The first wave of mobile phone technology was hardly mobile by today’s standards. Phones were so large that they were built into briefcase-like carriers for easy portability. Around the same time, car phones made their debut, so telecommunication networks were geared towards servicing both these devices. The networks were purely analogue, and were nowhere close to the kind of technology that is now visible.
The second generation of mobile phone technology is still visible in mobiles now, because the second major innovation was the introduction of the Global System for Mobile Communications. Popularly known as GSM, this standards system allowed users to carry their mobiles across countries and still have network access.
Once mobiles became a practical necessity, and almost everyone had one, the next great innovation was turning a mobile phone into a miniature personal computer. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) came about during the second generation, but the true proliferation of mobile Internet was brought on by EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution). The new advances sparked better connectivity, better download speeds and the overall improved availability of mobile data networks.
Each generation spanned a considerable number of years. There were a number of improvements and innovations that were introduced, however only the really major ones were marked with a change in generation. Most of the smaller ones received an acknowledgment by changing the decimal value of the generation.
What is 4G?
Mobile Internet still features as a major factor for innovation, as it still cannot hope to rival the PC-bound Internet experience. 4G is going to introduce wireless technologies to mainstream mobile phones. Since 4G has not been officially defined by anyone, there is a lot of speculation as to what exactly will constitute 4G mobile technology.