3G: Advantage India!
Slowly and steadily, the picture of the Indian Telecommunication Industry is changing day by day. With pigeons and flying carpets just like those in Indian stories and movies, India has definitely come a long way with the introduction of 3G for message communication. Just recently 3G networks set its foot in India and Indians are up with excitement with what this miraculous technology can do for them. This technical article discusses what 3G is and articulates the benefits that you can experience using a 3G network/spectrum.
Before we start, let us understand what exactly a spectrum is. Wikipidea® describes Spectrum as "A spectrum (plural spectra or spectrums[1]) is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary infinitely within a continuum". Simplified way, it means collection of values representing a specific order. Going closer, in context of the article, Radio spectrum is what we are going to look into and it refers to a range of radio frequencies. The bandwidth of this radio spectrum like any other spectrum is the difference between the upper and lower frequencies of the signal.
So what exactly is 3G?
3G, like the name suggests, is the third generation technology. Before we get any further with ‘what that is’, let us take a look at the dots that were joined to come over to this boulevard. It all started off with 1G, i.e the first Generation technology that introduced wireless telephone technology for mobile communication. 1G was totally analog unlike 2G. 2G, i.e the Second generation on the other hand was completely digital. Though both were quite similar, 2G had the capability of encoding voice to digital signals where as with 1G the voice was just modulated to a higher frequency so that it would be out of reach of ham/home radios. Since 2G was digital, enhanced data services could be a part of it. Along with a greater privacy, 2G also contributed in efficient data transfer and this generation actually could manage introducing less expensive equipments. SMS and GPRS hence were introduced in this generation. In 2001 finally 3G was introduced. 3G used completely different frequencies from 2G hence the hardware was different. An obvious question now would be, ‘So if it was introduced back in 2001, why is India getting a taste of 3G after 9-10 years whereas the world now is celebrating the release of 4G already?’. The reason is simple. The enormous cost of additional spectrum license fees delayed 3G for India. 3G brings with it high data transfer speed and even the more high privacy as compared to 2G.
What will you need to access 3G?
There are two primary things that you would need to access 3G. First of all you need to have a 3G enabled phone. Well, now most of the phones that get manufactured are 3G enabled but the cheapest and ‘not so compromised on quality’ of them all should cost around 3-4K. The second thing you would need is obviously a service provider. Well, Vodafone Zoozoo ad’s already talk about 3G and so does Abhishek Bacchan. Almost all the service providers are upgrading their networks to support 3G. As of now the rates in India are way too costly but over the period of time they are bound to get slashed and reasonable.
Few of the top 3G phones and approximate prices in India.
From style point of view
1. iPhone 3G’s:
* 16GB – 40,500.Rs.
* 32 GB – 45,000.Rs.
2. Nokia N8: 23,000.Rs.
3. Samsung Omnia: 26,000.Rs
From economy point of view:
1. Nokia 2730: 4200.Rs.
2. Nokia C5: 7600.Rs.
3. Spice G-6500: 6000.Rs.
Sheer combination of Style and Economy:
1. Samsung DUOS: 12,300.Rs.
2. Sony Ericsson Zylo: 10,000.Rs.
3. Blackberry Curve 9300 : 13,700.Rs.
Overall winner: Blackberry Curve 9300.
Some Apps’ to watch for with 3G around:
Following is a list of applications that can help you become more productive with a 3G network.
1. Remote App’s: Control your music players like iTunes and other players with your 3G enabled phones.
2. Score App’s: Stay updated with the latest scores second-second.
3. Watch steaming movies on phone: 3G is just like high speed broadband hence you can watch movies on your phone while on the go.
Some additional benefits of 3G:
1. Mobile Internet: Mobile Internet experience with a 3G handset will have the benefits like: Fast connections, reasonably priced access plans (Over the time), light weight browser compatibility and push services
2. Mobile Music: EV-DO is a part of 3G initiative. It stands for Evolution Data-Optimize and using this you would be able to hear crystal clear streaming music, right on your handset.
3. Social Networking: Stay connected with your friends, contacts and family 24x7 using Facebook, LinkedIn, Orkut.. etc.
4. Mobile Advertising: With exceptional reach, Mobile advertising is bound to get a different exposure with 3G. This will include 3G-Push emails and other advertising mechanism with mobiles.
5. Mobile Commerce: 3G is faster and secure than 2G and hence mobile commerce would also be faster and secure with 3G.
It is believed that when India goes 3G, there will be less Network Congestion but in most of the cases where 3G was introduced there was frequent network congestion's and 3G was held as the main culprit. In any case with faster data transfers 3G is going to bring in a faster and better tomorrow. The power is in the hands of some of the key decision makers including the Government of India and the Service Provider so as to slash the rate’s in a way that will benefit the country.
