3G is the
third generation of telecommunication hardware standards and general
technology for
mobile networking, superseding
2.5G. It is based on the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards under the
IMT-2000.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0">
[1]</sup>
3G networks 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
telephone,
video calls, and broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment. Additional features also include
HSPA data transmission capabilities able to deliver data rates up to 14.4
Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8
Mbit/s on the uplink.
Unlike
IEEE 802.11 networks, which are commonly called
Wi-Fi or
WLAN networks, 3G networks are wide-area cellular telephone networks that evolved to incorporate high-speed Internet access and
video telephony. IEEE 802.11 networks are short range, high-
bandwidth networks primarily developed for data.
).
