3G WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES - NMIMS

3G WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
Prof. Pravin Shrinath
Prof. Mahesh Maurya
Assistant Professor
Computer Department
MPSTME, NMIMS
V.L Mehta road, JVPD Scheme, Juhu, Mumbai
MAHARASTRA, INDIA
shrinath.pm@gmail.com
maheshkmaurya@yahoo.co.in
Abstract – This paper presents a review on the 3G
networks along with its application and future scope.
It is based on all the research work done in the field
of 3G networks and provide an insight view on the
basis of 3G. It also includes the basic concepts of 1G
and 2G and also of the future ahead of 3G that is 4G.
This survey will explain in details the features of 3G
and will also give the comparison between 1G, 2G and
3G technologies.
I. INTRODUCTION
1G, 2G or 3G these are the developments and
technologies that take generations of hard work and
dedication and when they are used in today’s
technological society they create history. 3G or the third
generation of mobile technology is one such example of
how simply and efficiently it transformed the concept of
mobile technology. 3G stands for the third generation of
wireless communication technology. It refers to pending
improvements in wireless data and voice
communications through any of a variety of proposed
standards. The immediate goal is to raise transmission
speeds from 9.5K to 2M bit/sec. Mobile telephony
allowed us to talk on the move. The internet turned raw
data into helpful services that people found easy to use.
Now, these two technologies are converging to create
third generation mobile services. In simple terms, third
generation (3G) services combine high speed mobile
access with Internet Protocol (IP)-based services. Mobile
phones have traditionally been used for voice
communications, but today can serve as the platform for
a variety of communication outputs -- including data and
video. 3G is the third-generation of mobile phone
technology standards. The typical services associated
with 3G include wireless voice telephony and broadband
wireless data, all in a mobile environment.
3G features and capabilities[2]
Key features of 3G systems are a high degree of
commonality of design worldwide, compatibility of
services, use of small pocket terminals with worldwide
1
Mr. Raghav Sharma, Mr. Meet Mehta, Mr.Chitvan
Oza, Ms.Shruti Kabra,
Mr.Saurabh Singh
B.tech Computer Science
MPSTME, NMIMS
V.L Mehta road, JVPD Scheme, Juju, Mumbai
MAHARASTRA, INDIA
Rred03@gmail.com, meet_m999@rediffmail.com,
chitvanoza@gmail.com,
shrutikabra90@gmail.com,
saurabhsingh1989@yahoo.co.in.
roaming capability, Internet and other multimedia
applications, TV streaming and a wide range of services
and terminals.
a) Phone calls/fax: The basic functionality that was there
in all the other generations are the same in this one also.
b) Send/receive large email messages
c) Capability to support circuit and packet data at
high bit rates: Has 144 Kilobytes/second or higher in
high mobility traffic. 384 Kilobytes/second for
pedestrian traffic, 2 megapixel/second or higher for
indoor traffic and more features to be capable.
d) Interoperability and roaming
e) Common billing/user profiles: Sharing of usage/rate
information between service provides along with
standardized call detail recording with user profiles.
f) Capability to determine geographic position of
mobiles and report it to both the network and the
mobile terminal
g) Support of multimedia services/capabilities: Which
includes, fixed and variable rate bit traffic bandwidth on
demand, asymmetric data rates, Multimedia mail store
and forward and broadband access.
h) Videoconferencing.
We're likely to see 3G services enter our day -to-day
lives in all sorts of new ways: for example, in shopping,
especially Internet "mail order" (e-commerce), banking,
or playing interactive computer games over the Net.

Drivers of 3G Adaptation[3]
1. Consumer demand for more robust wireless
data services.
To increase the voice revenues and the overall revenues
the mobile service providers are relying heavily on the
expansion of 3G technology worldwide. With various
feature like Mobile video, music downloads, e-mail,
messaging, location-based services and Internet surfing,
revenues will automatically increase and be beneficial
for the mobile providers.
