Machinery Behind The Magic: What is 3G mobile technology?

So you’re getting a new mobile phone and are thinking of heading onwards and upwards with an exciting new smartphone – perhaps a new iPhone or an HTC Desire, the two favourites of the moment. But what is it that actually gives a nimble, multimedia-rich mobile phone the edge over the ordinary feature phone? Here’s a quick outline of the attribute that ultimately separates them – 3G.

All mobile phones use network technology to send and receive data for calls, and on more advanced handsets, data for web browsing and file downloads. Every advance of this network technology is classified into generations. The first generation is analogue cellular technology. The second generation is digital, with more advanced protocols. Generation 3, or 3G, is the most recent development, and give networks greater bandwidth and therefore allow more data to be transferred faster.

Protocols in 3G transmit data in megabytes per second rather than in kilobytes, with transfer speeds reaching up to 10Mbs. In comparison, a 2G network reaches up to 144KBps at its fastest. For comparison then, a 3G phone would be able to download a 3 minute MP3 song in about 15 seconds, compared to the 8 minutes it would take a 2G phone.

The high data rates on a 3G network are perfect for downloading information from the web and sending or receiving large multimedia files and attachments. This capacity to handle large data packets has transformed mobile phones. Rather than a basic vehicle for calls and texts, a 3G phone is mini laptop. They are able to download movies, games and music; send and receive work documents; operate apps; navigate with GPS; stream live from the web.

Some 3G protocols are:
• WCDMA – Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
• High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA)
• Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access (WCDMA)
• CDMA2000 – Code Division Multiple Access
You will probably see these codes listed in the specs of new mobile phones; they indicate that the handset is 3G enabled.

Just as most of us are getting used to the skills of a smartphone on a 3G network, fledgling 4G networks are being worked on and have been announced for 2011/2012. 4G networks will have peak data rates of up to approximately 100Mbs for mobile phone networks. This means in the near future we can expect our mobile phones to handle massive data downloads with quality and ease, letting us carry out effortless video conferencing and TV on our mobile phones.