Introduction into 3G

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. But this doesn’t just mean fast mobile connection to the world wide web. Rather, whole new ways to communicate, access information, conduct business, learn and be entertained - liberated from slow, cumbersome equipment and immovable points of access.

What will 3G mean to users?

With access to any service anywhere, anytime, from one terminal, the old boundaries between communication, information, media and entertainment will disappear. Services will truly converge.

"Mobility" will be offered with many services that we currently regard as "fixed" – indeed, Mobile operators believes that mobility will become the norm for many communication services. We’ll be able to make video calls to the office and surf the internet, or play interactive games with friends at home - wherever we may be.

But 3G is not just about applications that require high speed data rates. It’s about convienience and speed of access.

The packet based IP (Internet Protocol) technology that will form the core of future services will mean we can be on-line constantly: e-mail messages with file attachments will download to hand-held terminals instantaneously; at the push of a button we’ll be connected to our company network. We’ll have this "anytime access" with charging geared more towards how much information we are sending than to how long we are connected.

There will also be a growing need for mobile users to interact with machines, and for machines to interact with other machines, over radio connections – reporting faults, ordering new stock, or relaying location details whenever required.

Companies outside telecoms today will take advantage of 3G to develop innovative new services.

When will 3G be rolled out?

NTT DoCoMo already launched the world's first commercialised third-generation "FOMA" mobile communication service on October 1, 2001. "FOMA" is the name used in Japan for NTT DoCoMo's 3G service.

The question of 3G deployment is not a technical issue, but a regulatory and economic one. Subscriber demand is the key factor: user expectations for mobile services are being raised, and for any successful 3G license bidder time to market will be critical. The way 3G is rolled out in a particular market will depend entirely on the business plans of the mobile operators, and the license requirements imposed by the regulatory authorities.

Today's mobile network operators can gain the vital business and market experience of providing high-speed mobile data services by introducing packet switching networks such as GPRS (General Packer Radio Service). By the time the new WCDMA, EDGE and cdma2000 wideband radio interfaces are standardized and commercially available, the market will already be attuned to the possibilities of 3G. Japan was the first market to announce specific plans to introduce wideband radio networks based on WCDMA technology. As a result, it is expected that 3G will go into service first in Japan. Currently, WCDMA networks are scheduled to be in operation there in 2001. The 3G licensing process has ompleted in many countries in Europe, and the first wideband radio networks are expected to enter commercial operation in 2002. Before then, GPRS will be introduced into GSM networks, to increase user bandwidth. The first GPRS systems was introduced early in 2000 in France but due to handset shortest and technical problems of the advance overall network architecture, it was not a success.

The Speed

3G enables users to transmit voice, data, and even moving images. In order to realize these services, 3G improves the data transmission speed up to 144Kbps in a high-speed moving environment, 384Kbps in a low-speed moving environment, and 2Mbps in a stationary environment. 3G provides services like Internet connection, transmission of large-scale data and moving contents photographed by digital cameras and videos, and software downloading.

At present, maximum data transmission speed is 64Kbps offered by NTT DoCoMo's 3G services, and toward early 2001, 384Kbps will be possible. At the early stage of 3G services, an 144Kbps-transmission speed is expected. By around 2005 when 3G is in general use, a maximum speed of 2Mbps will be possible.