2. Upgrading infrastructure investment
The faster 3G networks are deployed, the faster 3G
adoption rates will rise. Upgrading legacy networks to
accommodate 3G technology is very costly. In the
United States alone, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel (S)
and Cingular have spent a combined $10 billion on
building their 3G networks. The carriers that can spend
this kind of money will gain a competitive advantage
over those that can't.
3. 3G spectrum licensing fees
Spectrum refers to the frequency to carry the data
wirelessly, so it is very obvious that once a bigger market
has been developed for the 3G technology its spectrum
licensing fees would require a even bigger investment
and will have new standards to be set and followed.
Recently, mobile operators have had to pay phenomenal
rents in auctions for 3G spectrum licenses. High license
acquisition costs are limiting the number of carriers that
can participate in 3G.
4. Technology maturity.
For this type of advanced technology to reach to the
world and have a successful base a highly mature
approach is to be followed. The key to investors,
therefore, is to understand and appreciate the
complexities of each 3G technology and the progress that
the various companies are making towards mainstream
adoption. Be it W-CDMA, UMTS, HSPA, or EV-DO --
different carriers are deploying different technologies at
various stages of maturity. Understanding technology
nuances will help investors predict 3G winners.
II. 3G NETWORKS[5]
After many years during which Second Generation (2G)
mobile systems, especially the Global System for Mobile
communication (GSM), have been incredibly successful
with double figure growth rates, the wireless panorama is
now changing, 3G mobile devices which are in use today
aims at transforming wireless communication into one
online and real time connectivity. It will allow an
individual to have an immediate authority to location
specific services that offer information on demand.
2
Let us go back and quickly revise what the other
generations were all about and why we needed to initiate
the 3G technology.
1. 1G digital Telecommunications
First generation or 1G digital consisted of the analog
models that emerged in early 1980’s and continued until
being replaced by 2G digital telecommunications. The
main difference between two succeeding mobile
telephone systems, 1G and 2G, is that the radio signals
that 1G networks use are analog, while 2G networks are
digital.
2. 2G digital Telecommunications
Second generation of digital mobile phones appeared
about ten years later along with its first digital mobile
networks. Second generation 2G cellular telecom
networks were commercially launched on the GSM
standard in Finland by Radiolinja.
Three primary benefits of 2G networks over their
predecessors were that phone conversations were
digitally encrypted, 2G systems were significantly more
efficient on the spectrum allowing for far greater mobile
phone penetration levels; and 2G introduced data
services for mobile, starting with SMS text messages.
While radio signals on 1G networks are analog, and on
2G networks are digital, both systems use digital
signaling to connect the radio towers (which listen to the
handsets) to the rest of the telephone system.
Some of the advantages of 2G system was:
a) The lower powered radio signals require less
battery power, so phones last much longer
between charges, and batteries can be smaller.
b) The digital voice encoding allowed digital
error checking which could increase sound
quality by increasing dynamic range and
lowering the noise floor.
c) Going all-digital allowed for the introduction
of digital data services, such as SMS and
email.
Disadvantages of 2G system are as follows :
a) In less populous areas, the weaker digital
signal may not be sufficient to reach a cell
tower. This tends to be a particular problem on
2G systems deployed on higher frequencies,
but is mostly not a problem on 2G systems
deployed on lower frequencies. National
regulations differ greatly among countries
which dictate where 2G can be deployed.
b) Analog has a smooth decay curve, digital a
jagged steppy one. This can be both an
advantage and a disadvantage. Under good

conditions, digital will sound better. Under
slightly worse conditions, analog will
experience static, while digital has occasional
dropouts.
3. 3G Networking standards[6]
The increased demands of radio interface lead to the
development of the 3G networks and technology, which
are capable of providing higher bandwidth connections
to more users simultaneously.
