What is 3G and 4G?

In these days, you must have been hearing these two words a lot – yup, I am talking about 3G and 4G.

Some of you know what these terms mean (good for you) while others are struggling to comprehend it.

Well no problem, this piece will give you an idea about these two terminologies and you won’t look that confused next time anybody says 3G or 4G in front of you.

What 3G and 4G can do:
The most important thing is not ‘what is 3G or 4G’ but ‘what 3G and 4G can do’:
Here is a comprehensible infographic from ‘Rianovosti’, that can define few major features of 3G and 4G;

What is 3G:

3G stands for third-generation – you may ask now what is first and second generation? Well, as a blogger Julia Layton put it, “analog cellular technology is generation one and digital/PCS is generation two.”

Layton further explains, “3G technology is intended for the true multimedia cell phone — typically called smartphones — and features increased bandwidth and transfer rates to accommodate Web-based applications and phone-based audio and video files.”

To make it simpler, here is 3G as defined by a reliable dictionary;

“A mobile communications standard that allows mobile phones, computers, and other portable electronic devices to access the Internet wirelessly.”

Basically 3G is all about wireless internet but with decent speed.

What is 4G:

4G stand for fourth generation. According to a blogger Chris Martin, “Loosely speaking, 4G is around five times faster than existing 3G services. Theoretically it can provide download speeds of up to 100Mbps but you won’t achieve this in real-world use.”

And a simple definition can be:

“A mobile communications standard intended to replace 3G, allowing wireless Internet access at a much higher speed.”

This image could clear the difference of speed between 3G and 4G:

3G and 4G in Pakistan:

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman announced auction results of most-awaited 3g and 4g licenses on April 23, 2014, The News Tribe reported.

A Pakistani cellular company, Zong won 10 Mega Hertz (Mhz) and 18 Mhz spectrums of 3g and 4g licences respectively.

Ufone and Telenor get licenses of 4 Mhz band while Mobilink grabs 21 Mhz band including license of 10 Mhz band of 3g.

Here are results of 3G and 4G licences auction in Pakistan by PTA: