5G (Fifth Generation)

Fifth Generation Wireless Communication (5G)

5G (5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems) is a name used in some research papers and projects to denote the next major phase of mobile telecommunications standards beyond the upcoming 4G standards (expected to be finalized between approximately 2011 and 2013). Currently, 5G is not a term officially used for any particular specification or in any official document yet made public by telecommunication companies or standardization bodies such as 3GPP, WiMAX Forum or ITU-R. New 3GPP standard releases beyond 4G and LTE Advanced are in progress, but not considered as new mobile generations. The implementation of standards under a 5G umbrella would likely be around the year of 2020.

Keys :

• 5G is a completed wireless communication with almost no limitation; somehow people called it REAL wireless world.
• Additional features such as Multi-Media Newspapers, also to watch T.V programs with the clarity as to that of an HD T.V.
• 5G will bring almost perfect real world wireless or called ―WWWW: World Wide Wireless Web. 
• Real wireless world with no more limitation with access and zone issues.
• Wearable devices with AI capabilities.
• Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6), where a visiting care-of mobile IP address is assigned according to location and connected network..
• One unified global standard.
• High altitude stratospheric platform station (HAPS) systems.

4G (Fourth Generation)

Fourth Generation Wireless Communication (4G)

4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. The bandwidth and location information available to 3G devices gives rise to applications not previously available to mobile phone users.

Figure representing 4G mobile phone

Some of the applications are:

• Mobile TV – a provider redirects a TV channel directly to the subscriber's phone where it can be watched.
• Video on demand – a provider sends a movie to the subscriber's phone.
• Video conferencing – subscribers can see as well as talk to each other.
• Tele-medicine – a medical provider monitors or provides advice to the potentially isolated subscriber.
• Location-based services – a provider sends localized weather or traffic conditions to the phone, or the phone allows the subscriber to find nearby businesses or friends
• mobile ultra-broadband (gigabit speed) access and multi-carrier transmission.
• Mobile WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)

Keys:

• 4G is a conceptual framework and a discussion point to address future needs of a high speed wireless network.
• It offer both cellular and broadband multimedia services everywhere.
• Expected to emerged around 2010 – 2015.
• 4G should be able to provided very smooth global roaming ubiquitously with lower cost.

3G (Third Generation)

Third Generation Wireless Communication (3G)

International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT--2000), better known as 3G or 3rd Generation, is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunications services fulfilling specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. The use of 3G technology is also able to transmit packet switch data efficiently at better and increased bandwidth. 3G mobile technologies proffers more advanced services to mobile users. Transmission speeds from 125kbps to 2Mbps.

In 2005, 3G is ready to live up to its performance in computer networking (WCDMA, WLAN and Bluetooth) and mobile devices area (cell phone and GPS).

Figure representing 3G mobile

Keys

• Data are sent through technology called packet switching.
• Voice calls are interpreted using circuit switching 
• Access to Global Roaming 
• Clarity in voice calls 
• Fast Communication, Internet, Mobile T.V, Video Conferencing, Video Calls, Multi Media Messaging Service (MMS), 3D gaming, Multi-Gaming etc are also available with 3G phones

2.75G / EDGE (Second Generation)

Second Generation Wireless Communication (2.75G/EDGE)

GPRS networks evolved to EDGE networks with the introduction of 8PSK encoding. Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution, Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), or IMT Single Carrier (IMT-SC) is a backward-compatible digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates, as an extension on top of standard GSM. EDGE was deployed on GSM networks beginning in 2003—initially by Cingular (now AT&T) in the United States.

EDGE is standardized by 3GPP as part of the GSM family, and it is an upgrade that provides a potential three-fold increase in capacity of GSM/GPRS networks. The specification achieves higher data-rates (up to 236.8 Kbit/s) by switching to more sophisticated methods of coding (8PSK), within existing GSM timeslots.

Keys:

• In between 2G and 3G there is another generation called 2.75G.
• 2.75G represents handsets with data capabilities over GPRS.
• But this had not brought out any new revolution.