There are two ways in which the radio access of the 3G
would be provided, these are:
a) The addition of new wideband radio
technology to make use of a newly available
radio spectrum.
b) The evolution of current radio technologies to
provide higher speed capabilities.
There are two prominent radio transmission standards
approved for 3G, under IMT-2000 initiative, these are:
a) Wideband Code Division Multiple (W-
CDMA): It is an air interface standards found
in the 3G mobile technologies. It utilizes FDD
duplexing method to achieve higher speeds and
supports more users compared to most Time
division multiplexing access (TDMA)
schemes.
b) CDMA 2000: Also called CDMA Multi-carrier
cdma2000 is a 3G standard which used CDMA
channel access to send voices data and
signaling data between mobile phones and cell
sites.
4. View of 3G standards[6]
There is a tree of standards for 3G covering new Radio
transmission technology (RU). A number of proposals
for the IMT-2000 3G standard were submitted to the ITU
during 1998. Since this time, the industry and standards
bodies have coordinated their efforts to harmonize the
IMT-2000 candidates and arrive at a smaller set of
standards. The Operators Harmonization Group (OHG) -
a group of major operators from all parts of the world -
has played a key role in this process, and agreed on a set
of standards in May 1999.
This view of standard is very important as it provides an
deep understanding of the various technologies that
constitute the 3G technology. It tells in detail that how
the various technologies like GPRS, WCDMA, GSM,
CDMA are linked together and perform together to
produce the technology of 3G. The table give below will
3
give you a formatted view of how it works. All these
technologies are the fundamentals of wireless
communication and were there even in 1G and 2G
wireless technologies.
Figure (1),[6]
This family of standards includes one GDMA-based
standard with three optional modes Multi-Carrier (Mc)
Direct Spread (DS) and Time Division Duplex (TDD)
and one TDMA hazed standard (EDGE). The radio
standards can he combined with different core network
standards (GSM MAP or ANSI-41) and operate in
different frequency hands. The Multi-Carrier (Mc) mode
is also called cdma2000 Mc; and the Direct Spread (DS)
Mode is also called WCDMA. The UMTS standard
covers WCDMA, TDD and GSM/MAP.
5. Evolution to 3G wireless technology[5]
The Evolution to 3G describes the updating of cellular
mobile telecommunications networks around the world
to use new 3G technologies. This process is taking place
over the period 1999 to 2010. Japan is the first country
having introduced 3G nationally, and in Japan the
transition to 3G is being largely completed during
2005/2006. 3G technologies enable network operators to
offer users a wider range of more advanced services,
while achieving greater network capacity through
improved spectral efficiency.
As of 2005, the evolution of the 3G networks was on its
way for a couple of years. The main reason for these
changes are basically the limited capacity of the existing
2G networks. The second generation of networks were
built mainly for telephone calls and slow data
transmission. Due to the rapid changes in technology,
these factors do not meet the requirements of today's
wireless revolution. The developments of so-called

"2.5G" technologies such as i-mode data services,
camera phones, HSCSD and GPRS have been ways of
bridging the oncoming change to 3G networks, but are
not permanent solutions. They are merely stepping stones
towards the new technology. These stepping stones were
built to introduce the possibilities with the future wireless
application technology to the end consumers. These
procedures are necessary to ensure that the operators and
the infrastructure itself have a healthy ground to operate
on.
The evolution of networks from the second generation of
technologies to the third generation technologies could
not be done without the help of network operators. In
2005 there were about 23 networks worldwide that
operated on 3G technologies, the most advanced being
KDDI in Japan.
