Earlier mobile devices were used only for transmitting our voice but nowadays mobile
devices are becoming increasingly powerful in terms of transmitting data. People can surf the internet, stream music and videos etc on their mobile devices. Wireless Data services can be used without fixed telephone line anywhere anytime with help of internet. Due to the increasing data rate speeds transfer of the data have become very powerful. 2G services are the first mobile data service used for the transmission. With help of 2G services we were only able to transmit the voice. After that data services gained lot of popularity due to which 3G services were introduced. Lack of mobility in it resulted into introduction into 3.5G. 4G also assure to provide mobility and high data transfer rate. The future for mobile data service is quite clear. Below is the list of 2G to 3G services and beyond.
2G
GSM standard is CSD (Circuit Switch Data) for which mobile data services were first developed. Before CSD, modems were used in the phone or externally which creates lot of problem while communication. Two sub-time slots were fixed for data transfer speed. After the CSD comes HSCSD (High-Speed CSD) which gives four slots of speed.
2.5G
Another 2G transfer method includes General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) also known as 2.5G. It delivers medium data transfer rates. The speed at which data is transferred is up to 115 Kbit/s a second. It performs all tasks very efficiently. Multiple users can share GPRS as transmission channel.
2.75G
Next was the EDGE (Enhanced Data Evolution for GSM Evolution) which can carry data speeds up to 236.8Kbit/s. It also has 4 timeslots. When the user is using Edge signals letter e is visible on the top of the handset.
3G
3G (Third Generation) is the modern mobile data service for transferring the data. The transfer speed of 3G is moderate. But it has one disadvantage that it lacks mobility. Japan was the first country to introduce 3G.
3.5G
High Speed packet Access (HSPA) is combination of two technologies HSDPA and HSUPA. HSDPA is used for downlink and HSUPA for the uplink. The speed is very high while transferring the data rates.
4G(Long Term Evolution)
It is the fourth generation of the Mobile Data Services. $G provides internet access to Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops etc. It is also known as radio platform technology because it uses radio waves while transmitting the data.