About 3G
Learning about 3G is not a walk in the park. If you want to learn about 3G, you have to understand the technology and the determining factors that affect its development and distribution.
All about 3G
3G stands for the third generation mobile phone standards and technology based on the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) group of standards under the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000).
About 3G Types
Learning about 3G starts with the two types of 3G: the Universal Mobile Telephone Service (UMTS), which utilises Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) as its standard and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimised), which brings 3G speeds to CDMA networks.
Mobile carriers in Australia utilise variations of the W-CDMA technology.
About 3G Features
When talking about 3G, techies can't help but discuss about 3G features, which have made 3G a standard in mobile technology. One thing about 3G is that in terms of network capacity and more advanced services, 3G supersedes 1G and 2G. Mobile carriers that are using the 3G technology provide wireless voice telephony, broadband wireless data, and video calls - anytime and anywhere.
Another thing you need to know about 3G is its ability to support high speed mobile access with Internet-based services. 3G supports video calling; wireless Internet connectivity; real-time multi-player; film and television streaming; and other data services.
One good thing about 3G technology is that users will be charged based on the amount of data they transmit and not the time they are connected to the network. 3G allows users to be online all the time; thus opening up doors for new applications that could be beneficial to both the provider and users.
About 3G in Australia
What you need to know about 3G in Australia is that Hutchison Telecoms launched the first 3G mobile network called "Three" in April 2003. It initially covered Melbourne and Sydney. Subsequently, key cities like Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide were covered. Thereafter, other major telecommunications companies followed suit, which made the 3G presence in Australia hard to ignore.
Talking about 3G, in 2006, Telstra launched the largest and the fastest 3G UMTS/HSDPA network in Australia, which was called Next G. The Next G is touted to be capable of providing overage 100 time more than any other 3G provider and three times greater than any 2G provider in Australia.