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Is 3G Irrelevant?

Posted by timothy on from the almost-universally dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Network Magazine asks 'Are We Better Off Without 3G?' in which the author notes that many networkers are giving up on 3G as a data services alternative due to high deployment costs and slower speeds vs. Wi-Fi. Given these issues, are we likely to see carriers like Nextel bypassing 3G for 4G technologies such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) by Flarion Technologies?"

4 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. OFDM != 4G by Wesley+Felter · · Score: 5, Informative

    OFDM is an encoding, not a protocol. Both Wi-Fi and WiMax (802.16) use OFDM, and I wouldn't be surprised if 4G (802.20) systems end up using it as well.

    1. Re:OFDM != 4G by Artemis+P.+Fonswick · · Score: 4, Informative

      OFDM is more resistant to multipath effects. In conventional spread spectrum, data is pumped rapidly through a single carrier, modulated by a spreading code. With OFDM, the data is modulated and sent across a large number of closely spaced RF carriers at the same time. Sort of like parallel, as opposed to serial transmission. Because the bits are sent in parallel, they can individually be sent at a much slower rate, while still yielding the same overall transmission throughput. Because each bit is "on the air" for a longer period of time, there are less problems with multipath effects.

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      Kudos to you, my good man.
  2. Re:3G is a pathetic disappointment... by rcs1000 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not only that but (and I speak as a 3 subscriber myself)...

    * You can get picture messaging on 2G phones. It works well, and there is (some) interoperability between networks.

    * The Internet access speed is LOWER than 2G's GPRS. I mean, what?

    * The picture call feature is useless. The picture lags the voice by several seconds, making it almost completely unusable. Aaaarggghh.

    Just my thoughts...

    Robert

    --
    --- My dad's political betting
  3. Re:"Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing" by Alan+Partridge · · Score: 3, Informative

    We use it for TV transmission in the UK.

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    That was classic intercourse!