As we have generations of computer development, robots, and human evolution etc., technological and communication experts have classified wireless-development spans into following generations:
First generation: Almost all of the systems from this generation were analog systems where voice was considered to be the main traffic. These systems could often be listened to by third parties. In Pakistan, cellular services of Paktel and Insta introduced in second half of 1990’s belong to such category.
Second generation: All the standards belonging to this generation are commercial centric and they are digital in form. Around 60% of the current market is dominated by European standards. 2G systems include currently cellular services based on GSM i.e. Telenor, Mobilink, Ufone etc.
Third generation: To meet the growing demands in the number of subscribers (increase in network capacity), rates required for high speed data transfer and multimedia applications 3G standards started evolving. The systems in this standard are basically a linear enhancement of 2G systems. GPRS which enables a GSM user to surf internet and download applications is an advent of 3G. The services provided by Vfone and GoCDMA etc based on CDMA-2000 technology belong to such generation.
Fourth generation: Also called XG or next generation wireless systems, fourth generation (4G) is characterized by ubiquity i.e the users of this generation do not have to remain bounded to any particular service or area to remain connected. Instead, they can chose from a variety of technologies based on different parameters. According to the 4G working groups, the infrastructure and the terminals will have almost all the standards from 2G to 3G implemented. The infrastructure will however only be packet based all-IP. Some of the standards which pave the way for 4G systems are WiMax, WiBro, 3GPP Long Term Evolution and 3GPP2 Ultra Mobile Broadband. Wateen Telecom is offering WiMax services all over the country, to the date.
4G has not been implemented yet; however, it is a hot area of telecommunication research now-a-days and is being tested on experimental basis. Most of the international telecommunication corporations aims to offer 4G services by 2015.
