Wireless Future -> 4G (4th generation of mobile networks)

In a Cutt Newsletter (2004) issue it is mentioned that while current 3G services are working to enable transactional wireless communications like location-based services, wireless shopping, personal services, email and multimedia data transfer, these are at much lower speeds compared to the 100 MBPS to 1 GBPS of 4G.

As demand builds for high-quality, streaming video and audio, only 4G systems will be able to accommodate growing consumer and business expectations. Japan, China and South Korea plan to work together with developing new technologies like fourth-generation mobile phones says Japanese local papers.

Ongoing talks have been underway for the last several months to discuss how to work together in the best possible way including 

those for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and future Internet systems, said an official at the telecommunications ministry.

A 4G orientated meeting was held in Seoul in March with officials from the above countries, where they agreed to share information and work together on developing 4G mobile phones.

In Eliza Evans and others (2004) the implications of 4G network are discussed in detail. They predict that if implemented, the projected 4G technology may facilitate a true IP cellular network. 4G mobile phone technology supports Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and promises faster communication speeds (100 megabits per second), capacity and diverse usage formats. These formats would provide richer content and support for other public networks such as optical fibre and wireless local area networks.

4G is currently only an ideal. Still, some companies are incorporating new technological advances into cellular technology, something that some companies are calling “3.5G.” 3.5G technology, the convergence of cellular and wireless LAN technologies, has led to a handset that makes calls using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) when a 802.11 network is available (for example, when at home or at the office), then switches to a 3G cellular network when mobile. 

Someday 4G networks may replace all existing 2.5G and 3G networks, perhaps even before a full deployment of 3G. Multiple 3G standards are springing up that would make it difficult for 3G devices to be truly global. A strong need exists to combine both the wireless (LAN) concept and cell or base station wide area network design. 4G is seen as the solution that will bridge that gap and thereby provide a much more robust network.

Table 2, lists down the comparison between 3G and the upcoming 4G networks.

Table 2: Differences between 3G and 4G

Source: www.mobileinfo.com