1. Article: 4G Technology
By
Muhammad Ahmed
Muhammad Awais
Syed Kazim Raza

2. 4G Technology
4G is here to replace the 3G systems. 4G is abbreviation of “Fourth Generation Mobile System”
and successor of 3G, 2G, and 1G mobile technologies. The main purpose 4G deploying is to
provide secure broadband access for devices like smart phones, laptops, netbooks and other
devices requiring IP based internet access. To end user, their newly purchased mobile devices
will have faster and more reliable internet access.
Most of the users are getting very high speed Internet connections at homes, offices, super
markets and restaurants but when they are outside of these places they are unable to get those
high speed connections. Now with the help of 4G you can get high speed internet on the go. In
this article we are going to tell you about this technology, its cost, its benefits and the devices
needed to use this high speed wireless internet.
But first we talk about some background. It all started with 1G which was widely used in cell
phones and only allows the phone calls. Then 2G was introduced digital mobile communication
that combined calling and texting only. Then came 3G finally the internet went mobile, with the
simple mobile device you can send mails, read the newspaper, check your favorite social media
and many more things. 3G gives high speed internet but still it has some problems, to overcome
these problems a new mobile generation was required. Because user requirements were
growing like many technologies like VoIP, broadband data access in mobile environment and
Need of deploying technologies that can integrate all these systems into a single unified system.
Many end user’s want to stream videos, broadcast TV, videos and many more. After the 3G
finally 4G was introduced. The 3G networks allows us to download files, stream video, surf web
and many more at average speed from 600Kb/s to 1.4Mb/s. With 4G you’ll able to do the same
but at much fast speed.4G offers allows user to enjoy extremely fast internet.4G is so fast that
you can surf at the speed of fixed internet connection at home while you around the move.
Real World Speed Theoretical Speed
Download Upload Download Upload
2.5G GPRS 32-38Kbps 15 Kbps 114Kbps 20Kbps
2.75G EDGE 175Kbps 30Kbps 384Kbps 60Kbps
3G HSPA 7.2 1.4Mbps 700Kbps 7.2Mbps 2Mbps
4G WiMAX 2 (802.16) 20Mbps 12Mbps 86Mbps 28.8 Mbps
As shown in the above table there is theoretical speed and actual speed for the same
technology. Theoretical speed is maximum speed that you can achieve in a fully controlled
environment, while actual is speed that you will get on the move. The speed depends upon
many factors like how many peoples in an area using this service, your distance from antenna,
available network resources and the type of devices, Application that you are using.

3. 4G will enhance the security measures and increase efficiency for users. It will also reduce the
difficulties in transmission when a user moves from one network to another network.4G
technology will use the network based IP address system same as used for internet. The 4G
infrastructure will consist of different networks using IP as common protocol. Unlike the
previous generation of mobile technologies 4G will intensively use for internet access on PC’s as
well as mobile phones. It can also be used for accessing internet on the move without having to
be in a wireless hotspot.
Now we will discuss about the technologies that are being used in 4G network. The
technologies used in 4G are
 OFDM
 MIMO
 IPv6 (Internet protocol version 6)
 VoIP (Voice Over IP)
 Ultra Wide Radio Band (UWB)
 QOS(Quality of service)
 SDR(Software Defined Ratio)
OFDM is abbreviation of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing. It’s a method of encoding
digital data on multiple carrier frequencies. In this way Single channel utilizes multiple sub-
carriers on adjacent frequencies. Sub-carriers in an OFDM system are precisely orthogonal to
one another thus they are able to overlap without interfering. OFDM allows transfer of more
data than other forms of multiplexing (time, frequency, code, etc.). Another technology used in
4G is known as MIMO. It is abbreviation of “Multiple input and multiple output”. It is the use of
multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to improve communication performance. Before
MIMO there SISO (Single input single output), SIMO (single input single output) and MISO (Multiple
input Multiple Output).MIMO is the improved version in which there are multiple antenna instead of
one on both transmitting and receiving end. MIMO helps to reduce effects of fading signals due to use
of multiple antenna at receiving end, Higher downloads, more Mbps with exiting spectrum and power.
MIMO also helps to reduce breaks in call and data.

