Difference Between 3g And 4g Mobile Communication Networks

Difference between 3G and 4G mobile communication networks:

The Cannibalization is a term used to express the fight between technical generations, where the younger generation, with its new captivating features, proves the older generations obsolete in market. The 3G and 4G generation are also under the same stress; however, the verdict is still not out in the market.

The 3G technology follows the guidelines set by the ITU; however, it is said that 4G technologies is basically an extension of 3G technologies, but there are lot of different between the two. It seems that the 4G technology is still under consideration, as ITU has still not laid down any guidelines, and this is one of the major reasons that the launch of this mobile technology is facing hurdles.

Specifications 3G 4G

Frequency Band 1.8 – 2.5 GHz 2 – 8 GHz

Bandwidth 5-20 MHz 5-20 MHz

Data rate Up to 2Mbps 20 Mbps or more

Access Wideband CDMA Multi-carrier – CDMA or OFDM(TDMA)

FEC Turbo-codes Concatenated codes

Switching Circuit/Packet Packet

Design specification: The 3G technology is a result of amalgamation of circuit design and packet design. Circuit design, being the oldest, has greater ability to hold the connection for a longer duration. On the other hand the packet design is a wireless technology and is the core part of internet data transmission. The combination of these two patterns helps 3G technology to perform better and faster. However, the 4G technology is kept free from circuit design with an intention to gives nanosecond wings to data transfer.

Truth about 4G technologies: In 2007 4G technology was given its first major break by NTT Docomo, a Japanese company. Since the 3G technology was launched in 2001, it was designed with limited features. But it is considered that 4G technology is about to introduce a new dimension to data transmission along with transmitting rate of 5 gigabytes per second.

Performance Delivered: Talking about the performance, both technologies offer contradictory networks for transferring of data. In comparison with 4G, the 3G provides 14 Mbit/second of download speed and 5.8 Mbit/second for uploading. However, in case of 4g the speed scales up to 100Mbit/ second, which is fairly high.

Salient Features: Since 4G technology is considered to be extension of 3G technology and hence, they are technically more specified as 3.9G technology. The main feature of 3.9G is that it depends on spatial multiplexing, which is basically an antenna system, used by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), deployed for transmitting and receiving of data. Earlier in 3G there was smart antenna used, but 4G uses number of these antennas for speeding and facilitation of the data transfer process.

Though, the differences between both the technologies are quite evident, but still ITU is taking time in designing the standards for 4G. The reasons are not yet brought into limelight, but it is presumed that they are certain other technical barrier that are acting as a challenge and are giving a tough fight to the entire telecom sector.