GSM

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial
Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the
GSM Association, estimates that 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard [1].
GSM is used by over 2 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories.[2][3]
Its ubiquity makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators,
enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its
predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital call quality, and so is
considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data
communication were built into the system using the 3rd Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP).

The GSM logo is used to identify compatible handsets and equipment

The ubiquity of the GSM standard has been advantageous to both consumers (who
benefit from the ability to roam and switch carriers without switching phones) and also to
network operators (who can choose equipment from any of the many vendors
implementing GSM[4]). GSM also pioneered a low-cost alternative to voice calls, the
Short message service (SMS, also called "text messaging"), which is now supported on
other mobile standards as well.

Newer versions of the standard were backward-compatible with the original GSM
phones. For example, Release '97 of the standard added packet data capabilities, by
means of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Release '99 introduced higher speed
data transmission using Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).

Technical details
GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile phones connect to it by searching
for cells in the immediate vicinity. GSM networks operate in four different frequency
ranges. Most GSM networks operate in the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz bands. Some
countries in the Americas (including Canada and the United States) use the 850 MHz and
1900 MHz bands because the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands were already
allocated.

The rarer 400 and 450 MHz frequency bands are assigned in some countries, notably
Scandinavia, where these frequencies were previously used for first-generation systems.

In the 900 MHz band the uplink frequency band is 890–915 MHz, and the downlink
frequency band is 935–960 MHz. This 25 MHz bandwidth is subdivided into 124 carrier
frequency channels, each spaced 200 kHz apart. Time division multiplexing is used to
allow eight full-rate or sixteen half-rate speech channels per radio frequency channel.
There are eight radio timeslots (giving eight burst periods) grouped into what is called a
TDMA frame. Half rate channels use alternate frames in the same timeslot. The channel
data rate is 270.833 kbit/s, and the frame duration is 4.615 ms.

The transmission power in the handset is limited to a maximum of 2 watts in

GSM850/900 and 1 watt in GSM1800/1900.

GSM has used a variety of voice codecs to squeeze 3.1 kHz audio into between 5.6 and
13 kbit/s. Originally, two codecs, named after the types of data channel they were
allocated, were used, called Half Rate (5.6 kbit/s) and Full Rate (13 kbit/s). These used a
system based upon linear predictive coding (LPC). In addition to being efficient with
bitrates, these codecs also made it easier to identify more important parts of the audio,
allowing the air interface layer to prioritize and better protect these parts of the signal.

GSM was further enhanced in 1997[10] with the Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) codec, a
12.2 kbit/s codec that uses a full rate channel. Finally, with the development of UMTS,
EFR was refactored into a variable-rate codec called AMR-Narrowband, which is high
quality and robust against interference when used on full rate channels, and less robust
but still relatively high quality when used in good radio conditions on half-rate channels.

There are four different cell sizes in a GSM network—macro, micro, pico and umbrella
cells. The coverage area of each cell varies according to the implementation environment.
Macro cells can be regarded as cells where the base station antenna is installed on a mast
or a building above average roof top level. Micro cells are cells whose antenna height is
under average roof top level; they are typically used in urban areas. Picocells are small
cells whose coverage diameter is a few dozen meters; they are mainly used indoors.
Umbrella cells are used to cover shadowed regions of smaller cells and fill in gaps in
coverage between those cells.

Cell horizontal radius varies depending on antenna height, antenna gain and propagation
conditions from a couple of hundred meters to several tens of kilometers. The longest
distance the GSM specification supports in practical use is 35 kilometres (22 mi). There
are also several implementations of the concept of an extended cell, where the cell radius
could be double or even more, depending on the antenna system, the type of terrain and
the timing advance.

Indoor coverage is also supported by GSM and may be achieved by using an indoor
picocell base station, or an indoor repeater with distributed indoor antennas fed through
power splitters, to deliver the radio signals from an antenna outdoors to the separate
indoor distributed antenna system. These are typically deployed when a lot of call
capacity is needed indoors, for example in shopping centers or airports. However, this is
not a prerequisite, since indoor coverage is also provided by in-building penetration of
the radio signals from nearby cells.
The modulation used in GSM is Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), a kind of
continuous-phase frequency shift keying. In GMSK, the signal to be modulated onto the
carrier is first smoothed with a Gaussian low-pass filter prior to being fed to a frequency
modulator, which greatly reduces the interference to neighboring channels (adjacent
channel interference).