2.5G (Second Generation)

Second Generation Wireless Communication (2.5G)

2.5G is a stepping stone between 2G and 3G cellular wireless technologies. The term "second and a half generation" is used to describe 2G-systems that have implemented a packet switched domain in addition to the circuit switched domain. It does not necessarily provide faster services because bundling of timeslots is used for circuit switched data services (HSCSD) as well.

The first major step in the evolution of GSM networks to 3G occurred with the introduction of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). CDMA2000 networks similarly evolved through the introduction of 1xRTT. GPRS could provide data rates from 56 Kbit/s up to 115 Kbit/s. It can be used for services such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), and for Internet communication services such as email and World Wide Web access.

1xRTT supports bi-directional (up and downlink) peak data rates up to 153.6 kbps, delivering an average user data throughput of 80-100 kbps in commercial networks. It can also be used for WAP, SMS & MMS services, as well as Internet access.

2G (Second Generation)

Second Generation Wireless Communication (2G)

2G (or 2-G) is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj) in 1991. 2G network allows for much greater penetration intensity. 2G technologies enabled the various mobile phone networks to provide the services such as text messages, picture messages and MMS (multi media messages). 2G technology is more efficient. 2G technology holds sufficient security for both the sender and the receiver. All text messages are digitally encrypted. This digital encryption allows for the transfer of data in such a way that only the intended receiver can receive and read it.

Figure: 2G mobile phones

Second generation technologies are either time division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA). TDMA allows for the division of signal into time slots. CDMA allocates each user a special code to communicate over a multiplex physical channel. Different TDMA technologies are GSM, PDC, iDEN, IS-136. CDMA technology is IS-95. GSM has its origin from the Group special Mobile, in Europe. GSM (Global system for mobile communication) is the most admired standard of all the mobile technologies. Although this technology originates from the Europe, but now it is used in more than 212 countries in the world. GSM technology was the first one to help establish international roaming. This enabled the mobile subscribers to use their mobile phone connections in many different countries of the world’s is based on digital signals ,unlike 1G technologies which were used to transfer analogue signals. GSM has enabled the users to make use of the short message services (SMS) to any mobile network at any time. SMS is a cheap and easy way to send a message to anyone, other than the voice call or conference. This technology is beneficial to both the network operators and the ultimate users at the same time.

Keys:

• Fielded in the late 1980s and finished in the late 1990s.
• Planned for voice transmission with digital signal and the speeds up to 64kbps.
• 2G was the digital handsets that we are used today.
• 2G network allows for much greater penetration intensity.

1G (First Generation)

First Generation Wireless Communication (1G)

First Generation wireless technology (1G) is the original analog (An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature (variable) of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity), voice-only cellular telephone standard, developed in the 1980s. The main difference between two succeeding mobile telephone systems, 1G and 2G, is that the radio signals that 1G networks use are analog, while 2G networks are digital.

Figure: 1G mobile phone

Keys:

• Developed in 1980s and completed in early 1990’s.
• 1G was old analog system and supported the 1st generation of analog cell phones speed up to 2.4kbps.
• Advance mobile phone system (AMPS) was first launched by the US and is a 1G mobile system.
• Allows users to make voice calls in 1 country.

From 1G to 5G

1G, 2G, 3G & 4G ("G" stands for "Generation") are the generations of wireless telecom connectivity. 1G (Time Division Multiple Access and Frequency Division Multiple Access ) was the initial wireless telecom network system. It's out-dated now. The analog ―brick phones and ―bag phones are under 1G technology. Cell phones era began with 1G.

The next era, 2G has taken its place of 1G. Cell phones received their first major upgrade when they went from 1G to 2G. This leap effectively took cell phones from analog to digital. 2G and 2.5G were versions of the GSM and CDMA connections. And GSM is still the most popular technology, but with no internet. Fortunately, GPRS, an additional service, is provided over GSM for the purpose of internet access. GPRS has been developed and thus, EGPRS was created. It's more secure and faster than GPRS.

