EVOLUTION OF
CELLULAR
TECHNOLOGIES
FIRST GENERATION CELLULAR SYSTEMS
Developed in: USA, Japan, and parts of Europe.
Main feature: Analog modulation, designed primarily for
voice services.
Key advancement: Introduced cellular concept with
automatic switching and handover.
Major Systems (EXAMPLES OF 1G)
• NTT (Japan, 1979):
• First commercial cellular system.
• NMT-400 (Nordic Mobile Telephone, Europe, 1981):
• First system with automatic handover and international roaming.
• Deployed in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Spain.
• Subscribers used car phones (up to 15 W power).
• AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System, USA):
• 30 kHz channel bandwidth.
• Most successful in USA.
• ETACS / NTACS (Total Access Communications System,
Europe, Japan)
• Variants of AMPS.
• ETACS → 25 kHz bandwidth.
• NTACS → 12.5 kHz bandwidth.
Characteristics of 1G
• Analog technology.
• Voice-only communication.
• Large, bulky handsets (often car phones).
• Limited capacity & security (calls could be intercepted).
Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS)
• Developed by: AT&T Bell Labs in late 1970s.
• Commercial launch: 1983 in Chicago (first large-scale 1G system).
• Coverage: ~2100 square miles with 10 base stations.
• Antenna towers: Height between 150–550 ft.
• Carrier-to-Interference Ratio (CIR): 18 dB (for good voice quality).
• Frequency reuse pattern: 7-cell structure with 3 sectors per cell.
• Spectrum allocation:
• The FCC assigned spectrum to two operators per market (one incumbent, one
new).
• Assign 20 MHz of spectrum per operator
• Supported 416 channels:
• 21 channels → control signaling (FSK).
• 395 channels →carried analog voice traffic (FM).
• Modulation:
• Voice → Frequency Modulation (FM).
• Control → Frequency Shift Keying (FSK).
Deployment
• Widely used in USA, South America, Asia, North America.
• FCC licensed two operators per market to promote competition.
• Even after 2G launch, AMPS continued as a fallback service
for roaming and compatibility.
2G – Second Generation Cellular Systems
• Introduced in 1990s, moving from analog (1G) to
digital transmission.
• Provided better voice quality, security, and spectral efficiency.
• Key features:
• Digital modulation (GMSK, QPSK, π/4 QPSK).
• Multiple access techniques: TDMA, FDMA, CDMA.
• FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) for uplink/downlink.
• Enhanced services like SMS (Short Message Service) and limited
data services.
Feature GSM IS-95 IS-54 / IS-136
Year 1990 1993 1990
Bands 850/900/1800/1900 MHz 850/1900 MHz 850/1900 MHz
Channel BW 200 kHz 1.25 MHz 30 kHz
Access TDMA/FDMA CDMA TDMA/FDMA
Duplexing FDD FDD FDD
Voice Modulation GMSK DSSS-BPSK/QPSK π/4 QPSK
Data Evolution GPRS, EDGE cdma2000 EDGE-like
Peak Data Rate 9.6–384 kbps 9.6–2 Mbps ~120 kbps
Latency ~500 ms ~400 ms ~600 ms
Major 2G Cellular Systems
Enhancements and Services in 2G
• SMS (Short Messaging Service):
• First introduced in GSM (1991, Europe).
• Became globally popular.
• Data (Packet-Switched Services):
• GPRS, EDGE, cdma2000 1x.
• Security: Encrypted voice/data transmission.
• Capacity: More users per MHz compared to 1G.
Origin and Standardization
• 1982: European countries (under CEPT – Conference of European Posts
and Telegraphs) formed Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to create a pan-
European digital cellular system.
• Goal: Develop an inexpensive, interoperable, and seamless mobile
communication system across Europe.
• Before GSM, Europe had fragmented systems:
• Scandinavia → NMT-400, NMT-900
• Germany → C-450
• UK → TACS
• France → Radiocom
• 1989: ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) took
charge.
• 1990: First version GSM Phase I released and deployed across Europe.
• Later renamed Global System for Mobile Communications as adoption
spread worldwide.
Global Adoption
• By the 2000s, GSM became the dominant mobile
standard worldwide.
• Over 4.2 billion subscribers across 220 countries.
• Accounts for ~90% of global market share.
• International roaming became seamless due to unified
GSM standards.
GSM Technical Features
• Multiple Access: TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access).
• 200 kHz channel → divided into 8 time slots (supports 8 simultaneous users).
• Modulation: GMSK (Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying).
• Chosen because of constant envelope property → efficient power usage,
good spectral efficiency.
• Services: Voice, SMS (Short Message Service), circuit-switched data.
• Original Data Rate: 9.6 kbps per user.
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) – GSM Evolution
• Introduced in mid-1990s by ETSI as a packet-switched extension
of GSM.
• Enabled higher data rates than circuit-switched GSM.
• Shared same frequency bands, time slots, and signaling links.
• Defined 4 coding schemes:
• CS-1 to CS-4 → throughput from 8 kbps to 20 kbps per time slot.
• If all 8 time slots used → maximum rate = 160 kbps.
• Typical real-life data rates = 20–40 kbps.
GSM Network Architecture
3G Broadband Wireless Systems
• 2G systems:
• Good for voice, limited for data (tens of kbps).
• Based on circuit-switched paradigm, inefficient for packet data.
• 3G systems:
• Designed for higher data rates, better voice capacity, and
advanced multimedia services.
• Supported QoS (Quality of Service) for applications like:
• Voice telephony
• Web browsing & email
• Streaming video & multimedia
• Mobile
ITU & IMT-2000
• Early 1990s: ITU (International Telecommunication Union)
initiated work on 3G systems → project IMT-2000.
• Objectives:
• Global harmonization & interoperability.
• Common specification to reduce cost and enable global roaming.
• The ITU explain the following data rate requirements as the
criterion for IMT-2000
• 2 Mbps → Indoor / fixed environments.
• 384 kbps → Pedestrian / urban environments.
• 144 kbps → Vehicular / wide-area environments.
IMT-2000 Approved Terrestrial Interfaces
• IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread (IMT-DS):
• Also known as W-CDMA / UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).
• Proposed by 3GPP as GSM evolution.
• IMT-2000 CDMA Multi-carrier (IMT-MC):
• Evolution of IS-95 → known as CDMA2000 / 1xEV-DO.
• Proposed by 3GPP2.
• IMT-2000 CDMA TDD (IMT-TC):
• UMTS-TDD / TD-SCDMA (China).
• Uses Time Division Duplexing.
• IMT-2000 TDMA Single Carrier (IMT-SC):
• Known as UWC-136 / EDGE Evolution.
• Proposed as low-cost upgrade to GSM.
• IMT-2000 FDMA/TDMA (IMT-FT):
• Based on DECT (Digital European Cordless Telephone).
• Targeted for indoor / pico-cell applications.
• IMT-2000 IP-OFDMA:
• Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e).
• Accepted by ITU in 2007 as the sixth air-interface.
