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Definition of 3G technology

3G UMTS

3G is the third generation of wireless network technology and it is also known as the UMTS standard. UMTS was developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standards organisation. It stands for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. 3G transmission rates are substantially faster than those of its predecessor 2G. 

The launch of 3G in 2000 made mobile internet access possible. With the 2G predecessor technology it had only been possible to make calls and send messages. UMTS uses Wideband CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) as the radio transmission standard. It enables UMTS to concurrently send and receive several data streams at transmission rates of up to 384 Kbps.  With a few exceptions the 3G network is available throughout Germany today.

Generation

Technology

Max. bandwidth

Frequency band DE

2G

GSM

CSD: 14.4 KBit/s HSCSD: 115.2 KBit/s

E-GSM: 880 - 960 MHz
(E)R-GSM: 873 - 960 MHz
DCS 1800: 1710 - 1880 MHz

2.5G

GPRS

171.2 KBit/s

E-GSM: 880 - 960 MHz
(E)R-GSM: 873 - 960 MHz
DCS 1800: 1710 - 1880 MHz

2.75G

EDGE

237 KBit/s

E-GSM: 880 - 960 MHz
(E)R-GSM: 873 - 960 MHz
DCS 1800: 1710 - 1880 MHz

3G

UMTS

384 KBit/s

shut down since 2021

3.5G

HSPA
HSPA+

7.2 MBit/s
42.2 MBit/s

shut down since 2021

3.9G

LTE (up to CAT 4)

150 MBit/s

Band 1 (FDD): 1920 - 2170 MHz
Band 3 (FDD): 1710 - 1880 MHz
Band 7 (FDD): 2500 - 2690 MHz
Band 8 (FDD): 880 - 960 MHz
Band 20 (FDD): 791 - 862 MHz
Band 28 (FDD): 703 - 803 MHz
Band 32 (FDD DL only): 1452 - 1496 MHz

4G

LTE Advanced (up to CAT 6)

300 MBit/s

Band 1 (FDD): 1920 - 2170 MHz
Band 3 (FDD): 1710 - 1880 MHz
Band 7 (FDD): 2500 - 2690 MHz
Band 8 (FDD): 880 - 960 MHz
Band 20 (FDD): 791 - 862 MHz
Band 28 (FDD): 703 - 803 MHz
Band 32 (FDD DL only): 1452 - 1496 MHz

4.5G

LTE Advanced Pro (CAT 12 an above)

1200 MBit/s

Band 1 (FDD): 1920 - 2170 MHz
Band 3 (FDD): 1710 - 1880 MHz
Band 7 (FDD): 2500 - 2690 MHz
Band 8 (FDD): 880 - 960 MHz
Band 20 (FDD): 791 - 862 MHz
Band 28 (FDD): 703 - 803 MHz
Band 32 (FDD DL only): 1452 - 1496 MHz

5G







5G NR







10 GBit/s







FR1 (<6 GHz)
Band n1 (FDD): 1920 - 2170 MHz
Band n3 (FDD): 1710 - 1880 MHz
Band n28 (FDD): 703 - 803 MHz
Band n78 (TDD): 3300 - 3500 MHz

FR2 (>24 GHz)
Band n258 (TDD): 24.25 - 27.50 GHz

3.5G HSPA and HSPA+

3.5G upgraded UMTS with new features such as HSPA and HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access). HSPA is an amalgamation of two mobile protocols that improve performance, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA). HSPA can transmit data at rates of up to 7.2 Mbps, and HSPA+ at rates of up to 42 Mbps. HSPA and HSPA+ represented another significant performance improvement over UMTS. 

3.9G LTE up to CAT 4

3.9G technology was the precursor to fourth-generation cellular network technology. It was standardised by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) in 2007 and is also known as ‘Super 3G’. Data rates of up to 150 Mbps are possible with 3.9G and it uses the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. LTE does not fully meet the specification of 4G, which is why it is defined as 3.9G. 3.9G is the first iteration of LTE therefore part of the 4th generation.

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