Then 3G came, the new Wireless CDMA technology. It is the first wireless telecom technology that provides broadband-speed internet connection on mobile phones. Further development led to the creation of 3.5G, which provides blazing fast internet connection on phones, up to the speed of 7.2 MBPS. A smart phone can be connected to a PC to share its internet connection and 3G and 3.5G are ideal for this.

4G, which is also known as ―beyond 3G‖ or ―fourth-generation‖ cell phone technology, refers to the entirely new evolution. Developers are now going for 4G (OFDMA), which will provide internet up to the speed of 1 GBPS! It is said to be able to overcome the problems of weak network strength and should provide a much wider network, making sure that the users get high-speed connectivity anytime anywhere. No doubt, 4G will open new doors of revolutionary internet technologies, but for now, 3G and 3.5G are the best. 4G will allow for speeds of up to 100Mbps. 4G promises voice, data and high-quality multimedia in real-time form all the time and anywhere.

Growth

The world have witnessed tremendous growth in the mobile and wireless devices over the last fifteen years. Nowadays many mobile phones have also a WLAN adapter. One may suppose that near soon many mobile phones will have WiMAX adapter too, besides their 3G, 2G, WLAN, Bluetooth etc. adapters. Using IP for both, 2.5G or 3G Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMN) on one side and WLAN on the other, raised research on their integration. Regarding the 4G, its focus is towards seamless integration of cellular networks such as GSM and 3G. Multimode user terminals are seen as must have for 4G, but different security mechanisms and different QoS support in different wireless technologies remain a challenge. However, integration among different wireless networks (e.g. PLMN and WLAN) is functioning in practice even today. But, different wireless networks from a single terminal are used exclusively, that is, there is no combining of different wireless access technologies for a same session (e.g., FTP download). The proposed Open Wireless Architecture (OWA) in is targeted to provide open baseband processing modules with open interface parameters to support different existing as well as future wireless communication standards. The OWA is targeted to MAC/PHY layers of future (4G) mobile terminals. The referenced work above provides a ground for definition of a concept for beyond 4G mobile networks, referred in this paper as 5G mobile networks. In the proposed concept the mobile user is on the top of all. The 5G terminals will have software defined radios and modulation scheme as well as new error-control schemes can be downloaded from the Internet on the run. The development is seen towards the user terminals as a focus of the5G mobile networks. The terminals will have access to different wireless technologies at the same time and the terminal should be able to combine different flows from different technologies. Each network will be responsible for handling user-mobility, while the terminal will make the final choice among different wireless/mobile access network providers for a given service. The paper also proposes intelligent Internet phone concept where the mobile phone can choose the best connections by selected constraints and dynamically change them during a single end-to-end connection.

Published paper in International Conference

Paper Published

Presented paper titled “Evolution of Networks (2G-5G)” in International Conference of ICACACT-2012 and the proceedings published by International Journal of Computer Applications (IJCA)

(ISBN: 973-93-80869-79-8)

IJCA paper

View full paper

View toward Networks....!!

Mobile and wireless networks have made tremendous growth in the last fifteen years. Today 3G mobile systems are on the ground providing IP connectivity for real-time and non-real-time services. Then, the concepts of 4G is already much discussed and it is almost certain that 4G will include several standards under a common umbrella, similarly to 3G, but with IEEE 802. xx wireless mobile networks included from the beginning. The main contribution of this paper is definition of 5G (Fifth Generation) mobile network concept, which is seen as user-centric concept instead of operator-centric as in 3G or service-centric concept as seen for 4G. In the proposed concept the mobile user is on the top of all. The 5G terminals will have software defined radios and modulation scheme as well as new error-control schemes can be downloaded from the Internet on the run. The development is seen towards the user terminals as a focus of the5G mobile networks. The terminals will have access to different wireless technologies at the same time and the terminal should be able to combine different flows from different technologies. Each network will be responsible for handling user-mobility, while the terminal will make the final choice among different wireless/mobile access network providers for a given service. The proposal in this paper is fundamental shift in the mobile networking philosophy compared to existing 3G and near-soon 4G mobile technologies, and this concept is called here - the 5G.