1G, 2G, 3G, 4G. What's the difference?

All of us hear these terms on daily basis. We had GPRS earlier. Then came 3g, then 4g and now people are talking about 5g. What exactly these are & what do they specify. Let us see.

The ‘G’ here,  refers to the "generation" of wireless network technology.
1G networks (NMT, C-Nets, AMPS, TACS) are considered to be the first analog cellular systems, which started early 1980s. There were radio telephone systems. 1G networks were conceived and designed purely for voice calls with almost no consideration of data services.

2G networks (GSM, CDMAOne, D-AMPS) are the first digital cellular systems launched early 1990s, offering improved sound quality, better security and higher total capacity. GSM supports circuit-switched data (CSD), allowing users to place dial-up data calls digitally, so that the network's switching station receives actual ones and zeroes rather than the screech of an analog modem.

2.5G networks (GPRS, CDMA2000 1x) are the enhanced versions of 2G networks with theoretical data rates up to about 144kbit/s. GPRS offered the first always-on data service.

3G networks (UMTS FDD and TDD, CDMA2000 1x EVDO, EDGE) are newer cellular networks that have data rates of 384kbit/s and more.

4G technology refers to the fourth generation of mobile phone communication standards. LTE and WiMAX are marketed as parts of this generation, even though they fall short of the actual standard. 

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