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What are the stages of wireless network?

14 Apr.,2024

Cellular network standards and generation timeline

This is a list of generations of wireless network technologies in mobile telecommunications.

Comparison of generations Generation Standard(s) Theoretical
maximum download
speed* Typical
download
speed* Theoretical
maximum upload
speed* Typical
upload
speed* Frequency
band Channel
spacing Maximum range (distance from antenna) Year of
commercial
implementation 0G SN, SN+ 2B/s 50-150MHz 1946 0.5G SI 200-350MHz 1958 analog & digital ↓ 1G NMT, AMPS, TACS… 400-450MHz 1979 1.5G D-AMPS 30kHz digital ↓ 2G GSM 800-1900MHz 1991 CDMAone 800-1900MHz 2G PDC 2.5G GPRS 48kB/s 2000 2.9G EDGE/EGPRS 2003 3G UMTS 7.2Mbit/s 2Mbit/s 400MHz-3GHz 2001 CDMA2000 400MHz-3GHz 3.5G HSPA 3.75G HSPA+ ** 42Mbit/s 11Mbit/s 3.95G LTE ** 2009 (Mobile) WiMAX ** 4G LTE ** 150Mbit/s 50Mbit/s 5-20(40)MHz (Mobile) WiMAX ** HSPA+ ** 4.5G LTE+/LTE Advanced 2007 WiMAX 2 2007 4.9G LTE Advanced Pro 5G NR 2018

* latest and optimal iteration of technology
** originally not considered 4G, only after a revision of 4G specification

0G
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0G systems did not use cellullar systems. Referred to as pre-cellular (or sometimes zero generation, that is, 0G mobile) systems.

1G
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1G or (1-G) refers to the first generation of cellular network technology. These are the analog telecommunication standards that were introduced in 1979 and the early to mid-1980s and continued until being replaced by 2G digital telecommunications. The main difference between these two mobile telephone generations is that in 1G systems the audio was encoded as analog radio signals (though call set-up and other network communications were digital), while 2G networks were entirely digital.

2G
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2G (or 2-G) provides three primary benefits over their predecessors: phone conversations are digitally encrypted; 2G systems are significantly more efficient on the spectrum allowing for far greater mobile phone penetration levels; and 2G introduced data services for mobile, starting with SMS (Short Message Service) plain text-based messages. 2G technologies enable the various mobile phone networks to provide the services such as text messages, picture messages and MMS (Multimedia Message Service). It has 3 main services: Bearer services is one of them which is also known as data services and communication.

Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj) in 1991.[1]

The North American Standards IS-54 and IS-136 were also second-generation (2G) mobile phone systems, known as (Digital AMPS) and used TDMA with three time slots in each 30 kHz channel, supporting 3 digitally compressed calls in the same spectrum as a single analog call in the previous AMPS standard. This was later changed to 6 half rate time slots for more compressed calls. It was once prevalent throughout the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada since the first commercial network was deployed in 1993 on AT&T and Rogers Wireless Networks.

IS-95 was the first ever CDMA-based digital cellular technology. It was developed by Qualcomm using Code Division Multiple Access and later adopted as a standard by the Telecommunications Industry Association in TIA/EIA/IS-95 release published in 1995. It was marketed as CDMAOne and deployed globally including China Unicom in 2002 and Verizon in the United States, competing directly with GSM services offered by AT&T and T-Mobile.

2.5G denotes 2G-systems that have implemented a packet-switched domain in addition to the circuit-switched domain. It does not necessarily provide faster service because bundling of timeslots is used for circuit-switched data services (HSCSD) as well. Also called General Packet Radio Service or GPRS

GPRS networks evolved to EDGE networks with the introduction of 8PSK encoding.

3G
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3G technology provides an information transfer rate of at least 144 kbit/s. Later 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers. This ensures it can be applied to wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV technologies.

CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards for sending voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. It is a backwards-compatible successor to second-generation cdmaOne (IS-95) set of standards and used especially in North America and South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was standardized in the international 3GPP2 standards body, The name CDMA2000 denotes a family of standards that represent the successive, evolutionary stages of the underlying technology. These are:

A new generation of cellular standards has appeared approximately every tenth year since 1G systems were introduced in 1981/1982. Each generation is characterized by new frequency bands, higher data rates and non–backward-compatible transmission technology. The first 3G networks were introduced in 1998.

3.5G is a grouping of disparate mobile telephony and data technologies designed to provide better performance than 3G systems, as an interim step towards the deployment of full 4G capability. The technology includes:

Evolved High Speed Packet Access, or HSPA+, or HSPA(Plus), or HSPAP is a technical standard for wireless broadband telecommunication. It is the second phase of High Speed Packet Access (HSPA).

4G
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4G provides, in addition to the usual voice and other services of 3G, mobile broadband Internet access, for example to laptops with wireless modems, to smartphones, and to other mobile devices. Potential and current applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, 3D television, and cloud computing.

LTE (Long Term Evolution) is commonly marketed as 4G LTE, but it did not initially meet the technical criteria of a 4G wireless service, as specified in the 3GPP Release 8 and 9 document series for LTE Advanced. Given the competitive pressures of WiMAX and its evolution with Advanced new releases, it has become synonymous with 4G. It was first commercially deployed in Norway and Stockholm in 2009 and in the United States by Verizon in 2011 in their newly acquired 700 MHz band.

