3rd GENERATION Is 3G really changing the world?

For months televisions, newspapers, and billboards are all advertising one number and one letter: 3G. So how much do we really know about 3G and how much it might it change our lives?

For the past few months we have been hearing about 3G 24/7. As of 30 July,, 3G technology--which allows for videophone calls--has been available in our country. We have equated 3G with many of the following adjectives used by numerous Telecom operators: “Freedom,” “Comfort,” “Carrying your loved ones with you,” “High speed access” and “Curiosity.” But what is the real truth behind all of this? The name is a shortened version of Third Generation wireless communication. It was 30 years ago that we were introduced to “1G.” This wireless communication application used analogue technology and we were only able to transmit sound. Since we were not yet living in the current age of high technology and we had no idea what lay ahead for future generations, we did not call this “1G.” Later on in 1990 the second generation (2G) was born allowing for wireless digital communication and is still used in many parts of the world today. 2G provided a much faster and a higher quality service when compared to the first generation and also allowed for simple applications such as SMS. In the transition period of 2.5G, access to the Internet using mobile networks was introduced and an increase of data services proliferated.

3G provides constant Internet access from a cell phone, a pocket computer, a laptop or tablet PC. 3G technology also provides a higher level of security, higher quality, faster data transmission and a wider bandwidth. This is what allows cell phones, computers and other 3G compatible mobile devices to receive and send all types of data including video. In addition, when we consider that the internet speed that we widely use in our homes is 8mb per second and that the lowest speed of internet connection from our cell phones since 3G has been implemented is 7,2 mb, then we can really understand the difference 3G makes. On the other hand even though 3G is seen as a technology purely for the use of cell phones, with the high speed data transmission it provides we see that it is ideal for use in a wide range of fields including military operations, transportation, and space communication.

Besides 3G’s most widely recognized and used capability of video phone calls, it also provides great support when it comes to messaging, internet access and high speed multi-media communication. 3G has many more advantages that make life not only easier but faster including its well developed service quality, compatibility with existing networks, roaming capability for 2G, well developed security capabilities that allow for mobile commerce, high speed access to the internet, television watching capability, ability to download a 700MB Divx file in thirteen minutes when it used to take six hours, and the ability to send video taken for news stories back to the newsroom in a hurry. With the use of 3G becoming more widespread it will allow for e-government services to gain acceleration, health services to become faster, an increase in online learning, mobile libraries becoming more widespread, access to scientific laboratories over the internet, ease in the care and monitoring of the elderly and handicapped and applications such as language learning over the internet to become more available.

Problems with 3G

Even though 3G has been designed to use a wider bandwidth in the most efficient way it uses underdeveloped algorithms developed for radio emissions. For this reason, data transmission speed may vary according to environmental conditions. While the theoretical speed for 3G at 0 to 40 km/hour is 2 MB per second, this speed falls anywhere to 386 KB per second at 40 to 120 km/hour. At speeds of more than 360 km/hour there are serious problems when it comes to data transmission with 3G. In addition, 3G has the kind of construction that causes an inefficient usage of the power amplifications that consume most of the current. This causes first generation telephone batteries to have short life spans.

In addition to this, the bandwidth for 3G has been set at a frequency of 2100/2400 MHz. If we compare this to 900 MHz GSM standards this change means that the service area is up to nine times smaller. Consequently, due to buildings in cities and the size of coverage area outside of cities, the service area of 3G is relatively small. These two problems are to be addressed with 4G technology.

The health effects of 3G are also being discussed due to the fact that base stations with 3G must multiply to nearly nine times as many as there are now. In England, which has been using 3G technology for years now, it has been noted that the number of base stations has seen an increase of between 50 and 70 thousand.

How does 3G affect our wallets?

The entrance of this technology into Turkey is summarized as follows: Bidding for 3G licensing was opened by the Telecommunications Committee but only one GSM operator (Turkcell) participated because other operators refused to participate unless there was an acceptance of number portability (NP). So the bidding was cancelled. Bidding was reopened on November 2008. Turkcell obtained a type A license for 358 million Euros, Vodafone obtained a type B license for 250 million Euros and Avea obtained a type C license for 214 million Euros. A frequency is used for cell phones just as it is for all other wireless devices. The high frequency means there is a lower loss of data during transmission. This is where the types of licenses become important. Accordingly Turkcell’s type A license allows for data communication at 40 MHz, Vodafone with its type B license allows for communication at 35 MHz, and Avea with its type C license allows for data communication at a speed of 30 Mhz.

With a technology where so much money has been invested and such expensive infrastructure is being developed the cost of such a service is of course a subject of concern. Turkcell, Vodafone and Avea have all announced the Internet costs, including VAT and Private Communications Tax (ÖİV). However, they have not included the new facility ÖİV or the certification and usage fees in the advertised costs. When these costs are totalled the lowest cost for 3G, which is 19 TL, comes to 52.1 TL in the first month. The price of the most expensive 3G package comes to over 102 TL during the first month. These extra costs will not affect those who use 3G with their cell phones. However, those who use mobile 3G with their computers will provide a whole new source of tax revenue for the government.

Currently, for those with billed cell phone lines the 1GB Internet package from Turkcell is 29 TL, for the Vodafone 1 GB package 30 TL and for the Avea 2 GB package it is 35 TL. Additionally, all three operators offer the 3G mobile modem free to their long-term subscribers. It is important for subscribers who want to have mobile internet access from their cell phones or their laptops to choose the package that is most suitable for their limit needs. Lines with prepaid minutes are five times more expensive than weekly or monthly phone plans when it comes to using 3G. Considering that a large percentage of cell phone users utilize prepaid minutes, it becomes evident that this is a very important point.