| So what’s the deal with 4G? Step back a minute. | | | | walk around with your fab gadgets and connect to |
| Before we get to the whys and buts of fourth | | | | the internet with ease. Now, of course, there were |
| generation technology, it’s wise to take look at | | | | and still are issues. Forget about watching Youtube |
| the current mobile tech situation. Currently people | | | | videos to any satisfaction on your mobile device. And |
| from all walks of life live and breathe via their many, | | | | also forget about uploading or sending those all |
| many wireless, on-the-go gadgets; these range from | | | | important large files from the office or from |
| the all holy Blackberry, to the much coveted iPhone, | | | | university lectures. Athough third generation has |
| to the trusty laptop, either PC or Mac, to the | | | | opened up a world of possibilities, its limitations are |
| electronic organizer, PDA and even gaming items like | | | | quickly making themselves known. |
| the PSP. All of these go-to gadgets make our lives | | | | That’s why there’s so much hype |
| easier, more entertaining, more connected. Still, most | | | | surrounding 4G and Wimax. 4G is a step, a giant step |
| of these run off the 3G network. We get internet | | | | at that, above 3G. It’s the future of wireless; |
| access and make phone calls, send text messages | | | | some have dubbed it 3G on steroids. It promises |
| and multimedia messages using the third generation | | | | download speeds faster than broadband networks. |
| standard. | | | | This means that you can get wireless internet service |
| Back in the day, 3G was novel. It was exciting and it | | | | on the go and could be faster than what you’ve |
| did indeed open up a world of possibilities. 2G, the | | | | got at home. |
| wireless communications standard that came before | | | | Furthermore, fourth generation promises to work out |
| that barely skimmed the surface of what could be | | | | the kinks that have plagued 3G. Connections |
| done; 2G was actually little more than a jump to the | | | | won’t be so spotty. Roaming will no longer be a |
| digital network (previously cell phones and the like | | | | problem. Data transfer speeds as high as 100Mbps |
| operated using analogue standards, i.e. 1G and the | | | | can be expected. Call quality will be so improved that |
| quality and flexibility was a fraction of what it is | | | | cell phone users will actually be able to participate in |
| now). | | | | video conferencing from their cell phones. This means |
| After 2G, there was a small upgrade known as 2.5G | | | | they will no longer have to be tied down to the |
| which basically translated to better data transfer | | | | office. Fourth generation will be run from towers and |
| speeds; the EDGE network used by T-Mobile and | | | | it will operate at a different frequency than what |
| AT&T are good examples of this. 2.5G was an | | | | you have with 3G. This basically means you get |
| improvement, but it still wasn’t all that | | | | better coverage and it goes further. Whereas |
| impressive. | | | | previously, to access the internet you needed to be |
| After that came third generation and this was | | | | in a hotspot which covered no more than 300 feet, |
| dubbed mobile broadband because literally you could | | | | with 4G, entire cities will be covered. |