The Evolution of Modern Telecommunication Networks

Technology is growing amazingly and unexpectedly every day. Humans flocked to

advance existing technology for human welfare. Communication is important for humans.
Humans develop networks that can make them communicate quickly. However, there are
positive and negative impacts from the development of this generation of telecommunications.
The following is a development of the generation of modern telecommunications networks
from the beginning along with their advantages and disadvantages.

1G refers to the first generation of wireless cellular technology

(mobile telecommunications). These are the analog telecommunications standards that were
introduced in the 1980s and continued until being replaced by 2G digital telecommunications.
The main difference between the two mobile cellular systems (1G and 2G), is that the radio
signals used by 1G networks are analog, while 2G networks are digital. Although both systems
use digital signaling to connect the radio towers (which listen to the handsets) to the rest of the
telephone system, the voice itself during a call is encoded to digital signals in 2G whereas 1G is
only modulated to higher frequency, typically 150 MHz and up. The inherent advantages of
digital technology over that of analog meant that 2G networks eventually replaced them almost
everywhere.

1G or first generation technology , It is the technology utilized in the first wireless mobile
phone handsets , when the mobile phone began to rise in popularity with the general public , It
replaced 0G network that featured the mobile radio telephones & the technologies as Mobile
Telephone System (MTS) , Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS) , Improved Mobile
Telephone Service (IMTS) , and Push to Talk (PTT). The 1G mobile phones used a single ,
universal network standard , It is known as the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) , This
analog network saw adoption around the world & brought different cell phone service
providers together under a single network , allowing for shared cost of network development
& maintenance.

The main drawback of 1g technology is that it uses analog signals rather than digital
signals , This is a less effective means of transmitting information , It is slower , and the
signals can not reach as far in terms of secluded areas and such 2G and 3G signal is far
more widespread . The analogue signals are more likely to suffer interference problems , It
makes the use of the mobile phone with the analog signal more difficult , the newer brands of
2G and 3G technology are more highly recommended , 1G mobile phones appears bulky and
awkward by modern standards . 1G technology compares unfavorably to its successors in
terms of the overall connection quality , It has low capacity , unreliable hand off , It offers poor
voice links , It has no security at all since the voice calls were played back in the radio towers ,
So , these calls are susceptible to the unwanted eavesdropping by the third parties .

2G (or 2-G) is short for second-generation cellular technology. 2G cellular networks

were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991. 2G
technologies enabled the various networks to provide the services such as text messages,
picture messages, and MMS (multimedia messages). All text messages sent over 2G are digitally
encrypted, allowing the transfer of data in such a way that only the intended receiver can
receive and read it.

After 2G was launched, the previous mobile wireless network systems were
retroactively dubbed 1G. While radio signals on 1G networks are analog, radio signals on 2G
networks are digital. Both systems use digital signaling to connect the radio towers (which
listen to the devices) to the rest of the mobile system. With General Packet Radio
Service (GPRS), 2G offers a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 40 kbit/s.
With EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), there is a theoretical maximum transfer
speed of 384 kbit/s. The most common 2G technology was the time division multiple
access (TDMA)-based GSM, originally from Europe but used in most of the world outside North
America. Over 60 GSM operators were also using CDMA2000 in the 450 MHz frequency band
(CDMA450) by 2010.

Three primary benefits of 2G networks over their predecessors were that: (1) Phone
conversations were digitally encrypted; (2) Significantly more efficient use of the radio
frequency spectrum enabling more users per frequency band; and (3) Data services for mobile,
starting with SMS text messages. But, there are lacks of 2G networks: (1) Low speed connection;
(2) Unstable data connection; and (3) Maximum transfer speed up to 40 kbps.

3G is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. Introduced

in 2001, this network is an upgrade of 2G and 2,5G networks, for faster data tansfer speed. 3G
telecommunication networks support services that provide an information transfer rate of at
least 144 kbit/s, it can make wireless voice calls, video calls, mobile Internet access, and mobile
TV.

The advantages of 3G from previous generations are: (1) Better sound quality; (2) Better
security; (3) Data speeds reaching 384 kbps - 2 Mbps; (4) Supports multiple connections
simultaneously, for example, users can surf the internet simultaneously by calling; (5) National
and international roaming; and (6) Good spectrum effectiveness, limited maximum bandwidth
can be used. The disadvantages of 3G are: (1) Must use the same network to make video calls;
(2) Requires no small investment to build this 3G network in various places; (3) Affects human
social nature because human tends to connect via the internet rather than meet in person (face
to face); and (4) Brings up crime

4G stands for four generation of modern telecommunication network. The first-release

4G Long Term Evolution (4G-LTE) standard was commercially deployed in Oslo, Norway, and
Stockholm, Sweden in 2009. You can easily access Internet , IM , Social Networks , streaming
media , video calling and the other broadband services , It is very stable when connected to the
internet without any disruption & it doesn’t throttle. 4G LTE network is very fast & 10 times
faster than the 3G network. It offers extremely high voice quality.

4G mobile network offers amazing speed , It has higher bandwidth , Increased

bandwidth leads to much faster data transfer speed , that is especially advantageous for the
mobile devices. The users of the 4G network get the benefit of superior , uninterrupted
connectivity , especially for the advanced tasks like video chats & conferences . 4G networks
present much more coverage than the other systems such as Wi-Fi , that forces the users to
depend upon hotspots in each area they visit , Since 4G offers a coverage of 30 miles and more ,
as also overlapping network ranges , The users would be assured of complete connectivity at
all times . One of the biggest drawbacks with Wi-Fi networks is online security , This is
especially true for the mobile devices , 4G networks present complete privacy , security and
safety , This is especially beneficial for corporate establishments & business persons , who hold
sensitive information on their respective mobile devices .

Obtaining the information from the people illegally becomes easier , 4G technology
involves the possibility of some interference though not much , It is capable of being attacked
(jamming frequencies) and the invasion of the privacy increased. The consumer is forced to buy
a new device to support the 4G, New frequencies means new components in the cell towers,
Higher data prices for the consumers. It consumes the data very fast & your battery becomes
hot when it is used for a very long time ( like a microwave). 4G technology is still limited to
certain specified carriers & regions but the number of cities which have 4G coverage is
increasing by the day. It would take its own time for this network to be available in all the major
cities of the world. 4G technology requires expensive infrastructure for operation.
 Fifth-generation of mobile internet connectivity promising much faster data download
and upload speeds, wider coverage and more stable connections. It's all about making better
use of the radio spectrum and enabling far more devices to access the mobile internet at the
same time. There are a number of new technologies likely to be applied - but standards haven't
been hammered out yet for all 5G protocols.

Higher-frequency bands - 3.5GHz (gigahertz) to 26GHz and beyond - have a lot of capacity but
their shorter wavelengths mean their range is lower - they're more easily blocked by physical
object. So we may see clusters of smaller phone masts closer to the ground transmitting so-
called "millimetre waves" between much higher numbers of transmitters and receivers. This
will enable higher density of usage. But it's expensive and telecoms companies are not wholly
committed yet.

Lack of signal and low data speeds in rural areas is a common complaint in the UK and
many other countries. But 5G won't necessarily address this issue as it will operate on high-
frequency bands - to start with at least - that have a lot of capacity but cover shorter. Lower-
frequency bands (600-800Mhz typically) are better over longer distances, so network operators
will concentrate on improving their 4G LTE coverage in parallel with 5G roll-out. But
commercial reality means that for some people in very remote areas, connectivity will still be
patchy at best without government subsidy making it worthwhile for network operators to go
to these places.