6. Comparison of 2G and 3G Mobile Network[5]
Customer demand for digital services is the major
impetus for 3G.However, there is a huge technical jump
from 2G to 3G.New technologies and standards take
years to develop and deploy. A gradual evolution from
2G digital telephony GSM to 3G was envisioned by
telephone carriers as the logical step and a set of
extensions to GSM data services were designed and
standardized, giving rise to 2.5 systems (HSCSD,GPRS
and EDGE).Researchers developed 2.5 –generation
technologies as upgrades to 2G approaches.2.5G has
more bandwidth than 2G but less than 3G. 2.5Guses
existing 2G spectra and does not require an entirely new
network infrastructure and thus can be implemented
faster and less expensively than 3G.It essentially
‘bridges’ technologies that allow service providers a
smooth transition from 2g to 3G.
4
Figure (2),[7]
The reason why we say that 3G has evolved completely
from its successor 2G is due to the following features
that were introduced with 3G. These features are:
a) Mobile TV - a provider redirects a TV channel
directly to the subscriber's phone where it can
be watched.
b) Video on demand - a provider sends a movie
to the subscriber's phone.

c) Video conferencing - subscribers can see as
well as talk to each other.
d) Tele-medicine - a medical provider monitors
or provides advice to the potentially isolated
subscriber.
e) Location-based services - a provider sends
localized weather or traffic conditions to the
phone, or the phone allows the subscriber to
find nearby businesses or friends. This could
be easily achieved using the local LAN area
details and
III. 3G APPLICATIONS
There are various applications of the 3G technology in
modern times. The important thing to notice is that these
ever-changing and advanced technologies are developed
for customers, so that the customer could lead a better
and a comfortable life, so restricting the scope of
application part of the 3G technology would not be
possible as it has such a wide range of features which
automatically makes it applicable in almost every field.
We in this paper would talk about the application of 3G
technology in Government sectors, we will describe how
they are useful for the same.
1. Cost saving and improved efficiency for field
workers[8]
Increased bandwidth associated with 3g technology
enables a whole new set of graphic-rich applications to
field-workers, which can save time and money. For
example, city building officer can download building
blueprints and other architectural drawings instead of
driving back to the office to retrieve these documents.
Hence, using 3g is time as well as cost saving. In the area
of social services, nowadays, more and more social
workers rely on laptops and PDAs combined with
wireless access which have witnessed immediate benefits
such as more time in the field with clients, more accurate
data on reports arising from information being entered
on-site rather than hours later in an office, reduced transit
time and improved client-interviews. Using 3G services,
additional applications can be implemented such as
instant transfer of images and video clips with
caseworker reports for children in crisis. Crisis situations
are what first responders deal with everyday, hence
immediate availability of best quality information is
critical to enable them manage incidents effectively.
Having rapid access to photos, government documents
and criminal justice databases can assist in life and death
situations. With 3G, full screen, full color images are
available clearly improving accuracy of identification.
5
An additional advantage is that it takes less download
time. Other first responders such as firefighters and
Emergency Medical Services (EMS), can also benefit
from 3G technology. Firefighters can download detailed
blueprints of buildings to identify safest exit routes,
utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to
locate personnel within a building and biometrics to
monitor vital signs of workers. Emergency Medical
Technicians (EMTs) can communicate via video with
trauma centers to diagnose and treat patients.
2. Seamless interoperability with WLAN
Since many hospitals are starting to utilize WLAN’s that
only have a coverage area of 300 feet, it is critical for
EMT’s to maintain a seamless connection once they
leave the hospital campus. Through a technology feature
known as mobile IP, 3G technology can interact with
WLAN’s so that EMT’s can maintain a seamless and
secure connection without logging on and off after
leaving the coverage area of a particular WLAN.
3. Data Security
The highest security is required by Federal Agencies who
identify four major objectives:
a) Availability: preventing denial of service
attacks.
b) Authentication: assured identity of the user.
c) Confidentiality: protection of user data.
d) Integrity: protection from changing data.
3G CDMA2000 technology has the necessary
capabilities to meet all these federal security
requirements. Encryption protects each wireless data
session and prevents unauthorized access to user traffic.
