The Early Development and

Impact of 4G Technology

Jane Sherman
Shannon Sword
Outline
• Previous Technologies
– 1G, 2G, 3G (CDMA, GSM, UMTS)
– Multiplexing; Frequency, Time & Code
• Reasons for New Research
• How 4G Works
– Architecture, AdHoc, IP core, OFDM
• Impact of 4G
– economic, socio-cultural, political
1G Technology
Previous Technology – 1G “First Generation”

• Analog
– Continuous in amplitude and time
– Variations in the signal – disrupts over long distances
• Simplest type to wireless data
• Average between 4,800 to 9,600 bps (bits per second)
2G Technology
Previous Technology – 2G
• Advantages
– Digital – consists of 1s and 0s
• Digital signal: 1) Low level, 2) High level,
3) Rising edge, and 4) Falling edge
Previous Technology – 2G
– Digital data can be compressed and multiplexed much
more effectively than analog voice encodings
• Multiplexing - multiple analog message signals or digital
data streams are combined into one signal
 Previous Technology – 2G
– Allows for lower powered radio signals that require
less battery power
– CODEC introduction - program that encodes and
decodes digital data stream or signal
• Translates data from digital to analog and vice
versa
speaker

voice
CODEC 10111001
Previous Technology – 2G

• Advantages
– The digital voice encoding allows digital error
checking
• increase sound quality
• lowers the noise level
– Going all-digital allowed for the introduction of
digital data transfer
• SMS – “short message service”
• E-mail
Previous Technology – 2G

• Disadvantages
– Cell towers had a limited coverage area
• Jagged Decay curve
– Abrupt dropped calls
– Analog – gradual sound reduction
• “Spotty” coverage
3G Technology
Previous Technology - 3G
• Large capacity and broadband capabilities
• Allows the transmission of 384kbps for mobile systems and up to
2Mbps
• Increased spectrum efficiency – 5Mhz
– A greater number of users that can be simultaneously
supported by a radio frequency bandwidth
– High data rates at lower incremental cost than 2G
– Global roaming
Previous Technology - 3G

• CDMA – Code Division Multiple Access

– Form of multiplexing
– Does not divide up the channel by time or frequency
– Encodes data with a special code associated with each
channel
Types of Multiplexing

• FDMA - Each phone call is allocated one frequency for

the entire duration of the call.
• TDMA - Each phone call is allocated a spot in the
frequency for a small amount of time, and "takes turns"
being transmitted.
• CDMA - Each phone call is uniquely encoded and
transmitted across the entire spectrum, in a manner
known as spread spectrum transmission.
Frequency Division Multiple Access Time Division Multiple Access

Code Division Multiple Access

time

de
co
frequency
Reasons for New Research

• Even though 3G has successfully been

introduced to European mobile users, there are
some issues that are debated by 3G providers
and users.
– High input fees for the 3G service licenses
– Great differences in the licensing terms
– Current high debt of many
telecommunication companies, making it
more of a challenge to build the necessary
infrastructure for 3G
 Reasons for New Research

• Government are forced to

support to the financially
troubled operators
• 3G phones are expensive
• Lack of 2G mobile user buy-in
for 3G wireless service
• Lack of coverage because it is
still a new service
– i.e. Champaign-Urbana uses
2.5G
– Chicago is 3G equipped
Evolution to Fourth Generation systems
How 4G Works
What is 4G?
• Fourth Generation Technology
• Faster and more reliable
– 100 Mb/s (802.11g wireless = 54Mb/s, 3G = 2Mb/s)
• Lower cost than previous generations
• Multi-standard wireless system
– Bluetooth, Wired, Wireless (802.11x)
• Ad Hoc Networking
• IPv6 Core
• OFDM used instead of CDMA
• Potentially IEEE standard 802.11n
– Most information is proprietary
Communications Architecture
• Broadcast layer: fix access points, (ie cell
tower) connected by fiber, microwave, or
satellite (ISP)

• Ad-hoc/hot-spot layer: wireless LANs (ie.

internet at Starbuck’s)

• Personal Layer Gateway: devices that

connect to upper layers; cell phone, fax,
voice, data modem, MP3 players, PDAs

• Info-Sensor layer: environmental sensors

• Fiber-optic wire layer: high speed

subterranean labyrinth of fiber optic cables
and repeaters
Ad Hoc Networks
• Spontaneous self organization of networks of devices
• Not necessarily connected to internet
• 4G will create hybrid wireless networks using
Ad Hoc networks
• Form of mesh networking
– Very reliable
Smart Antennas
• Beam radio signals directly at a user to follow the user as
they move
• Allow the same radio frequency to be used for other
users without worry of interference
• Can’t keep up transmission speeds while device is
moving fast (i.e. in a car)
– Only 32Mb/s at 62mph (vs 100Mb/s)
• Seamless handoff between towers/access points
• One transmit antenna, two receive antennas
– Allows connection to two access points at once
 Mobile IPv6
• More addresses than current version of IP protocol
(Version 4) Æ each device can have own IP
– Keep IP address even if you change access point
– Presently translate IP with each change because not
enough IP addresses to go around
• IP Core- everything can talk to each other if they speak
the same “language” (protocol)

