Wireless Evolution to 4G

First generation (1G) mobile systems were analog and were focused only on voice traffic. Second generation (2G) mobile standards marked the transition from analog to digital systems. Third generation (3G) mobile systems evolved to support more bandwidth hungry services, such as e-mail, text messaging and image sharing.

Typically, 3G mobile networks require two parallel backbone infrastructures — one consisting of circuit switched nodes and one consisting of packet-based nodes. This network infrastructure doubles the capital and operational expenses associated with deploying, maintaining and operating 3G mobile networks.

4G mobile networks require a single, all-IP, packet-based backhaul infrastructure, providing carriers with a significant cost advantage. However, the number of mobile devices and multitude of services, such as traditional voice, voice conferencing, image sharing, video, and high-speed data strains the infrastructure.

The chart below shows the generations of wireless standards.

• Part 1:
  Introduction
• Part 2:
  Wireless Evolution to 4G
• Part 3:
  4G Network Characteristics and Requirements
• Part 4:
  Using PBB-TE in 4G Wireless Backhaul Networks
• Part 5:
  Summary