration[edit]
Gy >une #$$., the #$$ millionth 3G subscriber had been connected of which
1$ million were in Depal and 1.# million in ndia. This #$$ millionth is only
C..P of the 3 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide. %@hen counting
?A!/#$$$ 1) :TT customersQma) bitrate .#P of the #$$kbit+s which
de'nes 3GQthe total si3e of the nearly"3G subscriber base was 7.- million as
of >une #$$., which was 1-.1P of all subscribers worldwide.& n the countries
where 3G was launched 'rst 5 >apan and 8outh Eorea 5 3G penetration is over
.$P.[1.] n 2urope the leading country[whenR] for 3G penetration is taly
with a third of its subscribers migrated to 3G. Fther leading countries[whenR]
for 3G use include Depal, (E, /ustria, /ustralia and 8ingapore at the 3#P
migration level.
/ccording to T( estimates,[11] as of S7 #$1# there were #$0C million active
mobile"broadband[vague] subscribers worldwide out of a total of C13- million
subscribersQthis is Kust over 3$P. /bout half the mobile"broadband
subscriptions are for subscribers in developed nations, 037 million out of
1C$$ million total, well over -$P. Dote however that there is a distinction
between a phone with mobile"broadband connectivity and a smart phone
with a large display and so onQalthough according[10] to the T( and
informatandm.com the (8/ has 3#1 million mobile subscriptions, including
#-C million that are 3G or 7G, which is both 1$P of the subscriber base and
1$P of the (8/ population, according[11] to ?om8core Kust a year earlier in
S7 #$11 only about 7#P of people surveyed in the (8/ reported they owned
a smart phone. n >apan, 3G penetration was similar at about 11P, but smart
phone ownership was lower at about 1.P.[11] n ?hina, there were 71C.-
million 3G subscribers in >une #$17,[#$] in a population of 1,31-,-CC,-3.
%#$13 (D estimate&.
=atents[edit]
t has been estimated that there are almost 1,$$$ patents declared essential
%I:/DA& related to the 713 technical speci'cations which form the 3G== and
3G==# standards.[#1][##] Twelve companies accounted in #$$7 for 0$P of
the patents %Sualcomm, 2ricsson, Dokia, !otorola, =hilips, DTT Ao?o!o,
8iemens, !itsubishi, IuKitsu, 9itachi, nterAigital, and !atsushita&.
2ven then, some patents essential to 3G might have not been declared by
their patent holders. t is believed that Dortel and ,ucent have undisclosed
patents essential to these standards.[##]
Iurthermore, the e)isting 3G =atent =latform =artnership pool has little
impact on I:/DA protection, because it e)cludes the four largest patents
owners for 3G.[#3][#7]
Ieatures[edit]
Aata rates[edit]
T( has not provided a clear[citation needed][vague] de'nition of the data
rate that users can e)pect from 3G e4uipment or providers. Thus users sold
3G service may not be able to point to a standard and say that the rates it
speci'es are not being met. @hile stating in commentary that 6it is e)pected
that !T"#$$$ will provide higher transmission rates; a minimum data rate of
# !bit+s for stationary or walking users, and 317 kbit+s in a moving
vehicle,6[#-] the T( does not actually clearly specify minimum re4uired
rates, nor re4uired average rates, nor what modes[clari'cation needed] of
the interfaces 4ualify as 3G, so various[vague] data rates are sold as O3GO in
the market. ?ompare with 3.-G and 7G.
n ndia, 3G is de'ned by telecom service providers as minimum # !bit+s to
ma)imum #1 !bit+s.[#C]
8ecurity[edit]
8ee also; !obile security T /ttacks based on the G8! networks
3G networks o<er greater security than their #G predecessors. Gy allowing
the (2 %(ser 24uipment& to authenticate the network it is attaching to, the
user can be sure the network is the intended one and not an impersonator.
3G networks use the E/8(! block cipher instead of the older /-+1 stream
cipher. 9owever, a number of serious weaknesses in the E/8(! cipher have
been identi'ed.[#.]
n addition to the 3G network infrastructure security, end"to"end security is
o<ered when application frameworks such as !8 are accessed, although this
is not strictly a 3G property.
/pplications of 3G[edit]
The bandwidth and location information available to 3G devices gives rise to
applications not previously available to mobile phone users. 8ome of the
applications are;
Global =ositioning 8ystem %G=8&
,ocation"based services
!obile T*
Telemedicine
*ideo ?onferencing
*ideo on demand
2volution[edit]
Goth 3G== and 3G==# are working on e)tensions to 3G standard that are
based on an all"= network infrastructure and using advanced wireless
technologies such as !!F. These speci'cations already display features
characteristic for !T"/dvanced %7G&, the successor of 3G. 9owever, falling
short of the bandwidth re4uirements for 7G %which is 1 Gbit+s for stationary
and 1$$ !bit+s for mobile operation&, these standards are classi'ed as 3.0G
or =re"7G.
3G== plans to meet the 7G goals with ,T2 /dvanced, whereas Sualcomm has
halted development of (!G in favour of the ,T2 family.[.]
Fn 17 Aecember #$$0, Telia 8onera announced in an oJcial press release
that 6@e are very proud to be the 'rst operator in the world to o<er our
customers 7G services.6[#1] @ith the launch of their ,T2 network, initially
they are o<ering pre"7G %or beyond 3G& services in 8tockholm, 8weden and
Fslo, Dorway.