It also protects session from hijacking and unlawful
tampering with the user traffic. Through mutual
authentication of the mobile user and network, the
identity of user is ensured and network attacks are
prevented. Till now, there are no known CDMA2000
interception devices.
Since 3G facilitates the most rigorous standards of
security, it is the perfect technology for meeting the new
increased demands on all levels of government. Since
one of the first steps in a terrorist alert is identifying the
threat, having immediate access to best quality data is
crucial. Several cities are investigating the use of mobile
high-speed data to transmit digital images during major
events such as a cricket match. Images may be compared

to a database of known terrorists using facial recognition
technology.
Wireless data and handheld devices can assist first
responders to identify a bioterrorist alert. GIS technology
can be used to track plumes, spread of a hazardous
substance during a suspected bioterrorist alert. Wireless
technology including biometrics can be used at border
crossings to identify criminals trying to enter the country
or Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID) to
track cargo and identify its contents.
Since 9/11, there has been a compelling need to improve
security as well as to improve and streamline public
services which can be achieved by using 3G high-speed
mobile data.
IV. FUTURE OF 3G
The 3G technology is a fast growing technology and day
by day more advancement are taking place in this field.
Though the maximum coverage and customers who use
such technology are concentrated in the western part of
the world and certain growing economics of India and
China still have to experience the magic of 3G in a wider
sense, still experts believe that 3G for now is here to stay
and that the future for such technology is very bright and
wide.
According to TeleGeography[9], by the year 2013, the
addressable market for 3G and 4G mobile services will
be somewhere around 4.5 billion people. In other words,
nearly one third of all mobile users in the world will have
access to these high speed mobile networks. An
unbelievably big number – 4.5 billion wireless
subscribers. It is expected that more than 95% of
wireless subscribers in Western Europe will have access
to 3G and 4G services in 2013. Europe still continues to
be the leader as far as mobile market is concerned.
Nearly 90% of mobile users in the U.S. and Canada,
more than 80% of users in Latin America and Eastern
Europe, 70% of users in the Middle East and Africa, and
60% of users in the Asia Pacific region will have access
to these next generation cellular services.
It has often been argued that India and China are the
countries to look for when it comes to mobile services
because of their huge population and rapidly developing
economies. Now, looking at the numbers above, some of
you might wonder why only 60% of users in Asia are
expected to have access to 3G and 4G services. The
reason is not hard to fathom. The population of China
and India is so big that it is nearly impossible for mobile
service providers to expand their networks to that extent
in such a small period of time. So, even if only 60% of
wireless users access 3G and 4G services, it is still a
huge achievement.
6
1. 3G smart Wi-Fi phones
There are various mobile phones which are upcoming in
the market which would be fully compatible with all the
3G features and will provided all the facilities, these are:
Smart phone M89[11]: Smart phone M89 will be
launched in the international markets and it is an
Windows Mobile powered phone. It will have almost the
same feature as the i-phone has the only difference being
the operating system will be that of Microsoft and not of
Apple.
i-phone c6[11]: C6 will be powered by Windows Mobile
6.1 Inside, you will get 8GB worth of storage space, Wi-
Fi connectivity, GPS navigation support, a 3.5" display,
256MB ROM, Bluetooth support and a 450MHz
Samsung processor.
2. Security
As compared to 2G; the predecessor of 3G, latter has
greater and superior level of security which is offered to
the users. If it is permitted to make a check, UE can
verify the network to which the mobile is being attached.
In this way, users can attain a greater level of feeling
secure and safe. As a replacement for the older A5/1
stream cipher, 3G uses KASUMI block crypto(It is a
block cipher used in UMTS, GSM, and GPRS mobile
communications systems).This way, enhanced protection
is offered to users, and their data can remain safe and out
of the reach of impressionists.
