Wireless service past, present, and future

Cellphones have taken over! We live in an age that cellphones are everywhere. Not only are cellphones used for calls and text messages, now they are used and connected to the internet. Throughout the last 20 years there were 3 major evolution points to cellphone technology.

1. The introduction to text messaging: This milestone introduced data messaging over the cellular network.

2. The introduction to internet: This allowed cellphones to connect to the rest of the world.

3. iPhones / Smartphones: Apps! Apps have revolutionized the way we use data as well as how frequently we use it.

Smart phones are multiple electronics in one. Here are a few of the many things a smartphone can currently do: Phone, Text, GPS mapping, Camera, Video Recorder, Electronic Book, Music Player, Movie Player, Search Engine, Surveillance, Internet, Video Games, Notebook, Calendar, Finance manager, Bill Pay, Financial Account access, etc

Wireless Service Providers (WSPs) have been evolving with the demand for data and speed. Long ago, there was only voice on cellphones, the amount of voice traffic has also escalated tremendously in the past decades. WSPs have upgraded to higher technologies to be able to keep up with the demand. Through a combination of shorter cell sites and higher capacity technology, WSPs have succeeded so far. Although, large venues such as stadiums, new years eve, concerts, etc have been an obstacle that had always been a challenge in the past and today. Voice has evolved by using newer standards in the wireless world. These standards are now known as 2G, 3G and 4G. The G stands for Generation. These standards are put together by recognized groups to develop these standards.

1G, was the introduction of cell phones to the commercial world. This occurred in the early 80's. Back then, the phones operated on an analog system, not digital. Back then there were few users, which allowed for carriers to build tall cell sites to cover large areas. Since the cell sites were so far away at times, in order to be able to communicate back to the cell site, phones needed to be bulky to allow for a big battery. Also, batteries back then were not as advanced as today.

2G, was the introduction of digital wireless. GSM came into the wireless world in the early 90's, which is still used Worldwide. In the US, the major carriers that used GSM were T-Mobile and AT&T. GSM used a system called GPRS for higher speed data. Soon there after came CDMA, also known as IS-95, which revolutionized the wireless world by using a more digital platform and expanded voice capacity tremendously. The major carriers that used CDMA were Verizon and Sprint. CDMA used a system called Edge for high speed data. These 2 were great and cutting edge. These allowed for higher speed data which was more than needed in that day and age. The most data used was for text messaging, email, and some internet. Most major websites had detection mechanism which allowed the website to know if it was a mobile that was accessing the site, and would redirect the phone to a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) page. This WAP page was designed to fit into the smaller screens of the phone with the text that was needed, without all the images or software. But, as we have seen, voice and data was exploding at this time.

The i-phone was introduced during the 2G era. This was a major data hog. Apps made it easier for the user to do more on the web without the tedious task of typing in a website, scrolling, clicking, etc. Apps were made to have easy tasks, designed for the i-phone. The introduction of the i-phone greatly taxed the 2G systems.

3G, was the introduction of CDMA2000, also known as 1xRTT, which was the next CDMA generation. 3G was rolled out in the early 2000's. CDMA2000 was used by Verizon, Sprint, and MetroPCS. This technology nearly doubled the capacity of IS-95. Alongside this EVDO was the high speed data part of this technology. During this time, Sprint began developing WiMAX, which was a higher speed data than EVDO. Next into the 3G ring came UMTS, also known as WCDMA, which was a CDMA that used a wider frequency band than CDMA which allows for even more capacity and higher data speeds than CDMA2000 and EVDO. UMTS uses HSDPA as their High Speed internet, with the road paved for an upgrade to HSPA+ which was the highest high speed among the 3G technologies. UMTS was used by T-Mobile and AT&T, both of whom began upgrading to HSPA+ in to 2009-2011. During the 3G era, the i-phone subscriber increased at an alarming rate, as well as competitors to the i-phone. The Android came in and also taxed the wireless systems tremendously. WCMDA allowed users to be on a call and use data at the same time, something that the CDMA2000 systems could not do.

4G, is the future that is here now. In 2011, 4G was the introduction to LTE (Long Term Evolution). LTE uses OFDMA and SC-FDMA as their platform. LTE is introduced as a high speed data solution, but also has the ability to incorporate Voice as a Voice over IP or VoIP system. In the US, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and MetroPCS are all deploying LTE. T-Mobile currently is staying with HSPA+ as their "4G" solution. HSPA+ is technically in the 3G group, but the highest speeds does match that of lower speeds of LTE. LTE has multiple configurations, each with different speed capabilities. The highest speed comes from a configuration called MIMO or Multiple In, Multiple Out. This means that the cell site will have more than one antenna transmitting and receiving the signal and the phone will also have multiple antenna within the phone transmitting and receiving the signals.

Something to note, is that the WSPs will have both 3G and 4G systems running at the same time. This is done for transitioning between 3G users and 4G users. Also, the 4G phones are made capable of falling back to 3G if there is a problem with 4G. Which means that the 3G system you are on will be faster on HSPA+ than with EVDO.

Another major thing to consider is the expansion of the 4G network. Most networks begin in the major cities, ie Boston, New York City, Miami, Chicago, etc and trickle out to the other cities and towns and states. Some WSPs will be more aggressive than others. Some WSPs may cover their whole network, while others may only stay in Metropolitan areas.

5G, there is no talks of 5G as of yet. 4G has just begun and will continue to grow and advance. Generally, each generation has come out approximately one decade from each other.

So what is the future of wireless? Apparently wireless has been evolving in the way the data is delivered to our cellphones. We are now at 4G and will most likely be moving to 5G, which would make data speeds faster and the systems smaller. There is much room for improvement from several aspects of the cellular world.

Wireless Electronic equipment is getting smaller and more efficient. Wireless systems were bulky in the past, what use to be the size of an industrial refrigerator is now the size of a college refrigerator. The technology is still evolving.

Backhaul, is the name given to the data lines connecting the cell sites back to the main switch. In the past T1's were used. Now, fiber is the standard hard line used. Backhaul is evolving with increasing data throughput.

Cellphones, are always evolving and becoming smarter. The i-phone was a technology that no one saw coming. The next step could be anything and will be interesting to see.