Mobile telecommunications refers to the technology (group of technologies, actually) that allows communication between devices or users even if one or more of them are moving (not stationary). The most familiar form of mobile communications is the use of mobile phones (also referred to as 'cellular phone', 'cell phone', 'cellphone', or simply 'cell') by people so that they can communicate with each other over a long distance even if they're not in a fixed location (as long as they are within the coverage area of their cell phone systems, that is).

Cellular phones operate by connecting to a network of many specialized base stations known as 'cell sites',  which are distributed by the cellphone company all over the country to ensure proper coverage of their subscribers wherever (well, almost wherever) they are.  Cellular phone technology allows not just voice communication between cellphone owners but other services as well such as text messaging, email access, web connection, various multimedia services, etc.

Unlike radio telephones, cellphones offer full-duplex communication whereby the users can talk at the same time. A cellphone must also not be confused with another wireless phone device, the cordless telephone, which can only operate through one fixed line and base station and therefore have a very limited range (it is mainly used as a home or office phone extension). A cellphone is also different from a satellite phone, which is a mobile telephone that relies on a satellite for signal transmission.

Mobile telecommunications have already undergone several technology generations.  The first generation technology, 1G, refers to analog telecommunications standards introduced in the 1980's.  1G networks only offered basic voice communication services to its subscribers and was discontinued as soon as 2G, the second generation mobile communications technology, became viable.  2G, being a digital telecommunication technology, offers more services and advantages than 1G.  This digital system was immediately adopted by many telecommunications companies and was soon the standard for mobile communications.

2G was first launched commercially in Finland in 1991, based on a technology known as 'Global System for Mobile Communication' or 'GSM'.  2G technology allowed voice calls that are of higher quality compared to those of 1G. 2G also offered other services such as SMS (short message service) or text messaging and low-speed data connectivity.  2G was also more efficient in the use of bandwidth, resulting in lower subscriber costs and higher subscriber penetration levels. 2G also provided additional security features since its phone conversations were digitally encrypted.

2G became 2.5G when GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) was combined with 2G's cellular services.  Because of GPRS, 2.5G technology was able to provide additional services, namely, multimedia messaging services (MMS), access to wireless application protocol (WAP), email, and access to the World Wide Web.  2.5G is essentially the bridge between 2G and 3G.

The era of 3G was ushered in when greater bandwidths arising from faster and more reliable networks became available to support higher levels of services that include video conferencing, video streaming, broadband internet access, and mobile gaming.  3G allowed mobile internet connection speeds of up to 14.4 Mbits/sec. Being more efficient than 2.5G, 3G offers wide-area voice telephony, video calling, and mobile broadband internet access.

3G, which utilizes wide-area telephone networks, must not be confused with Wi-Fi or Wi-LAN (IEEE 802.11-based) systems, which employ short-ranged/high bandwidth networks for data exchange purposes, such as the sharing of a single broadband internet connection among several wireless devices.

The next generation of wireless communications technology, 4G, will completely replace current networks to provide a more encompassing and secure internet solution wherein users will have a much faster access to voice, data, and multimedia on an 'anytime, anywhere' basis.  4G is based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and Wi-Max technologies that can provide mobile users with internet access rates of up to 233 Mbits/sec.

   

Figure 1.   Apple Iphone Ultra - a 4G phone

   

Satellite communications, which is also a form of mobile telecommunications, is different from the cellular systems described above in the sense that it employs satellites to achieve signal transmissions over long distances.  Satellite communications actually complement cellular communications since this technology is usually deployed in places not normally covered by cellular networks (such as airplanes, ocean vessels, and remote and isolated areas).

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