4. IPv6 is also used in 4G. IPv6 is upgraded version of previously used IPv4. IPv6 helps in easier
management of network because it has auto configuration capabilities, it is simpler and more
manageable. IPv4 has 4 octets for address while IPv6 has 16 octets for address. Direct addressing is
possible in IPv6 due to vast address space. IPv4 addresses were not enough for the complete world but
IPv6 has abundance of addresses (3.4 x 1038).IPv6 Provides interoperability and mobility
capabilities. Security features are also improved in IPv6. Another technology used in 4G is VoIP
which is the abbreviation of “Voice over internet protocol”. With the help of VoIP we can make
calls over IP-based data networks with a great quality and less cost. With the help of VoIP we
can make call PC to PC and phone to phone (via internet) at much less cost. With the help of
VoIP integration of voice and data is possible. It gives us more bandwidth and cost reduction.
Video telephony and teleconferencing become possible with the help of VoIP.
UWB is also used in 4G. Ultra wide band is wireless technology for transmitting large amount of
Digital data over a wide spectrum of frequency bands with very low power for a short distance.
It is a high-speed data transmission for short range. With the help of UWB we can reuse the
spectrum at low cost and low power. UWB is already widely used in Radar, Intelligence sensors
military communications, intelligent airbag, driving and parking aids. Then we have QOS
(Quality of service), it is the idea that data transmission rate, error rates, and other
characteristics can be measured can be measured and improved. It is important for new
internet applications. It helps in prioritization of network traffic. SDR is also used in 4G. It is the
short form of “Software defined radio”. It is a communication system where components that
have been typically implemented in hardware are instead implemented by means of software
on a personal computer or embedded system. SDR helps in software upgrading of commercial
radios. As the hardware implemented by the means of software so a generic hardware can be
used for many applications. It will reduce cost of new prototypes because software prototyping
is faster and cheaper as compared to hardware prototyping.
Why 4G is so fast? First of all 4G has different frequency
management system, you share the bandwidth with other
users on the network. The way the frequency is shared is
different in 3G compared to 4G. In 3G it’s like your speed is
limited and regulated but 4g uses much efficient radio coding.
This means you will receive the bandwidth that is dedicated to
you, think of race track reserved for your race car you can go as
fast as you want and the other tracks that are available you can
use them for more throughput. Also 4G uses “All IP
Technology”, this is the common language of all data systems.
A 3G network uses different languages to transfer data over the
network to the customer but a 4G network only uses one single
language to transfer data. 4G network architecture is smarter and streamlined, when you
connect to 4G network you transferred to a controller that regulates the data flow. Because of
4G smart network architecture antennas will immediately find for the best way for you to
connect.

5. Now we have the enough information about 4G and how it works, now let’s talk about some of
its benefits and real life applications. With the help of 4G user’s will extremely high speed files
download, extremely high voice quality, easy access to social media, higher bandwidth, better
spectral efficacy and many more. 4G will used in virtual presence which is hologram-generating
virtual reality programs that provide an artificial presence just about anywhere. For example,
decide if you want to personally respond when someone rings your front door while you are
away from home. It will be used in Tele geo-processing applications in which a user can get the
location by querying. It will help in Tele medicine and education for remote health monitoring
of patients. 4G will also help in Fast route selection for traffic, traffic control during normal days
or disasters with the help of remote cameras in traffic lights. 4G will hugely help in crisis
management. Natural disasters can cause breakdown in communication systems. In today’s
world it might take days or 7 weeks to restore the system. But in 4G it is expected to restore
such crisis issues in a few hours.
4G also has some limitation in the way like network provider will have to fit new component in
cell towers due to new frequencies. Data prices will be higher for end customers. Consumer is
forced to buy a new device to support the 4G.It is impossible to make your current equipment
compatible with the 4G network. Carriers and providers have to plan carefully to make sure
that expenses are kept realistic. Operating area is one of the major limitations, user will use 4G
only on 4G coverage area. The extensive publicity to 3G networks nowadays gives unrealistic
expectations in communications available at anytime, anywhere. The public should understand
that high speed data communications will not be equivalent to the wired Internet.
Now you have enough information to getting started with 4G. To getting started with 4G you
will need only two things a device that supports 4G and 4G coverage area.