It will not be few times that you have realized how over the years your phone said goodbye to 2G or 3G, to say hello to 4G or even 5G. However, it is normal that we are not very clear about what specifically changes. Although, what we are clear about is that depending on whether we have one network or another, the Internet connection of our Android phone or iPhone is much faster.
For this reason, it is time to see what each of these networks represent. In addition, it is also important to know all the frequency bands that current phones can take advantage of. Although, we will also talk about what technology has in store for us in the future, because in a while, it will be time to welcome 6G with open arms. For this reason, we encourage you to continue reading these lines and discover for yourself the differences between the connections that mobile phones can use.
Types of networks
Surely, you have been able to verify that depending on the area in which your phone is located, use 3G, 4G… This will vary depending on the coverage provided by the different antennas that the operators have in our country. There are networks with their own networks at the national level: Movistar, Orange, Vodafone and Yoigo (Grupo MásMóvil).
Although, what matters to us on this occasion is knowing the different technologies that we can use in smartphones and how they differ from each other.
2G
This second-generation technology was the first digital connection in phones. It is still possible to connect to this network, although it is difficult, since it will appear in remote areas, such as high mountain places or rural towns where the operator’s antenna is far away. In this case, the Internet speed is lower , in addition to the fact that voice has preference over data, so these services cannot work at the same time on the phone. However, his arrival was around 1990, assuming an important change in mobile telephony.
This technology greatly improved the security of communications, as it began to use encrypted digital protocols, especially the GMS (Global Mobile Communications System) standard . We cannot forget to mention that it has an upload and download of up to 9 Kbps. However, it is practically in disuse.
GPRS
This standard, known as GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), is the natural evolution of the 2G bands . This network is transmitted digitally, as in the previous case. And in addition to allowing the use of the Internet on phones, it allows us to use SMS and MMS messages. It also increased the speed, being up to 80 Kbps down and 20 up.
EDGE
With a maximum speed of up to 236 Kbps downstream and 59 Kbps upstream, this is another evolution of the previous network. And it is not for less, since it was an important revelation in its time, since it was launched between 2003 and 2004. In addition, it is also part of the GMS family. In this case, we are facing a mobile connection that allows us higher transmission speeds than the previous ones.
3G
The third generation network began to expand since the year 2000. In this we find different types: HSPA and HSPA + . This was another of the biggest changes for mobile telephony, since we started to use the UMTS/HSPA antenna types, allowing us to increase the speed of the Internet connection. In this case, the base of the CS + PS core that was in the previous generation was kept. 3G technology moves at speeds of 384 Kbps upload and download.
HSPA
This standard comes from High-Speed Packet Access. Basically, we are facing an evolution of the 3G connection, which is why it is also called 3G+ or 3.5G . This technology can allow us a maximum speed of up to 14 Mbps. Its adoption by the smartphone sector began in 2010, making it easier to play videos on mobile and download movies, for example.
HSPA+
The HSPA+ connection comes from Evolved High Speed Packet Access, although, as in the previous case, we are facing another evolution of the 3G network . This is the one that will offer us the best speeds with UMTS antennas. In addition, it is still fast today on smartphones, since it allows up to 84 Mbps download and 22 Mbps upload, so it is very close to what we can get with 4G connections.
4G or LTE
The fourth generation came into our lives in 2013. In this way, we would not only make the connections more secure, but also have a greater capacity of the networks, since you get the fastest theoretical speeds (below 5G) in the smartphones, since it has 150 Mbps and 50 Mbps upload. The protocol used was called LTE (Long Term Evolution), it is capable of sending IP voice, SMS and data. Although, traditional voice calls continued to work over 3G networks. Why? More than anything because few operators have implemented voice over LTE.
However, LTE connections offer lower speeds than 4G would actually offer. This led to it not being categorized as a fourth generation smartphone technology. For this reason, we began to enjoy the arrival of 4G + (also called Advanced LTE) from 2018.
5G
Although the massive implementation of the 5G mobile Internet network has not yet been achieved, this technology began to arrive in 2020. The term comes from the acronym for 5th Generation, indicating the set of mobile phone technologies. This uses the new protocol that has been called New Radio, in addition to using the NGCN core (Next Generation Core Network).
Thanks to its innovative technology, it allows you to connect a large number of devices at the same time, in addition, mobile broadband has very high speed and capacity, since it has speeds greater than 10 Gbps and a latency of less than 1 ms. We are facing a connection that allows us to obtain a much faster data transmission than we have seen so far.
