What is 3G

What is 3G,– and Why Should I Care? If you own a smartphone, you undoubtedly have heard the terms 3G, 4G, and LTE. Cellular providers such as AT&T and Verizon continuously advertise they have biggest or fastest 4G network or LTE network. It‟s difficult to understand how each company can make those claims. However, when buying a new smartphone, it is important to understand the difference. The type of data network can directly impact the performance of your smartphone. When you buy a smartphone, you are typically required to sign up for a service plan that defines a certain amount of calling minutes and data usage. Once connected to the cellular provider‟s network, the smartphone can communicate with the outside world to support features such as email, maps, and Internet browsing. Many of the smartphone apps rely on sending and receiving data across the network. When describing smartphone data networks, you commonly hear the terms 3G, 4G, and LTE. This refers to the generation of network technology.  The third generation network, known as 

3G, is the oldest technology of the group. 4G is the fourth generation data network and LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. The basic difference between them is the speed of the network. When selecting a smartphone, the older models may not support the newer data network technology. It is important to select a model that supports a data speed appropriate for your needs. 3G Network The 3G network was the first technology with sufficient speed to provide a decent user experience on a smartphone.  There were some smartphones that used the older 2G EDGE technology, but the data speeds were slow and the user spent a lot of time waiting for data to load. Each of the major cellular providers have 3G networks that provide coverage across most of the country. There are two competing 3G technologies currently being used: Global System for Mobiles (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). AT&T and T-Mobile use the GSM technology while Verizon and Sprint use the CDMA technology. Since the technologies are not compatible with each other, this is the reason you can‟t use a Verizon phone on an AT&T network (or vice versa).