IPv6 Source Address Destination Address

Packet
DATA (1011101001010…)
IP Core
Mobile VoIP
• “Voice Over Internet Protocol”
• Allows only packets (IP) to be transferred, eliminating
complexity of 2 protocols over the same circuit
• All voice data will be wrapped up in a packet
– lower latency data transmission (faster transmission)
• Samples voice between 8,000 & 64,000 times per
second and creates stream of bits which is then
compressed and put into a packet.
• Increases battery life due to greater data compression

10011101101 IP(10011101101)
Voice Compressed bit stream IP packet
OFDM
• Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
• Allows for transfer of more data than other forms of
multiplexing (time, frequency, code, etc)
• Simplifies the design of the transmitter & receiver
• Allows for use of almost the entire frequency band
– No gaps to prevent interference needed
• Currently used in WiMax (802.16) and Wi-Fi (802.11a/g)
How OFDM Works
Frequency

Bit = 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0

Above, binary phase shift keying (BPSK). The

phase of the sin wave changes to represent a
different bit.
How OFDM works
• Frequency of the previous wave
How OFDM works
• The frequencies are spaced so that the signals do not
interfere with each other (no cross talk)
• Parallel Data Transmission - Allows for the sending of
multiple signals simultaneously from the same antenna (or
wire) to one device
– Each transmission has a different stream of bits
Impact of 4G
Socio-Economic Impact
• More affordable communication services
• One device can communicate with all vs. many
devices communicating with some devices
• TV, internet, phone, radio, home environment sensors all
reachable through one device Æ the cell phone
– Streaming HD video
• Too connected?
– Increase in social networking, invasion of privacy,
security concerns
– Increase in regulation likely (ie. no driving and using
a cell phone)
When?

• China Mobile, KPN, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, Intel,

Motorola, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Vodafone already
doing research on 4G
• Much of this information is proprietary at this time
• Expected release of 4G services as early as 2008.
• Majority of companies expect widespread use of 4G
systems by 2010.
• Lifecycle of 4G is estimated to be 15 years.
Questions?
Bibliography - Texts

• Agha, Khaldoun & Omidyar, Cambyse. Mobile and

Wireless Communications Networks. Singapore, World
Scientific, 2003
• Glisic, Savo. Advanced Wireless Communications: 4G
Technologies. Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, 2004
• Lightman, Alex. Brave New Unwired World; The Digital
Big Bang and the Infinite Internet. New York, John Wiley
& Sons, 2002
• Wang, Jiangzhou. Broadband Wireless
Communications. Norwell, Massachusetts, Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 2001
Bibliography - Websites

• Charmed Technology wireless everywear. Charmed

Technology. 11/16/2006 www.charmed.com
• OFDM Tutorial. Wave Report. 11/16/2006
http://www.wave-report.com/tutorials/OFDM.htm
• OFDM Tutorial. University of Edinburgh. 11/3/2006.
www.ee.ed.ac.uk/~acmc/OFDMTut.html
• How VoIP Works. HowStuffWorks.com 11/16/2006.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony3.htm
• W-OFDM Technology in 4G Cellular Networks.
11/16/2006.
http://www.4g.co.uk/PR2004/August2004/2032.htm
Bibliography - Websites

• OFDM Overview. Intel Corporation. 11/16/2006

http://www.intel.com/education/highered/wireless/lectures/l07-
overview_of_ofdm.ppt
• Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. Intel Corporation.
10/30/2006
www.intel.com/netcomms/technologies/wimax/303787.pdf
• 4G Technologies Support Transmission Rates up to 100Mbps.
www.4G.co.uk. 10/30/2006
http://www.4g.co.uk/PR2006/2067.htm
• Move over 3G here comes 4G. The Economist. 11/4/2006
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=
1816742
Bibliography - Websites

• FDMA vs TDMA vs CDMA: What is the difference? Rice

University. 11/15/2006
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~elec301/Projects01/cdma
/compare.html
• Introduction to CDMA. Qualcomm Learning Center.
11/15/2006
http://www.cdmauniversity.com/ProdTech/cdma/traini
ng/cdma25/m4/m4p01.html
• CDMA Overview. UMTS. 11/15/2006
http://www.umtsworld.com/technology/cdmabasics.ht
m