4.5G provides better performance than 4G systems, as a process step towards deployment of full 5G capability.[citation needed]

The technology includes:

4.5G is marketed by AT&T as 5GE.

5G
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5G is a major phase of mobile telecommunications standards beyond the 4G/IMT Advanced standards.

NGMN Alliance or Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance define 5G network requirements as:

Data rates of several tens of megabits per second (Mbit/s) should be supported for tens of thousands of users.
1 Gbit/s to be offered, simultaneously to tens of workers on the same office floor.
Several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections to be supported for massive sensor deployments.
Spectral efficiency should be significantly enhanced compared to 4G.
Coverage should be improved.
Signalling efficiency enhanced.
Latency should be significantly reduced compared to LTE.[2]

Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance feels that 5G needs to be rolled out in 2021-2023 to meet business and consumer demands.[3] In addition to simply providing faster speeds, they predict that 5G networks will also need to meet the needs of new use-cases such as the Internet of things (IoT) as well as broadcast-like services and lifeline communications in times of disaster.

3GPP has set an early revision, non-standalone release of 5G called New Radio (5G NR).[4] It will be deployed in two ways, Mobile and Fixed Wireless. The specification is subdivided into two frequency bands, FR1 (<6 GHz) and FR2 (mmWave) respectively.[5]

6G
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6G has been in development since 2017, and multiple specifications are being proposed. However, none of them have achieved universal acceptance. Competitors include Xiaomi and Nokia. 6G is expected to offer faster speeds than 5G but with a shorter range. The IEEE recommends the use of frequencies ranging from 100 GHz to 3 THz, as these frequencies are relatively unused and would allow for exploration of new frequency bands.[6] The methods of deployment of cellular networks is undetermined. An option is to install a 6G tower at every building. The second option would involve integrating the functions of a 6G tower into devices like smartphones, allowing these devices to create their own cell for other users. The commercial release date is estimated to be 2028~2030.[7]

References
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When setting up a wireless network, planning is crucial to ensuring that your organization has the best coverage, not to mention performance. Careful planning will ensure high speeds, full coverage, and reliable connections that can handle any workload size.

However, designing your wireless network is easier said than done. With that in mind, the following are a few essential tips to help ensure that you plan your wireless network right:

1. Define The WiFi Capacity And Coverage Goals

Before setting up a wireless network, you need to identify exactly what your network needs to do. As such, consider what your coverage and capacity goals are. Coverage is how large of an area your network needs to cover, while capacity refers to the bandwidth and the number of users or devices your network can handle.

Identifying these requirements will depend heavily on what the business goal of your WiFi network is.

For example, if you're setting up a network in a store, you might need to cover the entire building and provide enough bandwidth for all customers. On the other hand, if you're setting up a network in an office, you might only need to cover specific areas and provide enough bandwidth for all employees.

2. Choose The Right Type Of Wireless Network

Once you've determined your coverage and capacity goals, you can choose the right type of wireless network for your needs. There's a lot to consider when selecting a wireless network.

For example, in addition to picking a provider, you'll also need to take into account the size of your building and your channel utilization.

You'll also want to determine if you will use an on-premise controller device or a cloud-managed system to manage your network. Both provide an easy way to manage your network, but a cloud-managed system allows you to adjust the settings remotely easier than on-premises, and can usually infinitely scale without the need for additional controller hardware and maintenance.

Finally, you'll need to consider whether or not you need to use multiple access points (APs) to ensure full coverage.

For example, using multiple APs may be necessary if you have a larger space to cover and high channel utilization. In this case, you'll need to figure out how many APs you'll need to provide the coverage you need, and set each transmit and receive power accordingly

3. Ensure Wireless Security

Security is critical for any organization implementing a wireless network. After all, you'll need to protect your data, users, and devices from inside and outside threats. Although the wireless network won't protect your data, ensuring the network is secure will. There are several ways to enhance your WiFi network's security.

For example, installing a firewall and updating access point software regularly are easy ways to reduce security vulnerabilities. However, you should restrict access to your network by setting up the latest authentication protocols (such as WPA3) that require users to enter a username and password or authenticate in an even more secure manner.

Additionally, you should use network segmentation to create separate networks for different types of data, or for specific user groups. Finally, you should also use encryption to protect transmitted data from being accessed by outside sources.

To ensure your wireless network is as secure as possible, consider getting a professional network security assessment. Here at Hummingbird Networks, we can evaluate your network to identify potential vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for further protection.

Ensure A Smooth Network Right From The Planning Stage

Organizations of any size depend on their wireless network to stay connected and productive. As such, it's essential to properly plan your wireless network right from the start. If you don't, you could end up with a spotty network that doesn't provide the coverage or performance you need to run your business efficiently or effectively.

These tips for planning a wireless network will help you get started, but you should still get a wireless network assessment to give you a better idea of what your specific needs are. With proper planning and implementation, you can ensure that your wireless network is up to the task of powering your business.

At Hummingbird Networks, we can provide you with a comprehensive wireless network assessment to help you plan and set up the perfect wireless network for your business.

Hummingbird Networks can help assess your IT infrastructure to ensure the optimum performance of your network. Learn about our service here.

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