3. Concerns and Issues
3G has still not been allowed by many countries, due to
some issues. Also, there are some more issues that
concern this latest technology. These are discussed
below:
a) Countries complain that there are very
expensive input fees attached to the 3G service
licenses & agreements.
b) They complain that there are abundant
differences in the licensing terms.
c) 3G mobile handsets are expensive and hard to
afford.
d) In some countries, there are high prices of 3G
mobile services together with Internet access.
e) Currently, there is a lack of user need for 3G
voice and data services in a mobile phone.
f) Finally, there is a lack of member state support
for financially troubled operators.
4. Blink Future of 3G compared with 4G
There has been more talk about 4G (fourth generation)
mobile broadband recently and Nokia Siemens Networks

(NSN's) has announced that the first 4G field trials have
been completed in Berlin.
As 4G seems to have taken a step closer to reality, we
studied about the advantages 4G may offer over 3G. The
specifications for 4G are not standardized yet but the
following 3G vs 4G table gives an idea of what 4G is
likely to provide.
Technology 3G 4G
Frequency
band
1.8 - 2.5GHz 2 - 8GHz
Bandwidth 5-20MHz 5-20MHz
Data rate Up to 2Mbps
Access W-CDMA
FEC Turbo-codes
100Mbps moving
- 1Gbps
stationary
VSF-OFCDM and
VSF-CDMA
Concatenated
codes
Switching Circuit/Packet Packet
Figure (3),[11]
The existing 3G W-CDMA standard will be replaced in
4G by VSF-OFCDM and VSF-CDMA which are
Multiplexing techniques and will have power to enable
transmission at an exceptionally high speeds. VSF-
OFCDM allows extremely high downlink connections,
both indoors and outdoors. VSF-CDMA provides high
efficiency.
The 4G adoption of concatenated FEC (Forward Error
Correction) will allow much larger data packets to be
transmitted and at the same time reduce the bit error rate.
This will increase the overall data through-put.
One of the main advantages that 4G technology will have
over 3G is higher data rates. This will benefit the end
user by allowing faster access to multimedia and video.
before the 4G technology launches, the mobile operators
and wireless companies will ensure that people are
familiar with the 3G technology so that there would be
no problem installing 4G facilities throughout the world.
7
V. CONCLUSION
We concluded from this paper that as time passes more
advancements would be made in the field of wireless
communication and that the technology that we have
today in the form of 3G is very useful and a very wide
approach for reaching the masses by creating new
dimensions in the world of communication.
The features and options that are offered by 3G is pathbreaking
and will slowly reach the audience throughout
the world over. More advancements are taking place
even as we read this survey and technologies like 4G are
coming into form which will further widen the range of
such technologies.
Developing countries like India and China still are
waiting for the 3G revolution to enter their wireless
markets and still there is a lot of scope of such
technologies in these countries. Google’s recently
launched 3G compatible ‘Nexus 1’ is pitted by the
experts as the super phone and is pitted to beat the likes
of i-phone, whether this happens or not we have to see,
in the mean time there are various other phones which
are coming in the market with 3G compatibilities and
looking at this trend one could surely say that the market
of 3G is very wide and has a lot of scope for the future.
VI. REFERENCES
1) www.3Gnewsroom.com/html/about_3g.
2) www.3Gnewsroom.com/html/what_is_3g.
3) www.wikinvent.com/concept/3G.
4) www.pdfdatabase.com/ieee-papers-on-3gtechnologies.
5) White paper on “Third Generation(3G)
Wireless”, Trillium Digital Systems Inc, March
2000.
6) www.3Gnewsroom.com/html3g_networks.
7) White paper on “Mobile Networks Evolution:
From 3G onwards”, J-L. Hurel, C.Lerouge,
C.Euci, L.Gui, 2003/04.
8) White paper on “Overview of the Benefits of
3G to Mobile Professionals in the Government
sector”, Lucent Technologies.
9) R.Ramachandran, “Development towards 3 rd
Generation Systems”, Volume 8,
Num11/November 2003.
10) www.TeleGeography.com
11) www.articlesbase.com