The 2G spectrum allocation controversy shows no signs of abating. But what the heck, we already have cellular operators offering 3G internet. There is Tata Docomo offering mobile speeds of over 21mbps, something unheard of earlier. But that’s nothing compared to what’s next: 4G. So what is 4G, anyway? Simply put, it is a network that operates on internet technology; combines it with other applications and technologies such as wi-fi; and runs at speeds ranging from 100 mbps (cell towers) to 1 gbps (wi-fi services). Think of Tom Cruise in Minority Report — that scene where he is walking down an aisle and is recognized by local advertising networks, which offer products tailored to his consumer habits, in ads that only he can see and hear.
The definition
4G stands for the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. As can be guessed, it is a successor to 3G and 2G. However, with 4G, you can access the internet and phone lines even while commuting in high-speed trains, buses and cars. Right now, every major carrier in the US is touting a 4G network that’s either available or being rolled out. But sources in the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency that sets international standards for telecommunications, claim today’s technology is far from 4G as it does not meet a set of specs known as IMT-Advanced. Under pressure, the ITU has now revised its definition of 4G to include any technology that is a ‘meaningful improvement’ over 3G.
In hind sight, 4G can be defined as something that facilitates wireless ad hoc peer-to-peer networking. When you join the network, you add mobile routers to the network infrastructure. Because users like you carry much of the network with you, network capacity and coverage is dynamically shifted to accommodate changing user patterns. As more users like you congregate and create pockets of high demand, you also create additional routes for yourself, enabling additional access to network capacity. You will automatically hop away from congested routes to less congested routes. This permits the network to dynamically and automatically self-balance capacity, and increase network utilization. What may not be obvious is that when your device acts as a router, your device actually becomes part of the network infrastructure. So instead of carriers subsidizing the cost of user devices (e.g., handsets, PDAs, of laptop computers), you actually subsidize and help deploy the network for the carrier. On the contrary, with the prevailing cellular infrastructure, you contribute nothing to the network. You are just a consumer competing for resources. But in wireless ad hoc peer-to-peer networks, you cooperate – rather than compete – for network resources. Thus, as the service gains popularity and the number of users increases, service likewise improves for all users. The devices will get cheaper, and service providers will reach economies of scale sooner because they will be able to pass on the infrastructure savings to consumers, which will further increase the rate of penetration.
The uses of 4G
4G is going to revolutionise the way we use our smartphones, laptops and wi-fi devices like iPod Touch and modems. Broadband services will be upgraded to ultra-broadband offering unbelievable speeds that will allow you to download a full length high definition movie in less than a minute. Not to mention, improved IP telephony. But one of the biggest beneficiary will be hardcore online gamers whose favourites include high-speed shooter games. The internet speed will be available so freely that service providers will start offering unlimited home and mobile net access for a pittance. Similarly, video conferencing on mobile devices will take it to a new level of interpersonal communication without picture and audio lags and heightened internet security features. Most importantly, the 4G wireless system will provide total IP solutions where all kinds of multimedia services will be delivered to you on an ‘anytime, anywhere’ basis at minimal cost, using any one of the many technologies like Wi-Fi, UMTS, Edge or any other future access technology like smart-radio that efficiently manages spectrum usage and transmission capability. This would mean, high data rate, premium quality and much better security. This will also mean that the multimedia services will be fully integrated and personalised to your taste.
4G offers expansive coverage never seen before. When you think about wireless and cell networks, you naturally imagine the places where service is impossible. Maybe it’s in a certain building; maybe coverage is shoddy in a certain neighbourhood. Either way, you don’t expect total coverage. The idea of the 4G network is to create just that: a hotspot which blankets the metropolitan area and doesn’t let up until you reach zones well outside of the city and its suburbs. 4G also offers speeds that will encompass peak hours. The 4G network succeeds not only in providing speed that trumps 3G networks, but it also provides speeds that compare favourably with hard-line service available to homes throughout the metro area. Also, the 4G service does away with technicians that install from door-to-door. Instead of waiting for someone to fiddle around in your home, you will be done with the network requirements as soon as you walk out of the store. Importantly, the service fee will be economical. Since 4G networks can include inherent geo-location without GPS, it helps in navigation and managing traffic. Right now, cameras are hung near traffic lights using fibre, which limits where the cameras can be hung. However, 4G networks allow cities to deploy cameras and backhaul them wirelessly. And instead of having to backhaul every camera, cities can backhaul every third or fifth or tenth camera, using the other cameras as router/repeaters. Similarly in case of city flooding or a major accident , 4G networks can allow officials to access traffic control boxes to change inland traffic lanes to green. Instead of having to send officers to every box on roads being overwhelmed by civilians who are evacuating, it can all be done remotely, and dynamically. In a September 11 type environment, lights could also be forced to red to prevent civilians from driving into harm’s way. In much the same way, 4G can deliver games, music, books/magazines, video, as well as gambling and adult content – arguably the two most profitable online services – into mobile users’ hands all over the world, and allow them to interact in real-time with other users. In essence, the use of 4G is only limited by your imagination.
Is the future 5G?
The 4G world will be about much more than mobile handsets. The technology will give birth to a whole new dress code. 4G will not just be a technology. It will be a lifestyle that will spawn 5G and go beyond. It’s one of those things where no one company can own it or control it. A citizen of the 4G world will be wired from head to toe: from sunglasses that include computer screens and miniature digital-video cameras to shirts made of a flexible high-tech plastic that double as TV screens. The technology won’t just allow us to access the Internet, it will make us a part of it, as mobile nodes in the worldwide network.