Interference with audio devices

This is a form of RFI, and could be mitigated or eliminated by use of additional shielding
and/or bypass capacitors in these audio devices.[citation needed] However, the increased cost of
doing so is difficult for a designer to justify.

It is a common occurrence for a nearby GSM handset to induce a "dit, dit di-dit, dit di-dit,
dit di-dit" output on PA's, wireless microphones, home stereo systems, televisions,
computers, cordless phones, and personal music devices. When these audio devices are in
the near field of the GSM handset, the radio signal is strong enough that the solid state
amplifiers in the audio chain act as a detector. The clicking noise itself represents the
power bursts that carry the TDMA signal. These signals have been known to interfere
with other electronic devices, such as car stereos and portable audio players.

Network structure

The network behind the GSM system seen by the customer is large and complicated in
order to provide all of the services which are required. It is divided into a number of
sections and these are each covered in separate articles.

• the Base Station Subsystem (the base stations and their controllers).
• the Network and Switching Subsystem (the part of the network most similar to a
fixed network). This is sometimes also just called the core network.
• the GPRS Core Network (the optional part which allows packet based Internet
connections).
• all of the elements in the system combine to produce many GSM services such as
voice calls and SMS.
Code division multiple access
Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method utilized by various
radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with cdmaOne (often
referred to as simply "CDMA"), which is a mobile phone standard that uses CDMA as its
underlying channel access method.

CDMA employs spread-spectrum technology and a special coding scheme (where each
transmitter is assigned a code) to allow multiple users to be multiplexed over the same
physical channel. By contrast, time division multiple access (TDMA) divides access by
time, while frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) divides it by frequency. CDMA
is a form of "spread-spectrum" signaling, since the modulated coded signal has a much
higher bandwidth than the data being communicated.
An analogy to the problem of multiple access is a room (channel) in which people wish to
communicate with each other. To avoid confusion, people could take turns speaking (time
division), speak at different pitches (frequency division), or speak in different directions
(spatial division). In CDMA, they would speak different languages. People speaking the
same language can understand each other, but not other people. Similarly, in radio
CDMA, each group of users is given a shared code. Many codes occupy the same
channel, but only users associated with a particular code can understand each other.

CDMA has been used in many communications and navigation systems, including the
Global Positioning System and the OmniTRACS satellite system for transportation
logistics.

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications).

GSM is the "branded" term referring to a particular use of TDMA (Time-Division Multiple
Access) technology. GSM is the dominant technology used around the globe and is available in
more than 100 countries. It is the standard for communication for most of Asia and Europe.

GSM operates on four separate frequencies: You’ll find the 900MHz and 1,800MHz bands in
Europe and Asia and the 850MHz and 1,900MHz (sometimes referred to as 1.9GHz) bands in
North America and Latin America. GSM allows for eight simultaneous calls on the same radio
frequency and uses “narrowband” TDMA, the technology that enables digital transmissions
between a mobile phone and a base station. With TDMA the frequency band is divided into
multiple channels which are then stacked together into a single stream, hence the term
narrowband. This technology allows several callers to share the same channel at the same
time.

CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access).

CDMA takes an entirely different approach from GSM/TDMA. CDMA spreads data out over the
channel after the channel is digitized. Multiple calls can then be overlaid on top of one another
across the entire channel, with each assigned its own “sequence code” to keep the signal
distinct. CDMA offers more efficient use of an analog transmission because it allows greater
frequency reuse, as well as increasing battery life, improving the rate of dropped calls, and
offering far greater security than GSM/TDMA. For this reason CDMA has strong support from
experts who favor widespread development of CDMA networks across the globe. Currently, you
will find CDMA mostly in the United States, Canada, and North and South Korea. (As an
interesting aside, CDMA was actually invented for the military during World War II for field
communications.) (Can you spell propaganda?)

SIM (Subscriber identity module)

A SIM for Bell Mobility (Canada)

One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), commonly
known as a SIM card. The SIM is a detachable smart card containing the user's
subscription information and phonebook. This allows the user to retain his or her
information after switching handsets. Alternatively, the user can also change operators
while retaining the handset simply by changing the SIM. Some operators will block this
by allowing the phone to use only a single SIM, or only a SIM issued by them; this
practice is known as SIM locking, and is illegal in some countries.

In Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States many operators lock the mobiles they
sell. This is done because the price of the mobile phone is typically subsidised with
revenue from subscriptions, and operators want to try to avoid subsidising competitor's
mobiles. A subscriber can usually contact the provider to remove the lock for a fee, utilize
private services to remove the lock, or make use of ample software and websites
available on the Internet to unlock the handset themselves. While most web sites offer the
unlocking for a fee, some do it for free. The locking applies to the handset, identified by
its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, not to the account (which is
identified by the SIM card). It is always possible to switch to another (non-locked)
handset if such a handset is available.

Some providers will unlock the phone for free if the customer has held an account for a
certain time period. Third party unlocking services exist that are often quicker and lower
cost than that of the operator. In most countries, removing the lock is legal. United States-
based T-Mobile provides free unlocking services to their customers after 3 months of
subscription.[citation needed]

In countries like Belgium, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore etc., all phones are sold
unlocked. However, in Belgium, it is unlawful for operators there to offer any form of
subsidy on the phone's price. This was also the case in Finland until April 1, 2006, when
selling subsidized combinations of handsets and accounts became legal, though operators
have to unlock phones free of charge after a certain period (at most 24 months).

GSM security

GSM was designed with a moderate level of security. The system was designed to
authenticate the subscriber using a pre-shared key and challenge-response.
Communications between the subscriber and the base station can be encrypted. The
development of UMTS introduces an optional USIM, that uses a longer authentication
key to give greater security, as well as mutually authenticating the network and the user -
whereas GSM only authenticated the user to the network (and not vice versa). The
security model therefore offers confidentiality and authentication, but limited
authorization capabilities, and no non-repudiation.

GSM uses several cryptographic algorithms for security. The A5/1 and A5/2 stream
ciphers are used for ensuring over-the-air voice privacy. A5/1 was developed first and is a
stronger algorithm used within Europe and the United States; A5/2 is weaker and used in
other countries. A large security advantage of GSM over earlier systems is that the
cryptographic key stored on the SIM card is never sent over the wireless interface.
Serious weaknesses have been found in both algorithms, however, and it is possible to
break A5/2 in real-time in a ciphertext-only attack. The system supports multiple
algorithms so operators may replace that cipher with a stronger one.
Low IF receiver
In a low-IF receiver, the RF signal is mixed down to a non-zero low or moderate
intermediate frequency, typically a few megahertz. Low-IF receiver topologies have
many of the desirable properties of zero-IF architectures, but avoid the DC offset and 1/f
noise problems.

The use of a non-zero IF re-introduces the image issue. However, when there are
relatively relaxed image and neighbouring channel rejection requirements they can be
satisfied by carefully designed low-IF receivers. Image signal and unwanted blockers can
be rejected by quadrature downconversion (complex mixing) and subsequent filtering.

This technique is now widely used in the tiny FM receivers incorporated into MP3
players and mobile phones, and is becoming commonplace in both analog and digital TV
receiver designs. Using advanced analog and digital signal processing techniques, cheap,
high quality receivers using no resonant circuits at all are now possible.

3G

3G is the generation of mobile phone standards and technology, after 2G. It is based on
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards under the
International Mobile Telecommunications programme, "IMT-2000".

Overview
3G technologies enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced
services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency.
Services include wide-area wireless voice telephony and broadband wireless data, all in a
mobile environment. Typically, they provide service at 5-10 Mb per second.

Unlike IEEE 802.11 networks, 3G networks are wide area cellular telephone networks
which evolved to incorporate high-speed internet access and video telephony. IEEE
802.11 (common home Wi-Fi) networks are short range, high-bandwidth networks
primarily developed for data.

In December 2007, 190 3G networks were operating in 40 countries and 154 HSDPA
networks were operating in 71 countries, according to the Global mobile Suppliers
Association. In Asia, Europe, Canada and the USA, telecommunication companies use
W-CDMA technology with the support of around 100 terminal designs to operate 3G
mobile networks.
In Europe, 3G services were introduced starting in March 2003 in the UK and Italy. The
European Union Council suggested that the 3G operators should cover 80% of the
European national populations by the end of 2005.

Roll-out of 3G networks was delayed in some countries by the enormous costs of

additional spectrum licensing fees. See Telecoms crash. In many countries, 3G networks
do not use the same radio frequencies as 2G, so mobile operators must build entirely new
networks and license entirely new frequencies; an exception is the United States where
carriers operate 3G service in the same frequencies as other services. The license fees in
some European countries were particularly high, bolstered by government auctions of a
limited number of licenses and sealed bid auctions, and initial excitement over 3G's
potential. Other delays were due to the expenses of upgrading equipment for the new
systems.

