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The Many Faces of 3G
An anonymous reader writes "Did you ever notice how each new generation of cell-phone tech gets branded '3G,' and the previous thing is retroactively downgraded to some lesser number of Gs? An MIT engineer explains why in this brilliant essay about '3G' over the last 10 years, showing how the cell carriers have kept offering it and swiping it away to sell more stuff. He cites numerous Cingular/AT&T and Sprint press releases showing how the companies have made '3G' into a brand name ideally suited for amnesiac consumers. Meanwhile, no cell carrier is foolish enough to sell you bottom-line throughput like an ISP in 1996 — you could actually hold them to that (PDF)."
Uhhh, wasn't that the iPhone 4, not the iPhone 4G?
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G
"The last thing I want to do is deal with a bunch of people who want something."
Major Major
The Sprint HTC EVO is 4G, but the iPhone 4 is definitely not 4G. You might want to pay more attention, especially if you plan on being a sarcastic douche about it later.
Sprint, at least is calling its LTE network "4G", as it rolls it out.
As I understand it:
As I see it, the xG shorthand is a way to track the evolution of the network, link level, and physical layers. Every time one of those changes, you get a new "generation" of cell phones.
We all know what to do, but we don't know how to get re-elected once we have done it
No. Especially since this iPhone 4G thing came out. It was in the news, you might have heard about it.
The iPhone 4 supports 3.5G (HSPA+)
http://www.google.com/search?q=3.5g+iphone+4
4G is the new 3G
It's all just marketing talk and the details are buried in the fine print
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
No, I've also not seen that. When they introduced GPRS, it was 2.5G. When they introduced UMTS, it was 3G. Then some companies rolled out EDGE because Apple insisted on using ancient crappy standards that everyone else had skipped for compatibility with backwards networks in the USA, and it was 2.75G. Then they deployed various HSPA variations, and they were mostly 3.5G. A few places are deploying LTE or WiMax, and this is 4G, or 3.9G if it doesn't quite meet the requirements of 4G.
2G was well defined, as meaning digital. 4G is also well defined, with features like an all-IP network, 100Mb/s mobile bandwidth (1Gb/s stationary), and so on. 3G is not so well defined, but it's generally understood to mean something in the same category as UMTS.
Maybe the confusion is just a US thing?
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A few places are deploying LTE or WiMax, and this is 4G, or 3.9G if it doesn't quite meet the requirements of 4G.
Ah, er, what? TFA explains it this way "You might notice that Sprint is currently selling Mobile WiMAX as “4G.” Mobile WiMAX is part of IMT-2000 — the 3G standard. Verizon Wireless is selling something called “LTE” as “4G” — it ain’t in IMT-Advanced either. Today’s “4G” products are like the “3G” of 2002 and 2003 — they will become “3.75G” as soon as the next hot thing comes out."
So, everything called 4G today is a lie vs the ITU spec in IMT-Advanced. Faster than 3g, possibly, but not 4G in any stretch of the imagination (unless you are in sales). Sounds like you've been sold. Give TFA a try, it's a good read!
Yes, new "GSM" phones (phones that use SIM cards) use W-CDMA. That doesn't mean they use "CDMA", even if they use that modulation. Can Verizon use an iPhone? They use the same frequencies. Oh, they can't? Oh, it must not be "CDMA" then.
It is common to refer to phones that us SIM cards as "GSM" phones, because they work on networks that are GSM. And it is common to refer to phones that use no SIM cards as "CDMA", because they work on networks that are CDMA. So you're still an idiot, you may be right, but you're still an idiot.
Indeed this confusion seems to be a US thing. On the other side of the pond, probably thanks to a much more uniform standard, there is no doubt about what a 3G phone is, and noone (that I'm aware of) even considered trying to pass a non-3G phone for one.
Anyway it never ceases to amaze me how much you guys let your telcos rob you blind (not claiming it doesn't happen here - far from it - but your average bill is like 3 times ours, and the dollar is weaker atm), lie to you, tie you into years of awful contracts with hefty termination fees, pull all sorts of crap (aided by mutually incompatible standards which also make your handset useless if you want to change carrier), delay upgrades by years, remove functions like tethering or data connections from phones which are created with them, etc.
AT&T is posting record revenues in times of recession and yet skimping on needed upgrades to its insufficient network, I wonder how come there isn't an angry mob at their door.
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