The Evolution to 4G

If our ancestors could have imagined that one day they would be able to control nearly every aspect of their life from their mobile device, they probably would have laughed at the very idea. Things like that only exist in the cartoons and movies, and yet as we continue through the 21^st century, that idea is slowly becoming a reality. But in order for us to truly be able to control the vast network of machines and computers in our lives, we’d need infrastructure that could support instantaneous communication. In 2002, we saw the first commercially available 3G mobile telecommunications network in the US for mobile phones and other devices. This ushered in a new era of communication, in which the internet was now available to users from any location that had a cell phone signal.

The 3G mobile telecommunications network was unique in that it allowed an unprecedented speed of transfer. But as time progressed, so did the insatiable appetite for faster speeds. We are now looking at the release of a 4G network, which is claimed to far surpass other 3G speeds by up to ten times. However, it one needs to really examine the two services to understand the differences. The primary difference is that, contrary to popular opinion, 4G is not a more advanced cell phone service. Issues such as dropped calls, spotty networks, and all other cell phone annoyances will not be made obsolete. Some even argue that those intrinsic cell phone problems will be made worse with the commercial release of 4G. This is due to the fact that current cell phone towers will need radical reconfiguration in order to support the service, or new towers will need to built entirely. Thus network coverage will be spotty and buggy while it is introduced, which limits the level of investment made by individuals which further slows the expansion.

When 3G was released, there was no standard or criteria to meet in order to qualify. Thus network speeds varied between providers and users were unable to create a level of expectation of network quality. But with the announcement of 4G in 2009, the International Telecommunication Union developed a standard that providers must meet in order to truly qualify as “4G.” Currently, those standards are set at 100MB/s during high mobility transfer, and 1GB/s during low mobility transfer. These refer to the data transfer rates when the user is in a car or train (mobile) or when they are sitting or walking (low mobility). One can expect to see 4G become commercially available in early 2012, and widely used by 2013.