By June 2007 the 200 millionth 3G subscriber had been connected. Out of 3 billion
mobile phone subscriptions worldwide this is only 6.7%. In the countries where 3G was
launched first - Japan and South Korea over half of all subscribers use 3G. In Europe the
leading country is Italy with a third of its subscribers migrated to 3G. Other leading
countries by 3G migration include UK, Austria and Singapore at the 20% migration level.
A confusing statistic is counting CDMA 2000 1x RTT customers as if they were 3G
customers. If using this oft-disputed definition, then the total 3G subscriber base would
be 475 million at June 2007 and 15.8% of all subscribers worldwide.

EMTEL Ltd, the second largest mobile telecommunications company in Mauritius (next
to state owned Cellplus), has established the first commercial Universal Mobile
Telecommunications Standard (UMTS) 3G network in Africa (the first test call was made
on 16 October 2004). Full commercial services began in November 2004, making this the
first commercial African 3G network. In north African Morocco in late March 2006, a 3G
service was provided by the new company Wana. The other operator in the country
should start its network in mid-2007. Vodafone Egypt (also known as CLICK GSM) was
to provide the service in Egypt in mid-2006. In early 2007, Vodacom Tanzania switched
on its 3G High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) in Dar Es Salaam. It is the
second country in Africa with such technology, after South Africa. In March 2007,
Nigeria awarded 3G telecommunication licenses to its three major GSM companies and a
relatively unknown operator, Alheri Engineering Co. Ltd, to allow them to expand their
scope of operation in the industry.

Rogers Wireless began implementing 3G HSDPA services in eastern Canada early 2007
in the form of Rogers Vision; expansion into western Canada is expected soon.

Features
The most significant feature of 3G mobile technology is that it supports greater numbers
of voice and data customers — especially in urban areas — and higher data rates at lower
incremental cost than 2G.
By using the radio spectrum in bands identified, which is provided by the UTI for Third
Generation IMT-2000 mobile services, it subsequently licensed to operators.

It also allows the transmission of 384 kbit/s for mobile systems and 2 Mb/s for stationary
systems. 3G users are expected to have greater capacity and better spectrum efficiency,
which allows them to access global roaming between different 3G networks.

Standards
International Telecommunications Union (ITU): IMT-2000 consists of six radio interfaces

• W-CDMA
• CDMA2000
• TD-CDMA / TD-SCDMA
• UWC (often implemented with EDGE)
• DECT
• Mobile WiMAX [1]

Evolution to 3G
Cellular mobile telecommunications networks are being upgraded to use 3G technologies
from 1999 to 2010. Japan was the first country to introduce 3G nationally, and in Japan
the transition to 3G was largely completed in 2006. Korea then adopted 3G Networks
soon after and the transition was made as early as 2004.

Operators and UMTS networks

As of 2005, the evolution of the 3G networks was on its way for a couple of years, due to
the limited capacity of the existing 2G networks. 2G networks were built mainly for
voice data and slow transmission. Due to rapid changes in user expectation, they do not
meet today's wireless needs.

"2.5G" (and even 2.75G) are technologies such as i-mode data services, camera phones,
high-speed circuit-switched data (HSCSD) and General packet radio service (GPRS)
were created to provide some functionality domains like 3G networks, but without the
full transition to 3G network. They were built to introduce the possibilities of wireless
application technology to the end consumers, and so increase demand for 3G services.

Network standardization

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defined the demands for 3G mobile
networks with the IMT-2000 standard. An organization called 3rd Generation Partnership
Project (3GPP) has continued that work by defining a mobile system that fulfills the IMT-
2000 standard. This system is called Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
(UMTS).
The evolution of the system will move forward with so called releases. Each release will
introduce new features. The following features are examples of many others in these new
releases.

Release '99

• Bearer services
• 64 kbit/s circuit switched
• 384 kbit/s packet switched
• Location services
• Call services: compatible with Global System for Mobile Communications
(GSM), based on Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)

Release 4

• Edge radio
• Multimedia messaging
• MeXe levels
• Improved location services
• IP Multimedia Services (IMS)

Release 5

• IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)

• IPv6, IP transport in UTRAN
• Improvements in GERAN, Mexe, etc
• HSDPA

Release 6

• WLAN integration
• Multimedia broadcast and multicast
• Improvements in IMS
• HSUPA

3G evolution (pre-4G)

• The standardization of 3G evolution is working in both 3GPP and 3GPP2. The

corresponding specifications of 3GPP and 3GPP2 evolutions are named as LTE
and UMB, respectively. 3G evolution uses partly beyond 3G technologies to
enhance the performance and to make a smooth migration path.