The future is 6G
Everything indicates that the key technologies for 6G mobile communication networks to be available will start in 2023. Although scientists point out that the sixth generation of emerging connections will begin in 2030.
Compared to 5G, this new sixth-generation technology would be capable of increasing data speeds up to 100 times. What does this imply? Basically, it supposes a Terabyte per second, or even more, being possible the adhesion of next-generation intelligent devices, such as the case of high-performance computers.
It is for this very reason that, in order to be able to move this enormous amount of data, 6G networks will have to personalize the future of the services they provide with the aim of fully satisfying the demands that are required of them in terms of the transmission of data by us, since we will act as users.
Among the characteristics that have been pointed out by scientists who have closely studied sixth-generation networks, we find the following aspects:
- It is an interactive network: we would be facing a personalized connection, in addition to being centralized on demand. For this reason, it will be the users themselves who define the network functions for the programming of resources on demand. That is why we are facing a technology that could be adjusted in real time according to the different needs of users.
- A distributed intelligent network: in addition to being interactive, 6G will become an intelligent, managed and controlled connection. And not only this, but it will also be capable of analyzing, transmitting and storing different data on a large scale. You can even provide personalized access anytime, anywhere.
- Cognitive transmission of information: Comparing this sixth generation with the previous ones, scientists are clear that 6G will significantly reduce redundant retransmissions, thus ensuring that semantic meanings are extracted and sent correctly.
- It will have lower latency.
- Consumption will be much lower compared to 5G.
- Their speeds will be measured in Terabytes.
What networks do mobiles use?
Depending on your needs, it may be enough with one type of network or another , therefore, it is interesting that first you have been able to know which are all the ones that have been happening in the terminals.
However, the fact that we can use one or the other will not only depend on the connections offered by each of the companies in your area, but also on the places you are going to visit or the rate you have contracted. For example, for 3G or 4G it is not necessary to contract anything special, but, on the other hand, if we want to use fifth generation technology, we must contact our operator to obtain a rate that includes the use of mobile data through this network.
For this reason, we will always recommend you to take a look at a map with the network coverage. So you can take a quick look if where we are going to live, work or study has the best connection through the mobile connection.
Thus, not only will you be able to make the best decision in the selection, but you will also know what interests you about it. Although, we can also choose from our phone what we want to have or what is the priority of the network that interests us, whether it is an Android smartphone or an iPhone. For this reason, we advise you to prioritize the current and fastest networks as long as you live in an area where there is coverage and your mobile is compatible.
In Android , the steps that we must follow to prioritize one connection or another are the following:
- Open your Android settings.
- Open the Network and Internet section or Mobile data > SIM cards > Preferred network types / Type preference.
- Several options will appear: 5G/4G/3G/2G automatic, 4G/3G/2G automatic, 3G/2G automatic, Only 3G, Only 2G.
In Apple phones, we find that as of iPhone 12, 5G is already available. In any case, to know which network we can choose, we must follow these steps:
- Enter the Terminal Settings.
- Access the Mobile Data section.
- Click on Options> Voice and data.
- Inside, you will see the different options from which you can choose.
Therefore, by following these steps we can choose at all times the speed that we prefer on our phone when we are going to connect mobile data . However, you must bear in mind that these steps will vary depending on the smartphone we have or the customization layer. Although, in general, they all allow us to choose between the previous options that we have given you.
Of course, keep in mind that depending on the option you choose, your mobile may spend more or less battery. Basically, because if you choose to only accept 4G, it will always be looking for the best connection at all times, so it will be better to set more options so that it switches automatically and does not consume more energy.
The bands that use the connections
The frequencies that we can find underwent a complete change and restructuring after the arrival of the national plan that changed DTT with the aim of making way for 5G. In it, we can also find the forgotten 2G, in addition to the expansion of 4G that tries to offer a stable connection throughout the national territory.
As we will be able to see below, each of the bands is destined for a spectrum, so if we do not have any of the frequency bands, we will lose capacities. For the same reason, the following frequency bands are necessary for mobile phones.
- 2G networks : 900 MHz (band 8) and 1800 MHz (band 3).
- 3G connections : 900 MHz and 2100 MHz (band 1 and 39).
- 4G networks : 800 MHz (band 20), 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz (band 7 and 38).
- 5G connections : 700 MHz (band 28) and 3500 MHz (band 78). In the future, the 258 band (26,000 MHz) for 5G will be auctioned.
