3G Technology : How far how good ?  

3G Technology : How far how good ?

3G Technology is revolutionizing Indian mobile market these
days. Many 3G cell phones are being launched by different
companies. 3G is actually a short form of third generation of
mobile phones. 3G phones works in higher bandwidth (frequency
used while transmission) of 15-20 MHz. Smart phones are
generally equipped with the 3G technology.

There are many smart phones in the market like Apple's iphone,
Nokia's N95, Sony Ericsson's W950i, LG's KE850 etc. These entire
phones are based upon 3G technology. An average 3G handsets
likely to cost Rs 15,000-25,000 in Indian markets

The earlier technology 2G enables you to log onto internet
connection but the speed creeps. While, with 3G, users will be
offered with faster broadband connection on internet 3G
technology offers additional features to a mobile phone like
high speed broadband Internet access up to 144 kbps, interactive
gaming and download movies, video clips and music along with
high quality of voice transmission. Users can also enjoy other
mobile applications like video conferencing and mobile TV. 3G
phones makes downloading more trouble-free as it is easy to
download a hefty music file with a 3G phone as compared to any
ordinary phone operate on the principle of 2G. For example, a
user will be able to download a 3-minute song in approximately
15 seconds with 3G as compare to 8 minutes usually required in
existing mobile technologies.

The very first hindrance in its acceptance is the cost related
to technology which can hike your bills by almost 50%. Secondly,
users will have to upgrade their handset which is also a pricey
affair. In many countries, subscribers saw a 50 per cent jump in
their monthly phone bills when they switched from the normal 2G
to 3G services. But, many companies are making seamless efforts
in promoting 3G technology; Motorola currently has three 3G
models priced between Rs 14,000-19,000. Even, LG is also
planning to launch economic models of their phones based upon 3G
technology.

This is not the end of the story, Indian subscribers are ready
to offer 3G services and presently, Indian markets have 15-20%
of 3G enabled handsets and some of the Indian companies like
Hindujas, Jindal, Parsvanath and DLF, which have earlier applied
for telecom license will have to partner with a global player
with 3G experience to participate in the auction.

Recently, Compaq has partnered with Geneva Technology to deliver
a scalable convergent billing solution. Geneva's billing
solution runs on Compaq's AlphaServers to deliver speed,
flexibility and scalability to next-generation carriers. Even,
Hewlett-Packard's offers end-to-end architecture enables the
seamless delivery of mobile e-services over 3G networks. The
setup provides an efficient billing method required by
next-generation services.

To promote the technology well, it is required to fulfill the
necessary conditions. The chief requirements of any 3G
technology initiative, declared or implied must include:

• Support of both packet-switched and circuit-switched data
services

• excellent Voice quality comparable to that of Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN)

• A data rate of 144 kb/s for users in motor vehicles

• A data rate of 384 kb/s for pedestrians.

• Phased-in support for 2.048 Mb/s operation office use

• Support of wide variety of mobile equipment (phones,
handhelds, personal digital assistants (PDAs) etc.)

• More efficient usage of the available spectrum

• much greater bandwidth for the downlink than the uplink