There are several different paths from 2G to 3G. In Europe the main path starts from
GSM when GPRS is added to a system. From this point it is possible to go to the UMTS
system. In North America the system evolution will start from Time division multiple
access (TDMA), change to Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and then to
UMTS.

In Japan, two 3G standards are used: W-CDMA (compatible with UMTS) used by NTT
DoCoMo and Softbank, and CDMA2000, used by KDDI. Transition to 3G was
completed in Japan in 2006.

Advantages of a layered network architecture

Unlike GSM, UMTS is based on layered services. At the top is the services layer, which
provides fast deployment of services and centralized location. In the middle is the control
layer, which helps upgrading procedures and allows the capacity of the network to be
dynamically allocated. At the bottom is the connectivity layer where any transmission
technology can be used and the voice traffic will transfer over ATM/AAL2 or IP/RTP.

Mobile technologies

When converting a GSM network to a UMTS network, the first new technology is
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). It is the trigger to 3G services. The network
connection is always on, so the subscriber is online all the time. From the operator's point
of view, it is important that GPRS investments are re-used when going to UMTS. Also
capitalizing on GPRS business experience is very important.

From GPRS, operators could change the network directly to UMTS, or invest in an
EDGE system. One advantage of EDGE over UMTS is that it requires no new licenses.
The frequencies are also re-used and no new antennas are needed.

From GPRS to UMTS

• Home location register (HLR)

• Visitor location register (VLR)
• Equipment identity register (EIR)

From GPRS network, the following network elements can be reused:

• Mobile switching centre (MSC) (vendor dependent)

• Authentication centre (AUC)
• Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) (vendor dependent)
• Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN)

From Global Service for Mobile (GSM) communication radio network, the following
elements cannot be reused

• Base station controller (BSC)

• Base transceiver station (BTS)
They can remain in the network and be used in dual network operation where 2G and 3G
networks co-exist while network migration and new 3G terminals become available for
use in the network.

The UMTS network introduces new network elements that function as specified by
3GPP:

• Node B (base station)

• Radio Network Controller (RNC)
• Media Gateway (MGW)

The functionality of MSC and SGSN changes when going to UMTS. In a GSM system
the MSC handles all the circuit switched operations like connecting A- and B-subscriber
through the network. SGSN handles all the packet switched operations and transfers all
the data in the network. In UMTS the Media gateway (MGW) take care of all data
transfer in both circuit and packet switched networks. MSC and SGSN control MGW
operations. The nodes are renamed to MSC-server and GSN-server.

UMTS terminals

The technical complexities of a 3G phone or handset depends on its need to roam onto
legacy 2G networks. In the first countries, Japan and South Korea, there was no need to
include roaming capabilities to older networks such as GSM, so 3G phones were small
and lightweight. In Europe and America, the manufacturers and network operators
wanted multi-mode 3G phones which would operate on 3G and 2G networks (e.g.,
WCDMA and GSM), which added to the complexity, size, weight, and cost of the
handset. As a result, early European WCDMA phones were significantly larger and
heavier than comparable Japanese WCDMA phones.

Japan's Vodafone KK experienced a great deal of trouble with these differences when its
UK-based parent, Vodafone, insisted the Japanese subsidiary use standard Vodafone
handsets. Japanese customers who were accustomed to smaller handsets were suddenly
required to switch to European handsets that were much bulkier and considered
unfashionable by Japanese consumers. During this conversion, Vodafone KK lost 6
customers for every 4 that migrated to 3G. Soon thereafter, Vodafone sold the subsidiary
(now known as Softbank).

The general trend to smaller and smaller phones seems to have paused, perhaps even
turned, with the capability of large-screen phones to provide more video, gaming and
internet use on the 3G networks.

