3G refers to technologies associated with wireless communications and is most often associated with cell phones. Popular use of the term 3G, such as "a 3G phone," refers to the types of cell phones equipped to access to a wireless data network using 3G standards. Cell phones and other Internet-enabled devices that use 3G wireless technology are perceived as achieving higher speeds when browsing the Web, downloading files or performing other wireless Internet-related tasks. Technically, 3G stands for 3rd generation and refers to the third generation of related standards established by the ITU, or International Telecommunication Union. The family includes technologies recognized by consumers such as GSM EDGE and WiMAX. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GGP) has taken an active role in establishing and promoting 3G standards in order to increase the benefit of 3G technologies to consumers.
Standards
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project was established to develop and promote a set of Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for 3G technologies. The 3GPP originally focused on standards for a mobile communications system based on GSM networks and related radio access technologies. The 3GPP serves as an independent intermediary between the groups of vendors who must work together to create useful 3GP-enabled technologies for consumers, such as network providers, wireless service providers, and cell phone and mobile device manufacturers.
Features
3G technology features that are meaningful to consumers fall into two broad classifications. The first is data rates, which refers to the rate at which 3G devices can transfer data through 3G networks. Cell phones and related devices can regularly access the Internet and are capable of playing music and displaying videos. Because video and audio file sizes can be large, higher data transfer rates for files being downloaded from the Internet provide a better user experience. The second set of 3G features relates to security. Because consumers may send and receive confidential information from their cell phones, security for wireless communications is essential. 3G security features are intended to address that need.
Relation to 2G
The previous generation of standards for wireless services, 2G, supported lower data transfer rates that were suited mainly for voice services. This reflected the state of and the needs of earlier generations of cell phones and mobile devices that were not Internet-connected. The 2G standard evolved incrementally with the release of 2.5G and 2.75G standards before the ITU implemented the widely accepted set of 3G standards.
Relation to 4G
As consumer expectations relating to the performance of cell phones and similar devices in connecting to the Internet increase, device technology increases as well. As devices become capable of higher-performance functions such as playing larger, higher-definition videos with higher-quality audio, the need for data transfer rates that support larger, higher-quality multimedia files increases. There is no 4G standard from the ITU in place. The 3GPP consortium is seeking to expedite the creation of 4G standards.
History
3G network technology became available for commercial use first in Japan in 2001 and was followed by availability in South Korea and European countries. However, 3G networks for consumer use in the U.S. did not become available until 2003.
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