3G wireless Internet serves cellular phone technology and the mobile environment. There are previous forms of 3G wireless which began in the 1980s when the use of cell phone was not as common as it is today. The early form of 3G was Advanced Mobile Phone Service which was also referred to as 1G with 2G to follow by the 1990s with a different type of voice standard protocol.
Evolution of 3G
To help you to understand 3G wireless Internet we should first provide you with an overview of how mobile telephony evolved into 3G technology and some of the advantages that accompanied its inception. 3G represents the third generation for cellular phone technology which means that it follows two previous generations mobile telephony that included 1G and 2G.
Cellular phone technology began to be introduced during the 1980s which represents the first generation of mobile telephony. Cell phones did not have the capabilities that they have today due to the fact that 1G was substandard compared to today’s high speed connections. 1G was first generation cellular telephony which was only capable of transmitting analog voice via Frequency Division Multiplexing Access which only had a frequency range of 800 MHz.
By the early 1990s the second generation of mobile telephony was introduced which was referred to as 2G and used two different standards of digital voice. One standard was established in the United States with the second standard being used in other parts of the globe. The US standard allowed 64 calls for each channel with a frequency range of 800 MHz where the global standard allowed 8 calls for each channel at a higher frequency range of up to 1800 MHz.
The Inception of 3G
The introduction of 3G marked the official beginning of the increase in bandwidth to support additional applications in mobile telephony including 3G wireless Internet. 3G supports both voice and data transmission however, in order to provide service for mobile applications for multimedia it was necessary to find a way to deliver a higher speed connection to accommodate applications that would otherwise occupy significant bandwidth.
Because of the competing standards established with 2G in the United States and globally it became necessary to perform upgrades to the existing mobile networks while innovations in mobile broadband technology were under way. For this reason, there are two 3G groups which include 3GPP and 3GPP2 which stands for third Generation Partnership Project responsible for making the transition from 2G to 3G.
The Benefits of 3G
The availability of 3G wireless Internet has had an extreme impact on ecommerce through the establishment of mobile ecommerce or m-commerce as it is commonly called. As a result, more people are using the Internet and the content of the Internet has changed with more multimedia applications and social networking programs.
The business benefits for 3G are many due to its ability to allow mobile workers to access the Internet easier on the road and provide faster speeds for transmitting large amounts of data. If you travel with a laptop computer you do not have to waste time trying to find a wireless access point to access a high speed connection. Instead you can utilize a 3G modem card or connect your 3G cell phone to your laptop to access a high speed Internet connection. Additionally, high speed Internet provides the ability to video conference from the web cam on your PC and allows for cost effective and convenient communication such as VoIP and Skype.
Some of the other benefits include:
- Real Time Collaboration: Services such as Google Docs and online backup services allow for collaboration in a real time environment. This allows team members that are located in different parts of the world to collaborate on a project. It also allows individuals to communicate better with friends and family who are located at a distance.
- CRM and ERP for Mobile: 3G wireless Internet also provides mobile devices with the capability to run applications for Customer Relationship Management and Enterprise Resource Planning. This improves communications between businesses and the consumer and allows the business owner to handle tasks while on the road.
There are some disadvantages to 3G in that it can be expensive to upgrade from an older connection and the use of high speed Internet can deplete the battery on your mobile device rather quickly.
For the most part, 3G not only represents the transition from handset to digital but third generation mobile telephony also signifies the beginning of mobility for business. It also helps to solve issues associated with connection speed, exorbitant costs, and new technologies in multimedia occupying a significant amount of bandwidth. 3G also contributes to global initiatives by providing capabilities that foster the growth of health care, educational opportunities that would otherwise be cost prohibitive to establish in a global classroom environment, and other services throughout the world that could not be possible without high speed Internet connectivity.