2-G
 Mobile communication
standards

GSM / UMTS (3GPP) Family

2G

• GSM
• GPRS
• EDGE (EGPRS)
o EDGE
Evolution

• HSCSD
3G

• UMTS (3GSM)
• HSPA
o HSDPA
o HSUPA
o HSPA+
• UMTS-TDD
o TD-CDMA
o TD-SCDMA

• FOMA
Pre-4G

• UMTS Revision 8
o LTE

o HSOPA
(Super 3G)
cdmaOne / CDMA2000
(3GPP2) Family
2G

• cdmaOne
3G

• CDMA2000

• EV-DO
Pre-4G

• UMB
AMPS Family
1G

• AMPS

o TACS /
ETACS
2G

• D-AMPS
Other Technologies
0G

• PTT
• MTS
• IMTS
• AMTS
• OLT
• MTD
• Autotel / PALM

• ARP
1G

• NMT
• Hicap
• CDPD
• Mobitex

• DataTAC
2G

• iDEN
• PDC
• CSD
• PHS

• WiDEN
Pre-4G

• iBurst
• HIPERMAN
• WiMAX
• WiBro (Mobile
WiMAX)

• GAN (UMA)
 Channel Access Methods

• FDMA
o OFDMA
• TDMA
• SSMA

o CDMA
Frequency bands

• Cellular
o PCS

• SMR

2G (or 2-G) is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology.

The main differentiator to previous mobile telephone systems, retrospectively dubbed 1G,
is that the radio signals that 1G networks use are analog, while 2G networks are digital.
Both systems use digital signaling to connect the radio towers (which listen to the
handsets) to the rest of the telephone system.

2G technologies
2G technologies can be divided into TDMA-based and CDMA-based standards
depending on the type of multiplexing used. The main 2G standards are:

• GSM (TDMA-based), originally from Europe but used worldwide (Time Division
Multiple Access)
• iDEN (TDMA-based), proprietary network used by Nextel in the United States
and Telus Mobility in Canada
• IS-136 aka D-AMPS, (TDMA-based, commonly referred as simply TDMA in the
US), used in the Americas
• IS-95 aka cdmaOne, (CDMA-based, commonly referred as simply CDMA in the
US), used in the Americas and parts of Asia
• PDC (TDMA-based), used exclusively in Japan

2G services are frequently referred as Personal Communications Service, or PCS, in the

United States.

2.5G services enable high-speed data transfer over upgraded existing 2G networks.
Beyond 2G, there's 3G, with higher data speeds, and 4G, with even higher data speeds, to
enable new services for subscribers, such as picture messaging and video telephony.

Capacities, advantages, and disadvantages

Capacity

Using digital signals between the handsets and the towers increases system capacity in
two key ways:

• Digital voice data can be compressed and multiplexed much more effectively than
analog voice encodings through the use of various CODECs, allowing more calls
to be packed into the same amount of radio bandwidth.
• The digital systems were designed to emit less radio power from the handsets.
This meant that cells could be smaller, so more cells could be placed in the same
amount of space. This was also made possible by cell towers and related
equipment getting less expensive.

Advantages

Digital systems were embraced by consumers for several reasons.

• The lower powered radio signals require less battery power, so phones last much
longer between charges, and batteries can be smaller.
• The digital voice encoding allowed digital error checking which could increase
sound quality by reducing dynamic and lowering the noise floor.
• The lower power emissions helped address health concerns.
• Going all-digital allowed for the introduction of digital data services, such as
SMS and email.

A key digital advantage not often mentioned is that digital cellular calls are much harder
to eavesdrop on by use of radio scanners. While the security algorithms used have proved
not to be as secure as initially advertised, 2G phones are immensely more private than 1G
phones, which have no protection whatsoever against eavesdropping.

Disadvantages

The downsides of 2G systems, not often well publicized, are:

• In less populous areas, the weaker digital signal will not be sufficient to reach a
cell tower.
• Analog has a smooth decay curve, digital a jagged steppy one. This can be both an
advantage and a disadvantage. Under good conditions, digital will sound better.
Under slightly worse conditions, analog will experience static, while digital has
occasional dropouts. As conditions worsen, though, digital will start to completely
fail, by dropping calls or being unintelligible, while analog slowly gets worse,
generally holding a call longer and allowing at least a few words to get through.
• With analog systems it was possible to have two or more "cloned" handsets that
had the same phone number. This was widely abused for fraudulent purposes. It
was, however, of great advantage in many legitimate situations. One could have a
 backup handset in case of damage or loss, a permanently installed handset in a car
or remote workshop, and so on. With digital systems, this is no longer possible.
• While digital calls tend to be free of static and background noise, the lossy
compression used by the CODECs takes a toll; the range of sound that they
convey is reduced. You'll hear less of the tonality of someone's voice talking on a
digital cellphone, but you will hear it more clearly.